building back (but was the front) – 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031
Chef Nathan Rich curates the tasting menu at Twin Farms with the help of a good team. They were in the midst of a kitchen expansion when we were there which will add the option of chef’s dinners in the kitchen and a window for guests in the dining room to look into the kitchen action. On the menu it states that they will modify the tasting if you chose to have it consecutive nights but with their flexibility in plating it’s easy to create your own tasting of the options that interest you. The server will caution you that the tasting takes at least 2 hours as it’s about 10 courses. There were no amuse or extras course not on the menu but it did take over 2 hours however the pacing was quite slow. Wine pairings are available or there are a limited number of bottles you can order, that are included in your fee or there is a reserve wine list that comes with an additional fee. The pairing pours are mostly from bottles the sommelier chooses and they are not on the list for you to chose from. They are usually well matched but mostly inexpensive wines. When the room grew crowded it was mostly impossible for the sommelier to refill an empty glass in a timely fashion. Overall the tasting was good but I found it interesting that the only fish was the lobster salad in an appetizer. Also the bread is its own course and not served to go with the entire meal (an annoying trend I’ve noted in other restaurant tastings). If you want to see our 2024 tasting menu dinner click here. I hope you’ll let me know what you think if you go! Continue reading →
The breakfast at Twin Farms was served in both of the main house’s dining rooms. You can compare to last year’s breakfast by clicking here. The patio room has windows looking outside and was generally a cooler room due to the wall of window but both usually had fires in the fireplaces. The breakfast menu didn’t change but each day they added one special and varied the potoato preparation. Service starts with beverages and your daily bread to munch on while you wait for food. Alcoholic cocktails were available but I never saw anyone getting one. Lots of teas, coffee and various fruit juices. They did take good care when cooking the eggs and I never had an overcooked one. All the bread offerings were good. As a guest you are offered breakfast the day you check out which is a nice send off. Hope you’ll let me know what you think if you go. It’s a lot to eat and drink! Continue reading →
building – 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 0503
Twiggs is the more casual of the restaurants on site but neither has dress codes. Twiggs has its own kitchen and staff as well as a large bar and bartender. The staff do rotate between the venues so you may see the same people. The Twiggs kitchen is where they have their cooking classes and my husband said they were nicely done. The large room has a vaulted ceiling and a couple areas with couch seating, if you want to have cocktails there rather than on a bar seat or at your table. We chose to have ours at our table. There is a large fireplace at the end of the room but it has a gas log fire, due to some draw issues. It lends the ambiance without the smoke. Large marble tables are in various shapes with wood perimeters. The lighting was lowered and music was in the background. The menu is different than at the other venue and they have more grilled options. They were wiling to split items for us in the kitchen and would course it out to simulate our own tasting menu. I liked the room and the food over here as well. If you want to compare to our Twiggs dinner in 2024 click here. Continue reading →
The day we arrived at Twin Farms we were hungry and found lunch was still being served so we partook. They had a set menu some days usually as well as in-room dining options. Mostly lunch was in the windowed ‘porch’ room of the main house but you can request to have a picnic to-go. There are trails around the grounds where you could hike and eat but that’s not really my style so we ate in the dining room. The sommelier will arrange for wine pairings if you want or there is beer or cocktails if you want alcoholic beverages. Lunch can be ordered with smaller portions if you want to try more things but the server warned the kitchen was not good on cutting portions down. I found the ordered portions good since you were paying for 3 meals a day. There are not a lot of snacks sitting around like some places but your room has a basket of treats, both salty and sweet, if you need mid-meal extras. One thing I can assure you is that you won’t go hungry here. This is a post about the lunches we had this visit. If you want to compare to last fall’s selections click here. Continue reading →
main house – 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031
