Tiny Thai - Big Flavors in a Small Place.

Tiny Thai is probably a local favorite for many people who enjoy Thai cuisine. I have gone to both locations in Winooski and Essex, and had a great experience.

Last night was no exception. If you have never gone, you should take advantage of this rare ethnic delight in Vermont. The service was great. The waiter was attentive and looked like he enjoyed the work as much as helping me out. When you read the menu, take note of the pepper scale next to each dish. The more pepper icons, the more heat your dish will have. I love spice and heat. Thai cuisine is well known for having great control of both.

I ordered a garden salad with ginger dressing and chicken red curry - 2 peppers (medium). I am a fan of ginger dressings... it is a favorite and my typical choice at Asian restaurants unless they have a unique option. The garden salad was fresh but the choices of vegetables was a bit bland - iceberg lettuce, cucumber, carrot, tomatoes. Eating around Vermont, I guess, I have become accustomed and maybe even a bit snobbish about mescalin greens and baby spinach with other local ingredients. The dressing was too salty. The dressing seemed a bit heavy handed with soy sauce so it overpowered the salad. Again, I have been to Tiny Thai before and so this isn't the dish I was really after anyway.

The chicken red curry came in a simple white bowl filled with an plethora vegetables, chicken, and this silky red broth which made it look luxurious. The broth had a beautiful blend of curry heat and coconut milk sweetness which complimented perfectly. The vegetables and chicken were all evenly cooked and freshly crisp. The flavors were refreshing not as a change of pace, but really uplifting.

If you are in Essex (Essex Outlets) or Winooski (on the roundabout), go and have a meal. My son and I had a great meal for under $25. This is a true gem for the Burlington area.

El Zorro - Mexican Cuisine in the Green Mountains

I would like to say first... Thank you Alice Levitt of Seven Days for letting us all know about new places around Vermont. Click for the original Seven Days Article

Now if you weren't already anticipating... here is the BUT.

But, Vermont is not known for its ethnic cuisine. It is not known for spice. Vermont is where you go and eat if you appreciate local flavors, seasonal delights, and knowing every detail about where your dish came from.

There have been a handful of Mexican restaurants around the area, and I will say that none of them come close to the flavors I have experienced in Mexico or even in more diverse cities like Chicago, New York, and L.A.. So when I read the article, I got excited and hopeful. The food is a work of chef Kasey Longe who happens to be CIA trained. Chef Longe was formerly at 158 Main in Jeffersonville, VT where I have experienced some good Vermont fare. With this in mind, I was eager to trek out into the mountains and try this new place.

Let's start with location... it is on a beautiful tucked in road just off Rt. 108 in Jeffersonville. The building was clean and colorful. If it weren't for the sandwich board sign on the roadway, I would have missed the turn. The place was busy. From the talk I overheard, it was a mix of locals and Seven Days readers.

We were lead to a table quickly, but then we waited. We did not see a waitress for 15 minutes. We had to ask the over-worked water girl for whomever was servicing our table. Eventually, our waitress came over. She took our order, and then she was gone again. We were there for 1 hour 45 minutes and saw our waitress 4 times (our order, drinks delivered, food delivered, check). The water girl came to our table about a dozen times. Service, in my mind, is almost 70% the meal. I can forgive a lot of things when the service is good. When the waitress came over and took our drink order, we waited some more. We had to ask... "Are our drinks coming?" They did arrive.... then went back to waiting. Eventually, we had to ask again... and never asking our waitress because she never came close to the table. so we asked, "when will our food be done." We were told it was being plated. It was being plated for another 10 minutes. We did see our waitress throughout the night spending time at the hostess stand checking her receipts. No attention was payed to her customers. We saw at least 3 other tables get seated after us and paying before we got our plates.

When the plates came, the disappointment continued. Delivered was exactly what we ordered - a burrito, an enchilada, and fish tacos. The burrito was not a burrito I have ever seen outside a children's menu. It was shredded meat seasoned with something tasting like McCormick's Taco mix. With the meat filling was an overabundance of rice, and nothing else. Meat and Rice. This is not a burrito. This is something I scalded my mouth on after pulling it from a freezer and zapping it in a microwave. Any greens were on the plate like a garnish, and I believe it was just chopped iceberg lettuce. The enchilada was small. Small enough that it should have been an appetizer. Again, seasoning and flavors were not becoming of my expectations or experiences. This was not just an American version of Mexican food. This was just not good. The fish in the taco was over sized. I knew the fish was going to be battered and fried, but I think this is the wrong move. The piece of tilapia was large and didn't add much to the taco except the fried texture. The fish's size made it hard to eat as a taco. As for what else there was in the taco... not much. Very little greens were on the soft flour tortilla, so it was underwhelming. Just send out the fish with some fries and it would have been a better Fish & Chips pub dish.

I am sure that some will read this and feel I am just so negative especially since my last post was just as bad. Apparently, I have made some bad choices recently. I also think you should understand my experience. I hope yours is different. But, from service to food... El Zorro needs to ask some hard questions and figure whether it will be really able to make this destination restaurant worth Vermonters and tourists making the trip.

Country Pantry - Diner at a Crossroads

Living away from Burlington can make go out to eat a struggle. As a matter of fact there is only 1 restaurant within 10 miles of my house. The Country Pantry in Fairfax, VT is the latest incarnation for the restaurant space which has seen new owners and new names about 3 times in the last 2 years. When I first moved into the area, this little diner at the intersection of 104 and 128 was the Country Kitchen. It had been there a while from what I heard, but then one day it was gone. I remember it had new ownership for a while, and from the rumors, quite an interesting side business which closed in down in short order. Then came the Vermont Breakfast Company owned by the same people who have 158 Main in Jeffersonville. Some locals said the prices were too steep for this small country community so it too closed the doors. I will say I thought the food was not bad. But now... it is the Country Pantry - a diner and that's it. Now, diners are not bad things. I enjoy them especially for a stack of pancakes, but this one is nothing to write home about let alone leave home for. The food was mediocre at best. I ordered a burger which had a patty that reminded me of McDonald's burgers – thin poor quality meat. My companion ordered a BLT wrap which looked like it had come from a gas station deli case. A couple locals I heard said they appreciated having a place that was cheap. Well, my neighbors.... you get what you pay for.

Next time, I will keep going down 104 to the 15... and put some miles on my car, because there are some great places just a few miles more.... we will talk about that later.