Burlington

Honey-Road, Burlington, 10/20/22

~ hsnixon ~ 1 Comment
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/entrance
interior
interior
interior
Frankie enjoys a candle
menu
wine list
dessert menu
menu after dinner drinks
wine front
wine 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 Wings
turned
Frankie 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 mayo
from 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 peppers
turned

 

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 Galette
turned

 

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 Baklava
turned
Frankie rested on the bench

Bistro de Margot, Burlington, 10/18/22

~ hsnixon ~ 1 Comment
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

exterior
sign by door
interior
interior
Frankie napped on the bench
menu
wine by the glass  list
wine front
wine side
wine 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 butter
closer

 

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 Jardin
different lighting
Frankie 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 filet
different 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 Brest
from 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.

closing meringue
Chef Hervé Mahé and Frankie

Al’s French Frys, Burlington, 10/18/22

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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 →

Handy’s Lunch, Burlington, 10/18/22

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building – 74 Maple St., Burlington, VT., 05401

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 – Burlington, VT.,10/17/22

~ hsnixon ~ 2 Comments
entrance – 55 Cherry St., Burlington, VT., 05401

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 →

Penny Cluse Cafe, Burlington, 10/20 & 21/22

~ hsnixon ~ 1 Comment
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 →