We first visited Twin Farms in Nov. of 2024, right before Thanksgiving. It was pretty empty and so we wanted to try it again when it was busier, which we did. We stayed in a huge room in the main house so it was a quick walk to dinner. Over the 3 nights we tried the a la carte and tasting menus in the main house dining room and had one meal at Twiggs which is a separate dining venue across a short bridge, but also on the property. It’s an all-inclusive Relais & Chateaux and we also wanted to compare it to The Point a similar resort that we just visited which you can read about by clicking here. If you want to read last year’s write up of the a la carte dinner you can click here. Twin Farms is a bigger place with room for more guests, It’s bars are staffed with bartenders rather than self serve and tables are all individual rather than any communal settings. They both have snacks with cocktail hour but I found that even with more people the folks didn’t interact as much. Our room at Twin Farms was much bigger with 2 fireplaces and lots of service but you do get a key, where you did not at The Point. The dinner menu has much more flexibility at Twin Farms because you have a menu and not a set meal. Is this a positive, I don’t know. During the day they offer some classes that are of no additional charge as well as have hiking trails, axe throwing, croquet and archery. Stave jigsaw puzzles are everywhere. We enjoyed our stay and took advantage of having a bartender to order some ‘fancy’ cocktails. The food varies, but it’s all good and the Executive Chef Nathan Rich came out to visit numerous times. Continue reading →
part of the main house – 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031
The dining room is divided into 2 rooms. One has a dramatic coved ceiling, some booth seating along one wall, and a lot of lights. The adjacent room was where we were always served and it is a reclaimed porch. Windows to the grounds make up one wall and it is ended by windows to some of the wine cellar on one end and the other by a large stone fireplace. The lighting is much lower here and the room more cozy. Both have music in the background, wood floors, lovely linens, and fresh flowers on the good sized marble topped tables. One thing I wondered about was would the wine and spirit options be from the “low shelf” since they were included in your stay. They were not. The alcohol options for cocktails were many and varied as was the wine that was mostly by the glass. We did have a bottle at the Twigs dinner but otherwise we let the sommelier pick based on what we were having and it was all good. If you didn’t like something they were happy to pour you a glass of something else. A premium list is available at an extra charge but I encourage you to put your selection into their hands. Continue reading →
part of main house- 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031
Twin Farms lunch can be had in the main dining room or ordered as a picnic brought to many places throughout the 300-acre grounds. Some of the sites are set up with campfires. You can also have the food delivered to the place you’re staying in. The facility provides a number of indoor and outdoor activities including hikes, yoga, puzzles and games, cooking classes, snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing, some downhill skiing, ice skating, fishing, and biking. They gave us information on flora and fauna of the area but as it was rainy and cold we didn’t get out on the grounds much and instead enjoyed some downtime in front of the fire, in our room and in the main buildings. We did enjoy a guided art tour of some of the pieces in the main building. The staff were all super friendly and helpful and really seemed to want to make your stay what you wanted it to be. The food varied but it was all easily edible, some being quite good. Continue reading →
looking through the window- 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031
Twiggs is in a separate building that used to be a game room and pub named for the founder Thurston Twigg-Smith. For the first 30 years Twin Farms operated it had just one dining room, which remains their signature venue. Twiggs opened in the fall of 2022 to offer guests a more casual, rustic option. It has a seasonal menu that is all a la carte and features an Argentinian wood-fired grill. A large portion of the high-ceiling wood-beamed room is taken up by a bar with seats for dining and/or drinking. A couple semicircular booths are along the opposite wall and a large fireplace is at the end of the room with nearby couches and stuffed chairs for pre or post dinner seating. Music was in the background and lots of lights keep it brighter than the average dining room. With the wood floor and unclothed tables it felt like it might be noisy when filled but we were there off season and noise was not a problem. Service was great and even the chef that evening came out to visit after our meal. Most of the stays at Twin Farms have a 3 night minimum so I would encourage you to pick this for one of your dinners. The food was good and much simpler. Continue reading →
Frankie looked out at the patio – 452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031
Breakfast at Twin Farms was in the main house’s dining area. The porch addition was used the 2 days we went to breakfast. It had been re-done last year whereas the barn-looking dining room was re-done in 1993. This porch room had windows on 2 sides that looked out on the patio and grounds. A fireplace was at one end and the stone tables were set with heavy stuffed chairs. Fresh flowers were always on the tables. After you select your order the staff brought a pastry of the day for you to snack on while you await your food. Coffee, juice and alcoholic drinks were available in this lowered ceiling room with art on the walls. Continue reading →
main house –452 Royalton Turnpike, Barnard, VT 05031
