Scargo

I would suggest you find the best newspaper for the area and see who does the restaurant revue articles/critiques. There may be some clues online as to who that person is. I had a nice in-depth response from a critic for a paper in the Killington area and he gave me some really good advice. And yes, it will not be perfect. Don't worry about it!

Here is what I have saved from eGullet alone. Some might think you are lazy. You could have easily used the search feature in eGullet... “I strongly recommend Opaline, definitely the nicest place for dinner in Burlington if you like intimate settings. Opaline is a very small, very intimate French restaurant with an art gallery in its basement. The food is excellent and the wine list interesting. It is a little difficult to find as it is located down a rather deserted looking alley. I also like Trattoria Delia on St. Paul. Italian (guess that's obvious) and good wines. If you are looking for a younger crowd, I would suggest L'Amante. Try the fried squash blossoms with Tuscan honey and truffle oil. You will thank me.” Smokejack's- “Nice wine and cheese selections, food is very good, and the atmosphere is probably more in line with what you're looking for - up to date, modern. Plus, it is right downtown on the corner of Church and Main - so you can take a nice walk before and/or after dinner up church st. or down to the waterfront.” Kitchen Table Cascades Lodge-for Breakfast Penny Close-breakfast/lunch Rouques (mexican) recommended and not recommended--"Have to strongly disagree with the Rouques suggestion. Four of us ate there over Xmas and had a very mediocre meal. The margaritas lacked tequila, the salsa lacked spice, the chips were greasy, the guacamole was blender-blah, all entrees were Chi-Chi's-esque---the only good thing we had was some decent pork on the nachos. And by the way, we only got nachos because of a major lack of interesting apps--cheese fundido, quesadillas, nachos...blah. Single Pebble, Smokejack's, Kitchen Table, Cafe Shelburne--these are better bets.” Conosenti's in Monpelier, an often overlooked gem. These are nearby: Kitchen Table Bistro in Richmond Mad River Valley area- Waitsfield/Warren: Pitcher Inn - previously mentioned in this line - a great Relais & Chateaux property - say hello to Ari who heads up the dining room Big World Pub - doesn't look like much from the outside - but boy can they cook inside - try the 'dog bones' American Flatbread - yummm - enough said! The Spotted Cow - small upscale diner The Den - great locals spot - killer burgers - say hello to John and Bobby - two brothers who own the spot The Common Man - after the Pitcher Inn - the next upscale spot in the area The Millcroft Inn - on hwy 17 - outstanding food with Indian twists - always good - nice wine list a couple of other spots - not sure of recent reviews but when we lived there they were on the favorites list. Marys - mentioned earlier at Baldwin Creek - fabulous Marsala Salsa in Waterbury - some of the hottest vindaloo ever - so good with a Vermont microbrew. Thrush Tavern in Montpelier - good burgers and soups There's a new restaurant in Brandon called Cafe Provence. Owned by Chef Barral, one of the founders of the New England Culinary Institute. I haven't been there yet but I trust Barral. An hour from Burlington.

Just back from "Big D", I wanted to share my experience, especially related to salsas and my earlier comment about warm salsas. Our most memorable experience was at Cantina Laredo, in the Lakewood shopping center area. For those not familiar, this is at 2031 Abrams just south of Gaston. El Chico (El Chico's website was founded by the Cuellar family in Dallas, in 1940, as one of the first Tex-Mex restaurant chains in the U.S. El Chico Cafe and Cantina Laredo are offshoots and offer more upscale contemporary Tex-Mex. This food was awsome! Guacomole, made at your table. Spinach enchiladas that were incredibly fresh. The spinach was just beyond wilted with a fine sauce, mushrooms and cheese. Everyone raved when they had a bite! The salsa was dark and warm with the burnt/roasted skin flavor. Another place (just north of Cantina Laredo, on west side of Abrams) is very new-I can't find the name, had warm salsa, as well! It was also very good food.

