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Stowe, Vt. Blue Moon Cafe Well-known local chef Jack Pickett, who first made his name at Ten Acres Lodge, established his own fine restaurant along a side street in Stowe. It's amazingly small, a main room with a dining bar and five tables plus two enclosed front porches, each with three tables for two. A side patio nearly doubles the size in summer – one record night the café served 95 dinners. Jack sold lately to his longtime manager, Jim Barton and his wife Donna, but continued in the kitchen, which continues to offer exciting food in a simple bistro atmosphere. The meal could begin with creamy carrot-ginger soup with cilantro, tequila-cured salmon with blue corn cake, chipotle-mango crème fraîche and tomatillo sauce, venison carpaccio, or a winter salad of grilled sweet potatoes, frisée, clementines and pecans. For the main course, how about grilled yellowfin tuna with tomatillo salsa fresca and smoked yellow pepper coulis, banana leaf-steamed halibut with Thai coconut curry, basil-infused rock cornish game hen, sweet and sour braised local rabbit, and grilled New York strip steak with cognac cream? Among desserts are an acclaimed crème brûlée, white chocolate mousse with caramelized banana, and a chocolate terrine with crème anglaise. (802) 253-7006. www.bluemoonstowe.com. Entrées,
$18.50 to $26. Dinner nightly, 6 to 9:30.
What a delectable anomaly is this! Occupying a portion of a restored farmhouse turned into a chic European clothing and furniture store, it started in 2000 with breakfast service, then added lunch. Now it serves lunch, afternoon tea and dinner daily – to a small but growing clientele that consider it among the top dining experiences in Stowe. Refined continental cuisine with an emphasis on Austrian specialties is offered by idiosyncratic owner André Noel, who oversees and staffs the small restaurant at the side of his wife Romy’s fashionable store, Romy’s Alpenhaus. He’s the chief server and head honcho, which allows him to open and close the very personal establishment somewhat at whim. The food is prepared by young chef Roland Schupfer, also from Austria. His is a changing panoply of Austrian and domestic treats: one night a couple of exceptional wiener schnitzel dishes, chicken cordon bleu, Viennese veal goulash with homemade spaetzle, pan-seared arctic char with tarragon crème fraîche, roasted trout with citrus beurre blanc and rack of lamb with roasted garlic-mustard sauce. You might start with one of the Austrian soups, roasted rabbit loin with lentils and cherry tomatoes over mesclun greens or the signature potato blinis topped with sour cream and sturgeon and salmon caviars. Finish with a trio of ice creams or a selection of Viennese cakes and pastries from the pastry shop. Dining is by candlelight at cushioned curved banquettes in the open main room behind the pastry shop and in more intimate alcoves in a side room. The stone well that furnished water for the original farmhouse is a focal point of the main room. A small bar occupies a portion of the clothing shop. (802) 253-9500. Entrées, $18.50 to $28.50.
Lunch, 11:30 to 3. Tea, 3 to 5. Dinner nightly by reservation, 6 to
9.
The old Villa Tragara, long a favorite of Stowe area diners, gave way in 2002 to this highly acclaimed establishment. Swiss chef-owner Michael Kloeti, a veteran of New York restaurants and the Three Clock Inn in South Londonderry, took over the 1820 farmhouse and wowed the locals with his innovative European cuisine. Michael is happiest in the kitchen, turning over front-of-the-house duties to his wife Laura, a Culinary Institute of America-schooled chef and manager. The couple seat 80 diners in the enclosed wraparound porch, where every table gets a view of the mountains and countryside, and in a renovated barn room. A pianist entertains on weekends in the lounge. Expect such entrées as roasted monkfish with shellfish stew and lemon-mascarpone risotto, roasted pork loin with pancetta, roasted veal chop with chanterelles and roasted garlic, and herb-crusted rack of lamb. Typical starters are grilled shrimp with a beet and pear salad with kaffir-lime vinaigrette, Maine crab salad with avocado, and seared foie gras with cherries and homemade brioche. Laura’s love for cooking is reflected in the desserts, perhaps chocolate truffle torte with passionfruit sauce, pecan tart with bourbon-vanilla sauce and maple crème brûlée. (802) 244-7476. www.michaelsonthehill.com. Entrées,
$15.95 to $29.95. Dinner nightly except Tuesday, 5:30 to 9. Sunday
brunch, 10 to 1:30.
A classically trained French chef presents affordable French and continental fare at this restaurant in a converted house perched on a hilltop. Chef-owner Carole Fisher, a Californian who grew up in Montreal, worked with chef-owner Jean Lavina at the late, great Isle de France up the road before opening her own restaurant. She and her husband Peter offer a short menu that would be at home in Provence. They seat 55 diners in several rooms, one lit by twined lights overhead and another with a display of antique glass on high shelves. There are a timbered pub, and a patio for outdoor dining in season. Look for starters like a classic onion soup au gratin, oysters bourguignonne, baked stuffed clams angelique, escargots en phyllo and polenta provençale with a white wine-tomato-garlic sauce. Typical entrées are sweet potato-crusted salmon with a maple-balsamic glaze, panko-crusted swordfish with the house peppercorn-brandy cream sauce, roasted duck with a “Lavina hot and sweet sauce,” chicken marsala, beef stroganoff and filet mignon. Dessert could be profiteroles, meringue glacée, chocolate-amaretto mousse or bananas royale flambé. The casual establishment does not take reservations, so expect a wait at peak periods. (802) 253-8669. Entrées, $16.95 to $21.95.
Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday 5:30 to 10. Austrian Tea Room In summer or foliage season, we know of no more charming place for lunch or a snack than the rear deck of the Austrian Tea Room, with planters of geraniums and petunias enhancing the view across the countryside and horses grazing nearby. Surely you can feel the spirit of the late Maria von Trapp (who lived at the lodge until her death in 1987) and the Trapp Family Singers. It's a majestic setting where you feel on top of the world. The broccoli, ham and swiss quiche and the grilled shrimp caesar salad looked great, as did the curried chicken and rice salad in a pineapple shell. We opted for a bratwurst with German potato salad and sauerkraut (the latter two surprisingly mild – for tourist tastes?) and the cold pineapple-walnut soup with a smoked salmon plate. There are open-face sandwiches, fancy drinks, cafe Viennoise and Austrian wines by the glass or liter. Those Austrian desserts we all know and love, sacher torte, linzer torte, apfelstrudel and the like, as well as Bavarian chocolate pie, peach torte and jailhouse pie, are in the $4 range. With a cup of cafe mocha, they make a delightful afternoon pick-me-up. (802) 253-8511. Entrées, $5.50 to $9.50. Open daily, 10:30
to 5:30, dinner on Friday and Saturday. Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places in New England, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2004. E-mail feedback to: Wood Pond Press Home
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