Twin Farms was originally owned by author Sinclair Lewis who bought it for journalist Dorothy Thompson. She promised to marry him if he bought her a farm in Vermont, so he found this wonderful 1795-era farmhouse on 300 acres and purchased it for $10,000 in 1928. Their parties were legendary but after Dorothy passed away in 1961 the property changed hands several times. Thurston Twigg-Smith brought the property as a second home for his family in 1974. By the late 1980s he was limited in how often he could visit the place so decided to re-create it as a resort and hired interior designer Jed Johnson and landscape architect Dan Kiley to transform it into “the number one small hotel in North America.” With their talents and access to Twigg’s outstanding art collection, they created the Twin Farms of today. Nine rooms opened in fall 1993 and the number of accommodations grew to 20 over the next 12 years. Here you can stay in large suites in the main house or various cottages and tree houses. The current owners have added a second dining venue, Twiggs and expanded outdoor dining options and added 8 more options to stay in. The place is a fixed price that includes 3 meals a day, snacks, drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and offers a variety of included activities. We were fortunate to enjoy the facility and the next several posts will cover our dining experiences while there. It is on the pricy side but it is all inclusive. The staff were fabulous and if you have the chance I know you’d enjoy a trip there. Continue reading →
building – 156 Church Road, Burlington, VT., 05401
Honey-Road is female owned and operated, serving Eastern Mediterranean food. Chef Cara Tobin has been a James Beard award finalist 4 times and teamed up with Allison Gibson to open Honey-Road in 2017 that is only open in the evening. (Recently the duo opened a brunch spot called Grey Jay.) The corner building is in the popular pedestrian Church Street Marketplace and named for an ancient trade route in Turkey. The small plates (mezze) are meant to be shared and focus on locally sourced ingredients. For those that are unfamiliar with this cuisine the menu had a glossery on one side explaining the meaning of many terms, but the servers were also helpful in making selections. It is a large place with a high ceiling, subdued lighting, music in the background, bench seating along most walls, small bare wood tables, windows to the street, brick walls, sheer curtains dividing portions of the room and decorations of small mirrors on the walls. The crowd was made up of various age groups but skewed toward the younger side. The food was mixed, with some being very good but others trying too hard. If you want this style of cuisine, it’s the place to go.
Set up
exterior/entranceinteriorinteriorinteriorFrankie enjoys a candlemenuwine listdessert menumenu after dinner drinkswine frontwine back
Food
Baba Ganoush with pickled cauliflower and Za’atar Garlic Knot are ordered separately. The menu has a number of dips and then you can pick your bread of choice to go with it. The Baba Ganoush was well seasoned and tasty that was great with the garlicky bread. The server suggested the combination and it was right on. Good versions of the dishes, easy to split and excellent together.
Baba Ganoush and Za’atar Garlic Knot
Sweet Harissa Chicken Wings with dried lime labne came as 4 flaps and 2 drumette pieces. The sticky excellent sauce was covered with sesame seeds and the moist pieces were good alone or also in the tasty sauce. Fun to eat, it was a wonderful take on the “Buffalo wing” craze. They were thoughtful enough to also send out a couple wet wipes to use after easy the messy food.
Sweet Harissa Chicken WingsturnedFrankie liked that they gave us wipes to go with the chicken
Braised lamb, Simit bun, pickles and herb mayo was nice shreds of lamb on a good piece of bread and accented with pickles. The pickles really accentuated the flavor but the lamb was on the tough, slightly dry side. The first 2 plates were much better but this was fine.
Braised lamb, Simit Bun, pickles, herb mayofrom the side
Duck breast, ajvar, mushroom Tabbouleh, and hot peppers was 2 boneless pieces of meat cooked nicely rare. This one had a terrific sauce and was absolutely full of flavor. Lots of things with the meat that shall remained unidentified due to my lack of note-taking.
Duck breast, ajvar, mushroom tabbouleh, hot peppersturned
Cauliflower with preserved lemon, buttermilk and lentils was suggested by our server. It also had tons of things mixed with it. Pomegranate seeds added crunch and the plump golden raisins added sweetness. Some pickled onion added contrast to the milky dressing. Lots of flavors and textures made this a fun one.
Cauliflower, preserved lemon, buttermilk, lentils
A special dessert was offered that evening with pistachio galette, raspberry and pistachio labna (cream cheese like), figs and a raspberry plum sauce. The labna had a bit on honey on it in addition to the chunks of pistachio. Most of the stuff was good but there were too many flavors competing to make it work for me.
Pistachio Galetteturned
House made walnut Baklava came in 2 pieces. It was sticky with tons of walnuts and honey. It was a very good version of the common dessert. While I liked it better than the special neither of the desserts took it over the top.