About a week ago I ate at the Timber House Grill. It is near the base lodge and a very short walk from the main lift. I am a middle-aged Texan and I was impressed with the brisket BBQ, or "Q" as we say down south. The sides were good, too. I mostly wanted a beer with lunch and the bar in the mountain restaurant has not been open on the three occasions I have gone there. So I went foraging at the base. They have a great selection of beer, as well. Here is a link to their menu: Timber House Grill Menu There were a number of families in there with kids. This is the only experience I have had at Mount Snow except for eating lunch twice up on the mountain. It is not that great nor is there much variety. I had chili which was not "real" chili (but edible) and I think before that, a hamburger and fries. I was told there was a good restaurant down 100 towards Wilmington (whose name I can't recall) but it meant pulling off my boots and driving there so I blew that off as I didn't want to take that much time out from skiing...

The salsa I referred to is from Mercado Juarez. Mercado Juarez (4 in DFW area) They have been in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex for over 25 years. They call it their signature "Warm Salsa Picante". People have tried to get the recipe but it is a "secret". It is the complimentary table salsa, served with chips. The restaurants were mentioned in the eGullet thread [DFW] Robb Walsh Tex-Mex Book Signing and Dinner as one in the short list of the best, oldest Tex-Mex restaurants in DFW. I would agree. They have mesquite roasted cabrito, puerco, pollo, etc. so they certainly have the drippings to use.... I guess I'll have to experiment!

Just returned from a tuesday through Friday ski trip to Killington. We tried three new (for us) restaurants while there. First night: Grist Mill on Killington Road. This was not what we expected. There were several families with kids. The food was mediocre and the place was noisy. I had grilled swordfish which was overcooked and at the point of being dry. Typical undercooked squash. The waitress swooned "wild rice!" when I ordered the side dish! NOT! It was ordinary white rice with a 10 grains of wild rice mixed in. Ordinary, iceburg salad, though it was fresh. Don't look up at the ceiling or you might get sick; it is filthy! Skip this place! Second night: Hemingway's on Route 4. Now this is a restaurant of the first class! We sat at a two-top next to the fireplace. I thought that it being near the front, it would be noisy and see a lot of traffic. It was a great private little spot. The other two-top remained empty, so we had the area to ourselves. They said it was popular. I would ask for it if you want a romantic, quiet spot. The menu is pre-fix three course or four course that includes a wine pairing with each course. We had the three course dinner and opted for a bottle of Wild Horse Pinot Noir to go with the her Vermont Pheasant with Cheddar Johnny Cake and Chanterelles and my Risotto of Maine Lobster and Exotic Mushrooms. There were complimentary hors d' oeuvres and nut roll candy. We had port and Hungarian Tokaji Aszu (which is similar to Dolce-Far Neinte) with dessert. The meal was $200, before gratuity, and well worth it! You are pretty much stuck with $65 each, minimum. Service was excellent, too! Third night: Casey's Caboose on Killington Road. This is owned by the same people who have the Santa Fe restaurant that I maligned in another entry. This is sort of an adult theme restaurant. Much of it looks like you are in a train caboose. There is one nook where there are four two-tops. Two are above so you have to go up a ladder. The view from up there is very cool-with windows all around you. It is very cozy, so don't sit there if you are claustrophobic. The restaurant is fairly small. When we arrived there was still "Happy Hour" going on, with free food.... It was very lively, and crowded at the bar and noisy. I asked if there was a special event going on and she said "no, that it was just the happy hour crowd and it would thin out and get quiet when all the food ran out". She was correct. If you want a quiet meal, go after happy hour! We sat in the lower part of the Caboose nook to get away from the noise at the bar. Kids roamed up and down the ladder to play in the upper area, from time to time. It was a slight annoyance. Again, I felt like I was in a McDonald's but paying a premium dining price, just like the Santa Fe! The food was good, not great. There was the standard, boring, plain yellow squash and zuchinni again.... I love squash, but plain, undercooked fare is too stupidly easy and boring!! They were out of the wine we requested and the selection was very limited. I would give this three of five forks and might go back again, just to sit up top! Lastly, breakfast: Where, oh where, can you get a good breakfast at Killington? We ate at the Killington Snowshed restaurant two mornings and at the Santa Fe on another, in hopes of getting a decent breakfast made with real, whole eggs. This was not to be the case. All I could get, once again was overcooked scrambled eggs! Mother Shapiro’s Restaurant was nowhere to be found. Did it go out of business? I wanted to stay close to the ski area for breakfast and was disappointed. Does Eggs Benedict or some good blueberry pancakes exist in Killington? To summarize, I would go to Hemingway's in a heartbeat if my wallet is fat and I would go to Choices or The Garlic before I would go to the other aforementioned restaurants. I am still experimenting and looking around.... Bon appetit!

