Feasting the Fall Away 

After the crush of foliage season, some Stowe restaurants close in November to recuperate before ski season begins. This year, though, others will usher in “stick season” with the village’s first-ever Stowe Restaurant Week, which will run from October 27 to 31.

So far, 13 restaurants have signed on to offer $15, $25 or $35 three-course, prix-fixe menus, with items ranging from risotto al funghi to pumpkin-and-cognac cheesecake. Jasmine Bigelow McLean, marketing director for the Stowe Area Association, hopes that the number of participating eateries — and menus — will grow before opening day. “I expect that we’ll have a few more trickle in,” she says.

The event has been a few years in the making, adds McLean. After forming a committee in 2006, restaurant owners launched the Stowe Culinary Classic in June 2007. “In Stowe, there’s the busy time, and there’s the slow time,” says McLean, and those correspond with visitors hitting town for skiing, summer vacations or leaf peeping. “After October 15, [the tourist trade] kind of fizzles out, but restaurants are still open,” she continues. “Some restaurants wanted to carry the foliage season for one extra week.”

So far, Restaurant Week participants include Frida’s Taqueria & Grill, Norma’s Restaurant at Topnotch Resort, Harrison’s Restaurant & Bar and Michael’s on the Hill in Waterbury Center, among others. Their menus are posted on the association’s website at gostowe.com/restaurantweek. As during most restaurant weeks around the country, the participants will continue to offer their à la carte menus, too.