In case you weren't already feeling spoiled for choices with 104 Vermont Restaurant Week participants, one more restaurant posted its menu last night! Mr. Crêpe, at 144 Church Street in Burlington, has joined the fold.
The casual restaurant is offering both lunch and dinner deals, including the full menu of sweet and savory crêpes. Click here to see the full bill of fare.
Higher Ground was packed on Wednesday night with desserts, foodies and drag queens. Another Vermont Restaurant Week, another Sweet Start Smackdown to kick it off.
Almost 400 people sampled treats from 10 pastry chefs handpicked by Seven Days' food team. Fifty percent of the votes came from the judges: Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's; Gretel-Ann Fischer, runner-up on this year's season of TLC's pastry-competition show, "Next Great Baker"; and local drag legend Amber LeMay. The rest came from guests, each of whom were given three gold tokens with which to cast their votes. (Guests could buy more booty to stack the deck — the proceeds went to the Vermont Foodbank.)
Vermont Restaurant Week kicks off tomorrow. Today, Three Tomatoes Trattoria co-owner Jim Reiman contacted us to make a last-minute overhaul of his Restaurant Week menu.
With new spring produce coming in, including asparagus and leeks, Reiman decided to take advantage by updating his offerings, taking out heavy beef braciole and replacing it with crab cakes, for example. Click here to see what's now available for the $9 lunch special and on the $25 dinner menu from tomorrow through May 5.
Breaking Sweet Start Smackdown news: Jean-Luc Matecat (second from left), chef of the hotly anticipated Mule Bar, in Winooski, will replace Christopher Amm of the Mad Taco at the Vermont Restaurant Week kick-off event. Both restaurants are co-owned by Joey Nagy. Scott Kerner and Wes Hamilton, of Three Penny Taproom, are his partners in Mule Bar.
The beer bar is slated to open next month at 38 Main Street, the former Pho Pasteur location.
Expect a creative dessert from Matecat at the April 24 pastry competition. He was most recently chef at the whimsical Amuse at the Essex Resort & Spa.
And don't wait to get a ticket. The event will likely sell out by the end of today.
As I write this, I'm supping on a blueberry-kale smoothie — because, about a week from now, Vermont Restaurant Week will swing into gear and I'll need some space, as it were. This year, the gargantuan event, which we begin planning in January, is longer than ever — 10 days. That's a lot of calories, especially considering there are 104 restaurants taking part, from Burlington to the Upper Valley — even a restaurant in Lyme, N.H. is joining in!
You may have noticed that Seven Days is extra bulky this week; nestled inside is the VRW menu guide, packed with delectable-sounding dishes such as broiled oysters with garlic-bread crumbs (at Rí Rá's Whiskey Room) and a grilled Ayer Farm lamb burger (at Antidote in Vergennes). Personally, I needed to tackle the guide in increments, as there's so much to pore over and so many decisions to be made.
Even for those not hell-bent on total indulgence, though, it's possible to stay (relatively) healthy over the course of this event. Fields Restaurant in Jericho is dishing up a chopped kale salad with pickled shallots and feta; Cornerstone Pub & Kitchen in Barre is stuffing quinoa ravioli with spring vegetables and serving them in a pool of tomato-soy broth.
In other words, there's something for every palate — vegan, carnivore or in between. Just be sure to make your reservations before everyone else does.
The photo above is courtesy of Red Clover Inn in Mendon.
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