Thank you for this lesson. It is helping me fine-tune my salsas. I was practically born in an El Fenix in Dallas. We called their salsa "Mexican soup", because we consumed it in such large quantities. A question about cooked salsas: I used to eat at a restaurant which served an unusual hot salsa. It was so rich I assumed they put in meat stock, perhaps from their roasting of cabritto. Is this a Mexican variation? Nothing like this is mentioned in your "basic ingredients" table. Any angle on this? About fresh salsas: The best fresh salsa I have ever eaten was at Casa de Valdez in Rancho de Taos, NM. They would not give me the recipe... I have tried repeatedly to duplicate it. Obviously made with fresh limes, onion, garlic, fresh tomatoes and (I think) serranos; I can't quite hit it on the nose. Still I get rave reviews for my fresh salsas. Thanks again!

I am hoping to revive this topic and get more, fresh suggestions about fine dining in the Killington area. This would include Rutland, Bridgewater or about anything within (roughly) a 30 minutes drive of Killington. I know Hemingway's, but I need more.... The smaller or more intimate, the better. Type of cuisine is relatively unimportant to us. Last season, for a change of pace, we tried the ("new") Santa Fe Steakhouse in the Mountain Inn at Killington. While the food was decent, we were horrified by the atmosphere. Why pay big bucks for a meal (which we did) and have a band of wild indians running about with no control from their parents and no intervention, or even request for control, by management? I felt like I was in a McDonald's! We ate several times at the restaurant that was at "The Woods of Killington" but unhappily, it did not open this year. That is disappointing because it was quite good and upscale. They are trying to get another restaurant in there. I have eaten at Garlic and Choices a few times and they are OK if you don't want to leave town.

Here is a thread with a lot of restaurant advice for the vicinity (within driving distance): egullet forum post I might be dangerous (since this is only my third winter in the east and I've barely scraped the surface) but I would head towards the Killington area for dinner. Hemmingway's Hemingway's always gets good revues and there are many more. The Garlic and Choices are decent. There are several, more high-end places we enjoyed over several winter seasons but I cannot come up with their names.... I know there's more than Hemingway's! I think one was the restaurant at the lodge of "The Woods at Killington" Help!

Have not been there but it is called "one of the world's 12 poshest ski resorts" by SKI Magazine (rated for a resort destination, certainly not its local skiing) and has numerous high ratings, including Zagat, Mobil Travel Guide, etc. Snow Country Magazine included The Balsams Wilderness as one of the top 10 cross-country resorts in North America. One ski guide says "the on-site alpine ski area isn't much". It does not have much elevation and is kinda small for an alpine ski area, but might be fun for a while. You could always drive to Jay's Peak, Sugarloaf or Wildcat/Attitash in 1 to 1-1/2 hours and Sunday River in under an hour. Looks like the choice of fine dining places would be rather limited...beyond the Balsams Hotel. They are a little stuffy; say they require jackets after 6pm! Please report back, if you go! I am planning to get up to the White Mountain area of New Hampshire this winter to ski. I would like to know of more areas than Killington and Stowe. However, I found some dining in the Killington area to be very good!

