We had dinner here last night and it was great. Well, a qualified great.
We got there around 10 after 5, and there was a line but not a huge one, and there were plenty of places to sit. The staff was friendly, and we got a free cloth tote bag as a promotion for sustainability. They've apparently been open around a week or week and a half.
We ordered poutine for a starter but it came out at the same time as our mains. That was OK, I sorta expected that to happen, though my husband was surprised. I didn't mind because we were in a hurry to get to the dog obedience class at 6. My husband had looked at their menu before coming, and he'd wanted to try Da Crêpe Bomb: Thinly shaved Boyden Farm sirloin tip, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, and Cabot cheddar cheese...$8.75, but it wasn't on the board when we got there. They were pretty busy and I was harried, so I just got him to order something else. So he got this: Déjà Vu Crêpe VT Smoke & Cure sweet italian sausage, Champlain Orchard apples, and Cabot cheddar cheese. Served with a side of VT maple syrup...$8.00 I ordered Lamb Fetatastic Duclos & Thompson lamb sausage, baby spinach, cherry-grape tomatoes, Calamata olives, VT Wild Mushrooms, and feta cheese...$9.00.
The poutine ($9.00) was made with hand cut fries and had some great cheese curds, but not nearly enough, and they weren't melty at all. They tasted wonderful, though. The demi glace they poured over the top was a little on the bland side and didn't seem to add much other than more sogginess. It could have used some perking up with something like, oh, black pepper or a little more salt. I've had hand cut fries all around Vermont, and I've come to expect them to be on the soggy side just in general because that seems to be how Vermonters like their hand cut fries (a la Al's French Fries, which I also find soggy and unpleasant). It was an experiment, though, and we'd not had really high hopes for it in the first place (we'd also never had poutine before, so I couldn't comment on how "accurate" this particular rendition was). It was a very large serving, for all that, and certainly easily shared.
My husband's Deja Vu was very flavourful and he liked it, except that the proportion of sausage to apple was apple-heavy. He said the sausage was outstanding, but he just wished there was more of it, and a bit more cheese. I was surprised to hear he felt it was skimpy on the sausage because my Lamb Fetatastic was completely -not- short on lamb.
It was... delightful, perfectly lovely. I adored it. The lamb was minced, and gorgeously lamby.. unapologetically lamby. Lamb for people who LIKE the taste of lamb. The olives, cheese, spinach, grape tomatoes, and mushrooms were all in very good proportion to the lamb.
Each of our mains came with a scattering of fresh (FRESH) greens dolloped with some nice, lightly sweet, vinaigrette. My husband didn't want his, and I ate them.
His dish is advertised that it comes with maple syrup on the side, but it didn't. I don't know if that was a mistake, or just a difference between the Burlington and Montpelier locations.
Also, they use very local produce, very fresh foods in their products. It shows. The portions were a very good size, and we couldn't finish ours (we both ate about half, but keep in mind, we have smaller than normal stomachs). We took the leftovers with us and ate the rest after the obedience class. The leftovers held up perfectly well, and so I'd not hesitate to get take-out from here.
All in all, this is an absolutely wonderful addition to Montpelier, and I look forward to exploring more of their menu.
http://www.skinnypancake.com/