House made walnut BaklavaturnedFrankie rested on the bench
Hen of the Wood opened in Waterbury in October 2005 in an old brick feed mill building that is no longer functional. Out back of the thick slate walls is the waterfall that once powered this business. Chef Eric Warnstedt opened the place to showcase Vermont grower’s products. As you enter the old building you’ll find some seating to use while waiting for your table as well as the bathrooms. Down the stairs is the restaurant and kitchen. Upstairs is the residence of the owner of the building who plans to re-purpose the building and so this location will have to move sometime in the near future. It will take a lot to match the ambiance of this place but according to the server it will offer the kitchen added abilities and space for a wood fire among other additions. I’m sure there will also be added space for diners, as it is fairly small now. For now the room is really dark, lit only by candlelight, light from the kitchen and some small overhead fixtures. The bare wood tables are small but well spaced, wood beams cross the ceiling and there is one large table dropped down a half level in the middle of the room. Windows to the outdoors are dark but there is a porch where you can walk out and listen to the waterfall and probably eat out there when the weather permits. They are only the second restaurant to be located in this historic building. Continue reading →
Hero’s Welcome General Store serves sandwiches on wonderful housemade rolls along with having a huge country store of Vermont products. Other buildings house the bakery and marina – where you can gas up or rent a canoe/kayak. The main building is over 100 years old and packed with items from wine, cooking supplies, toys, clothing to interesting gift items. There really was a wide array of items which were fun to browse while you waited for your sandwich to be made. There were about 3 tables at the front of the place where you could sit and eat with the register and order counter directly to your right as you enter. We read about it also in the Washington Post article about the Champlain Islands of Vermont. The sandwich was wonderful and the browsing was good. Continue reading →
Wally’s Place was named for owner Matt Bartle’s grandfather Wally Nieblin, who was a great supporter of the local food shelf/pantry. It was established to provide a healthy and delicious alternative to current breakfast and lunch restaurant trends. They bake their own breads and pastries and use locally sourced ingredients. They are located in a shopping center just off the main highway between Burlington and Montpelier, VT in the small town of South Hero. When you enter there are a number of counters that hold pastries, breads and refrigerated items. The menus for breakfast and lunch are hanging above and the coffee bar is at one end of the counters. Behind the cases is the kitchen that bakes all the bread. The staff was super friendly and willing to customize. There are tables inside to eat at but many got items to go. Everything we tried there was first rate and I’d go back often if I could. Continue reading →
exterior – 126 College Street, Burlington, Vermont, 05401
Bistro de Margot is named for Chef Hervé Mahé’s grandmother. He fondly remembers the aromas and flavors of her cooking, she being a foodie before it was fashionable. Chef had over 30 years of experience before he opened this, his own place in 2015. The 2 room place is decorated with black and white photos taken by a Burlington long time resident and physician while he was stationed overseas during the 1950s. Windows to the street allow a bit more light in, music is in the background and white clothes cover the generously sized tables. Bench seating is along 2 of the walls and the tables are well spaced. The pandemic forced them to change the menu slightly and now they offer a fixed price menu of $73 for 3 courses. The items are priced individually if you want to order just one or two courses. Chef Hervé Mahé did visit the dining room after diners were served, to visit with his guests. It’s not Paris but a really fun and real French meal in a little place like Burlington.
Set-up
exteriorsign by doorinteriorinteriorFrankie napped on the benchmenuwine by the glass listwine frontwine sidewine side
Food
Bread and butter were slices of bread from a larger loaf served with a softened butter. The bread had a good texture with large air pockets and a crisp crust. It was easy to eat too much of this.
bread and buttercloser
The amuse bouche was cannellini beans that had been smoked, chilled and mixed with basil oil and tomatoes. They had a wonderful texture and a great amount of flavor.
amuse bouche – beans
Tartare de Thon Rouge, Sauce Safran, Chips de Légumes, Herbettes du Jardin means Ahi tuna tartar, saffron sauce, vegetable chips and micro greens. It was a good sized portion of raw tuna under some micro greens and sitting in a tasty saffron sauce. The vegetable chips scattered around the plate added fun texture as did those greens on top. It looked darker in the room’s lighting than I would have expected but with a quick inspection by that dreaded flashlight you could see the color was nicely pink. Darker lighting is nice for ambiance but hell on food coloring. Thank goodness for improved darkness photography but that doesn’t always work. At any rate it was a good dish.
Tartare de Thon Rouge, Sauce Safran, chips de legumes, herbettes du Jardindifferent lightingFrankie enjoyed the candle
Filet de Loup de Mer Poêlé, La Ratte ad Poireaux au Beurre, Sauce Légere au Persil, Truffe Noire d’Alba translates to Pan seared “Bronzino” filet, buttered La Ratte potatoes and leek, light parsley cream sauce, and Alba black truffle shavings. The fish was kept perfectly moist in the cooking process and wonderful with the foamy parsley sauce. The truffles added more color and effect than flavor. La Ratte potatoes refers to a type of potato rather than preparation. They are a small potato with nutty, buttery flavor that are grown in France. They were perfectly cooked and creamy. The leeks were a star on the plate – really excellent. Another fine dish that was very well executed.