I have now been to DeRoses several times and think it has some good offerings worth checking out: good selection of olive oil excellent, fresh bread (I understand one local source provides all the good bread in these smaller stores-anyone have the name?) fresh vegetables fresh pasta and ravioli nice selection of cheeses and the best olive selection I have seen yet. I don't know what the old DeRoses was like but it is an interesting store with cooked entrees in the back. They had a great pear selection recently. BTW, I am still in need of a good butcher--something a step above Stop n Shop. I am in Hamden.....but I frequently go into New Haven and the surrounding areas. I saw an Italian Import store on Grand Ave., in Hew Haven (I think about the 600 block). Can't remember the name.... Any good? Is there one good store that is heavy on Italian ingredients? Back in Dallas, I could go to an "Italian only" store and get lots of cool things and around the corner was "Raviolissimo", where they made custom raviolli and sausages for the restaurant trade but also sold to walk-ins. Anything like that? Are we talking "Liuzzi Cheese"? I have yet to go there....

Quick update: DeRose's has been out of business for a while. The grocery store "Ferraro's" did nothing for me, or more to the point, I did not see anything there that I could not get elsewhere, and, located in a better neighborhood. I have found that the Shaw's on Whalley Ave. (just as it changes from Broadway) has a pretty decent produce area and has peppers that can be sometimes hard to find at other places. The last time I was in my local Stop & Shop they had only a handfull of withered jalapenos and other peppers! Nothing worth buying..... on the other hand I buy their tuna and swordfish steaks, still frozen. As for wine... I like The Wine Thief on Whitney for great bargains on wines and they are very helpful and knowlegable. I got a fresh chicken (which turned out to be tender and delicious) coffee beans and nice produce at Nica's on Orange. A small but nicely stocked deli and semi-specialty grocery store.

I've eaten at Mamoun's three times and don't get it (the praise), either. I AM a WASP Texan, though. I like Tandoor for Indian and it is on Chapel, just a stone's throw from Mamoun. YOu can get some pretty good meals at Christopher Martins, on State Street, in New Haven for under $15.

I guess I should have been clearer. We live in the area, and generally, we know the food available "intown". At the tennis food court, I have eaten the Pizza and Caeser Salad at "Modern's" booth till I am sick of it. I don't care for the "crepe" booth food and chicken sandwiches get old, fast. I do not understand what seems to be an obsession people here have about pizza. Granted, it is very good in a couple of places in New Haven, but there are other, healthier foods. I get to feeling bad about what I am sticking into my body when I eat pizza more than once a week.... Modern's booth offers a plain cheese/tomato pizza and a pepperoni pizza--that's it! It is 2.5 miles to Wooster Street, where there is the wonderful Italian food at Tre Scalini, but I do not want to go 2.5 miles through the heart of town to get there. We could go to The Rusty Scupper but we don't have all day. I /we remembered 500 Blake Street and ate there yesterday evening. Was very good but not as good as usual. My frog legs were scrumptous and my son's veal saltimboca was good and the very reliable Chicken Dijon was succulent, but the scallops were overcooked and heading towards tough and the sauce and vegetable medley, which included old mushrooms, was pretty tasteless. Service was good, and fast, so we were able to get back for the evening tennis and missed only one game. Any thoughts about what else might be a quick drive from the Yale Sports complex would be appreciated. Any diners or cafes that serve dinner? Whithout driving around the area, I have not come up with much. I want to avoid the slow driving/traffic/parking issues of going into downtown and back. Thanks

This is my third year to attend the Pilot Pen in New Haven. Also, my third year to be disappointed in the food. Eating their fare for a week is too much! The $25.75 they want for the buffet in the only "inside eating" place is also outrageous! This year I have a parking pass that allows us to come and go. But where can we eat that doesn't take two hours? Is there anything closeby for dinner? On Orange, Derby, etc., that doesn't require driving downtown New Haven? I might settle for a Subway.....

I guess it's still there... they have a web site: Moody's Diner You can also e-mail them at info@moodysdiner.com. Sounds like a stick-to-your-ribs breakfast!

