One of the things that passes for sport in Stowe is watching the restaurant scene. For me, the guy whose restaurant experience was defined by the running tab I kept at the 11th Chapter Saloon in Somerville's Union Square, this has been a revelation. That's a long way of saying I'm easily pleased, far from persnickety when I dine out. I still have to pinch myself in order to believe that someone's serving me food.
Recently, two new restaurants opened in Stowe, and we broke one of our cardinal rules of dining out: don't eat at a new restaurant for at least a month, until they've had a chance to work out the bugs. This is a philosophy validated recently by Seven Days food writer Corin Hirsch, who reviewed a new Burlington bistro. In the article, Hirsch patiently waits for the restaurant to smooth out its new wrinkles, and by all accounts, the wait was worth it. The article is a must read for everyone who rushed out to eat at Stowe's two new offerings and were underwhelmed.
As innkeepers, it's almost mandatory for us to check these places out as soon as possible. Right now we're in the middle of the busy ski season, and when people come through the door, the first question they ask is, "Can you recommend a restaurant?" And since there's no quid pro quo between us and the restaurants here in town (which I find shocking!), our recommendations are truly our own, based on our experiences and the feedback we receive from our guests.
A former innkeeper that we knew was famous for visiting restaurants during their opening week, and inevitably bad reviews followed the experience. After this week, we're going to go back to our original game plan of waiting at least a month, like Corin Hirsch. We'll send our guests out on restaurant recon missions, cataloguing their information. Then, in the off season, we'll hit these new restaurants again, when we'll hopefully experience them in a smoother environment.
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