Pan seared Bronzino filetdifferent angle
Paris-Brest Revisité is Revisited classic French pastry, that was created in 1910 in honor of the Paris-Brest bicycle race, with Chou pastry and pistachio cream. This was a large portion and very tasty. Not overly sweet but it was incredibly creamy and had a richness of flavor. Chunks of pistachio gave more texture and added to the wonderful taste of pistachio. A fine ending for a good meal.
Paris Brestfrom the top
Last treats were a plate of small meringues. They were sweet, light, airy and crisp. I detected a hint of orange which added to the fun flavor. Very good.
from the street – 1251 Williston Road, South Burlington, VT., 05403
Al’s French Frys was started in 1946 by Al and Genevieve Rusterholz and then purchased by brothers Bill and Lee Bissonette in 1983. They have made some additions but still serve the same great fries that made the place famous. Lee has now retired but Bill and his son continue with the business today. It started as a french fry stand at various fairs around Vermont. Now they serve burgers, hotdogs, seafood, sandwiches and fried chicken. In addition outside they had a soft-serve window. It was a large place with lots of stainless steel, tile, and ordering lines. We were only there to try the frys. They were as good as advertised. Good potato flavor fried to a good crisp exterior available in various quantities. Sorry, I can’t speak to the other options but the frys are worth stopping for – and take note of how they spell it. Continue reading →
Earl and Flora Handy opened Handy’s Lunch in 1945, serving breakfast and lunch and selling groceries. While on vacation in 1958 their son Robert replaced grocery sales with a horseshoe counter which is still there today. The senior Handy’s were not pleased and Robert became the proprietor until his passing in 1996 when grandson Earl took over. That third generation still runs the place today, which was featured in the 2017 Cooking Channel’s Cheap Eats program. It is truly a family operation with Earl’s mom working there until she passed away. Whether his twins will take over when Earl is done is in question but until then it’s a wonderful place to go, eat and visit with newly made friends. They are open 7 days a week for breakfast and lunch and Earl Handy was working in the place when we stopped by. Parking is on the street wherever you can find a legal place. Put this place on your list. Continue reading →
Hen of the Wood opened in Oct. 2013 in Burlington as the sister restaurant to the original one in Waterbury. Menus change daily and feature wood-fired cooking. They strive to present the products of regional ranchers, growers, and bakers. It’s a fairly large place located next door to the Hotel Vermont. The entrance end of the place is bar seating where they will serve walk-ins, but it was an hour and a half wait for those on the Monday night that we visited. The other end of the room is the kitchen with fires blazing. There are also some counter seats facing the kitchen but we opted for one of the relatively small bare wood tables. Bench seating lines some walls and a low wall separates the dining area from the bar. Music is in the background and in combination with the crowd it made it fairly noisy. There are windows to the street outside along one wall but the lights were dim enough that I did want to turn on my flashlight but didn’t. Service was friendly and helpful and got the first several things out very quickly and then died for about 30 minutes before it picked back up. Parking is on the street or in the garage between the restaurant and the hotel. Continue reading →
building – 169 Cherry St., Burlington, Vermont, 05401
Penny Cluse has been owned and run by husband and wife team Charles Reeves and Holly Cluse for about 25 years. At the beginning of Oct. they told their staff that they would close by the end of the year – thus I am pushing this article ahead of others in case you have a chance to get there. It’s a really popular place; our first visit we had to wait about an hour for a table. It’s in a corner building with the main dining room slightly above street level with a smaller dining area up one more level. The kitchen is below and you can look in the windows as you walk by on the street. The couple opened the restaurant in a former Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop in 1998. He was a culinary arts graduate who always wanted a breakfast and lunch place and thus created this fine place named for his wife’s first dog, Penny. It has since become a Burlington ‘go-to’ spot and has hosted many famous people including Joe Biden, Janet Yellen, Suzanne Vega, and Jake Gyllenhaal to name a few. The couple does not plan to sell the restaurant or the concept cause it wouldn’t be the same without their presence. They also owned Lucky Next Door which hasn’t reopened since the pandemic. The menu offers interesting options and a few daily specials are also available. Not much time left, so get there if you can. Continue reading →