I don't think I can swing the U-haul full of brisket right now but I can share my dry rub recipe and then you too, can cook like a Texan. Follow the directions and cook the brisket very slowly. Don't cut off too much (or all of the) fat until it is cooked. I don't think Texas allows Shiner Bock to go out of state. I think it is a law that applies to Texas treasures. If you want to come to Connecticut I will fire up the grill and serve it up! Massachusetts, Hew Hampshire and Vermont have some excellent beers (we can get in CT) that approach Shiner Bock. :) If you ant my perfected, Texas chili recipe, just ask... Scargo's exceptional BBQ Rub Recipe By : Scargo Serving Size : 20 Preparation Time :0:20 Categories : Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 2 Tablespoons Salt 1/2 Teaspoon ground cloves 1 cup Brown Sugar 2 Tbs Ground Cumin 2 Tbs Chili Powder 2 Tbs Black Pepper 1 Tablespoon Hungarian Sweet Paprika 2 Tablespoons Hungarian Hot Paprika 2 Tbs Granulated Garlic 1 tablespoon ground white pepper 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS, or for specific use: lemon zest (powder/granules) or lemon-pepper seasoning instead of pepper: good option for pork/chicken 2 tablespoons onion powder 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 3 tablespoons hickory flavored salt-instead of regular salt dry, mesquite flavored seasoning 2 teaspoons dry mustard 1 teaspoon nutmeg 2 teaspoons sage (chicken/pork) Mix well and sift, taking care not to breathe pepper dust. Do this under the vent hood! Coat and rub well into meat before grilling, smoking, baking, etc. The longer it's on the meat before cooking the better the flavor will be. If you want to add wet rub or cooking sauce (like Woody's or Stubb's) to your meat, do this in the very last stage of cooking so it does not get charred or burn. You could do this in the oven with it covered in foil, etc. I perfer a dryer meat with some texture, not when it has turned to mush (as in pre-boiled). I also like a sauce like Stubbs cut a little with a good vinegar so it is not too sweet and dip the meat into it as you eat it or spoon it over it when sliced and served. Description: "General Purpose BBQ Rub" Yield: "3 cups" Per Serving: 42 Calories; trace Fat (8.3% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0 mg Cholesterol; 652 mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 1/2 Other Carbohydrates. NOTES : Avoid breathing the dust as you mix the ingredients. I recommend working under a vent-hood. All ingredients must be dry as this is something you normally make and use several times before it is all used up. Keep dry and sealed. Will fit in a quart jar. I tried and found that three tablespoons of salt was a little too much for my taste. An alternative to lemon/pepper for Chicken: brush on lemon juice towards end of cooking. Add sage with pork and/or chicken for an earthier flavor.

My hat goes off to the fine folks in the Vancouver area at egullet for their responses! I am very pleased to get the great advice and the terriffic offer from Jamie Maw at Vancouver Magazine through his brother at the Harrison Hot Springs Resort. I hope I can return the favor. I am a native Texan, and we are known for our hospitality. I think I have found a new yardstick. :) You people are great! I have passed the info along to my relative and he and his wife are excited about the prospects of a getaway. They already have reservations in the Copper Room to eat and see the Jones Boys. PS: I hear the new East Tower suites with a balcony view of the lake and huge soaker tubs in the rooms is the hot ticket. Thanks again! Scargo

I have been in the New Haven area for two years now and I've had difficulty uncovering many "gems" in the way of specialty grocers, butchers or fishmongers. I guess I am not trying hard enough..... Can anyone help? I don't mind going a little out of the way. I actually live in Hamden and spend a lot of time in New Haven. Is there a better Asian grocer/fishmonger than the one at Whitney and Edwards? Other, or better specialty stores like Edge of the Woods? Farmer's Markets?

I am treating a young relative and his wife to a trip to Harrison Hot Springs. He is dying of cancer. I want this to be a memorable experience. Money is not a big object. Where would you recommend dining if you spend three days there? They will stay at the Harrison Hot Springs Resort. Type of cuisine is irrelevant. Thanks!