Uva Opens; Myer’s Bagels Changes Up Menu; Mix Cupcakerie Opens in Waitsfield 

At noon on Monday, a calm but tired Kevin Cleary casually laid a bone-in leg of jamón Iberico ham on top of the curved bar at Uva Wine Bar, then looked at his watch. “Five hours,” he said.

At exactly 5 p.m. that evening, Uva — the Burlington wine bar, store and education space that Cleary and his wife, Kathi, have been renovating all spring — would be opening at 126 College Street, a few steps from L’Amante, their decade-old restaurant.

The Clearys imagined Uva as a place where guests will not only drink but experiment and learn. The eclectic, mostly Old-World bottle list includes 13 reds, 12 whites and three sparkling wines offered by the glass, in two-ounce pours or in flights, alongside a menu of small plates of salumi and cheeses.

Anchoring one end of the bar is a fire-engine-red, hand-cranked meat slicer for shaving bresaola, jamón Serrano, capocollo and other cured meats to order. Plates of cheeses such as Robiola due Latte, Manchego and local goat cheese arrive “con condimenti,” and the menu includes a handful of snacks such as roasted peppers and white anchovies.

A velvet rope separates the bar from the retail store stocked with 100-plus bottles — by law, guests can’t enter the store with a glass of wine or bring a purchased bottle into the store. The bottles surround a refrigerator stocked with imported cheeses and cured meats; as of next week, it will also hold a limited number of premade sandwiches with ingredients such as speck and arugula. “When they’re gone, they’re gone,” Cleary says.

Uva’s wine store will be open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and the bar will be open on those days from 4 p.m. until closing; and Vermont Wine School courses — held in a cavernous back room — are ongoing.

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After offering free coffee and bagels on tax day, Myer’s Bagel Bakery — specifically, partners Chris and Emily Conn of the Bakery at the Farmhouse Kitchen — will roll out a reimagined café menu this week. Breakfasters can choose among “schmears” and bagels topped with the likes of sea salt and Cabot 83 butter or tapenade. At lunch, sandwiches can be stuffed with Chris Conn’s Montréal-style smoked meats, such as LaPlatte River Angus Farm brisket, house-cured gravlax and maple-glazed bacon.

Fear not, skinny-bagel lovers — the bagels are staying their same old chewy selves.

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Already home to ice cream shop and bakery the Sweet Spot, Waitsfield is now an even more appealing haven for those with a sweet tooth. On March 29, baker Carole Kelaher opened Mix Cupcakerie & Kitchen at 5101 Main Street, a few doors down from the Mad Taco. Kelaher’s cupcakes include uncommon treats such as Guinness stout-chocolate cake filled with a stout-chocolate ganache and topped with a Bailey’s buttercream icing.

The original print version of this story was headlined “Entrées & Exits: Uva opens; Myer’s Bagels changes up menu; Mix Cupcakerie opens in Waitsfield”