Restaurant roundup

The last year brought a slew of changes in the Stowe food and drink scene, up and down Mountain Road, within the village and into the hills.

Here’s a look at some of the new faces, fresh endeavors and plans for the near future.

Commodities Natural Market

Audra and Michael Hughes are beyond excited to open their Vermont branch of Commodities at 512 Mountain Road in Stowe, formerly the home of Oxygen yoga and pilates studio.

The shop reflects the organic, natural sensibilities of their East Village store in New York City, with an emphasis on local products and produce, including items from their “wish list” they can carry in the Stowe store because of their small, hyper-local distribution areas, including products from Stowe Cider, Waitsfield’s Green Rabbit Bakery and Susanna’s Catering of Morrisville. Michael’s on the Hill will provide “grab-and-go” foods; Aqua Vitea kombucha and Rookie’s Root Beer will be available on tap.

Other collaborations include a PK Coffee pop-up and a custom roast from Brave coffee, and Danielle Moffatt from Cork Wine Bar & Market curated half of the wine selection. There’s a decent-sized beer selection as well, and a large frozen-food section.

Other sections include kids’ products, organic snacks and specialty ingredients (hard-to-find oils, juices, superfoods, about 10 kinds of mostly Vermont honey), a wide variety of gluten-free and vegetarian products, local meats and cheeses (“We have 120 pounds of cheese to cut!” said Audra) and natural health and beauty aids.

The bulk section features more than 300 bins of grains, flours, beans and other dry goods, priced competitively and affordably, the Hugheses emphasized. The store will accept 3SquaresVT and EBT cards.

The store is open Monday-Thursday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 8 to 8, and Sunday from 8 to 6. Information: 253-4464.

Sauce

A new Italian specialty food store is in the works at 407 Mountain Road in the former home of the breakfast-lunch-tapas spot Café Latina, which closed last March after 15 months of operation. A spring opening is expected.

Pickwick’s Pub at Ye Olde England Inne

The iconic inn and restaurant closed in April 2014 after 31 years of operation by Chris and Lyn Francis.

Robert Blood, the new owner and CEO of Lark Hotels, plans to reopen the inn’s restaurant and pub and is working with a “well-regarded Vermont restaurant group” to design the menu.

“It will be more accessible food,” Blood said. “There will be an emphasis on craft beer and, at a risk of sounding cliché, the food will be farm-to-table.”

Opening is expected in the fall of this year.

Phoenix Table and Bar

Jack Pickett, Stowe chef and restaurateur and former co-owner of Frida’s, opened the “eclectic American” restaurant and bar with chef Josh Bard in April 2014, featuring a menu ranging from fried chicken and waffles to ramen bowls to vegetarian banh mi.

The space was formerly occupied by Gracie’s Restaurant, now located at 18 Edson Hill Road; prior to that, it was Whiskers Restaurant.

Mi Casa Restaurant and Bar

Frida’s Taqueria and Grill closed its puertas in September 2013. Co-owner Paul Biron opened Mi Casa in the historic Butler House on Main Street in May 2014 with his daughter, Chef Zoe Biron and his wife, Laura, with assistance from chef Steve Truso.

The “Vermont twist” on Mexican cuisine features standards such as fresh-made guacamole and an array of tacos, as well as hybrid dishes such as the juicy house-made chorizo burger, served on a brioche bun with yuca fries and chili mayo.

Plate

Owners Jamie Persky and Mark Rosman opened the “California meets Vermont” eatery at 91 Main St. in March 2014. They previously owned Jamie’s on Main, now called Café on Main, in the Stowe Mercantile building.

Chef Aaron Martin, a Vermont native, has spent time working and learning at Alice Waters’ famed restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif.; we’ll explore the similarities and difficulties in making farm-to-table cuisine work in the cold Northeast in next week’s Reporter.

The Bench

Stowe family staple Pie in the Sky closed suddenly on April 13, 2014, leaving only a cardboard pizza circle bearing the brief elegy “No more pie” on the front door.

A few months later, Mark Frier and Chad Fry, owners of the Reservoir Restaurant and Tap Room in Waterbury, went to work on the space at 492 Mountain Road, transforming it into a rustic, artfully lit spot serving wood-fired food and craft drinks. It’s now open for dinner seven days a week and is transitioning into lunch and après ski.

Rusty Nail, Crop Bistro & Brewery

The Rusty Nail, named after a cocktail made with Scotch and Drambuie, has been operating under that moniker in various locations since 1969. The nightclub-restaurant-cabaret-club closed briefly and changed hands (and themes) several times over the years. It was set to go to a court-ordered auction in November 2013, but was bought by Crop Bistro & Brewery owner Bill Davis.

Executive chef Steve Sicinski, who helped launch restaurants Flannel and The Roost at Topnotch, was hired in January of 2014 to oversee both the Crop and Rusty Nail kitchens. A small but hearty bar menu at the Nail (tots, wings, gyros, burgers) preceded the newest addition — a wood-fired Mugnaini pizza oven, now churning out full pies for purchase as well as complimentary slices doled out during free après-ski concerts.

The Nail also rented kitchen space to Lauren Schalski of Stiff Peaks Macarons, a baker who makes delectable macarons featuring “spiked” sprinkles laced with local liquors.

Vermont Ale House

294 Mountain Road, the former home of Red Basil Thai restaurant, became the home of the Vermont Ale House in April 2013, a hotspot for local brews, craft cocktails, roast beef sandwiches and giant Jenga. However, rocky relationships and disputes among the three founders and outside parties preceded the Ale House’s abrupt closure in December 2014.

“It was a great bar and it still has a ton of potential. The concept clearly worked,” said Brian Krux, former co-owner. “If the opportunity is there with the right team, I would love to be a part of reopening it in some capacity.”

Edson Hill

Three families purchased the Edson Hill Manor during the summer of 2014 and have reopened the elegant lodging with a new fine-dining room and tavern, run by chef Chad Hanley, who previously had done catering at the property. The owners also tapped Don Horrigan, co-owner of Sumptuous Syrups of Vermont, to helm the bar. The restaurant is open to the public for dinner on a limited schedule.

Café Provence

Chef Robert Barral opened a second location of his French bistro in the Best Western Plus hotel on Blush Hill in Waterbury in March 2014, replacing the Wandering Moose Restaurant. His flagship Café is in Brandon.

Brewing about town

Trapp Lager Brewery

A massive expansion for the Trapp Lager Brewery is underway, upping the brewery’s output from about 60,000 gallons per year to 1.5 million. The sleek, energy-efficient structure houses German-made ROLEC brewing equipment as well as kegging, bottling and packaging lines. An attached restaurant/beer garden is planned for the future.

The Alchemist Brewery

A new brewhouse, retail shop and visitors center in Stowe is in the works for the Waterbury-based company, whose truck is followed feverishly throughout the Vermont delivery area by Heady Topper devotees.

The application for the new location, on Cottage Club Road in Stowe, is being put through its paces; the next step will be receiving an Act 250 development permit.

Prohibition Pig

The Waterbury hotspot, which opened in the former Alchemist Pub space at 23 South Main St. in Waterbury in 2012, has been hard at work renovating the building behind the restaurant at 2 Elm St. The doors are now officially open to their expanded brewery and lounge, casually dubbed “B + B Social Club,” serving pub fare and fresh brews.