The job of covering Vermont’s vibrant culinary scene is never bland. As food writers, we crisscross the state seeking to taste as much as we can. And we’re constantly impressed with the seemingly boundless creativity and energy of local farmers, artisans, chefs and hospitality professionals. 2025 served up ample fresh takes on food and drink, as well as crave-worthy classics begging to be shared. As is always the case for this annual recap, it was a struggle to narrow down our “best of” candidates to seven each that represent the breadth of what we’ve especially loved over the past 12 months. From Oaxacan posole to an elegant French onion tarte tatin, with pit stops for Mumbai street food, maple halvah-topped creemees and locavore spirits, here are this year’s favorites — a Seven Days-style baker’s dozen with a doughnut double-up thrown in for good measure. Because you should always make room for one more doughnut, right? — M.P. Soul-Soothing Soup El Comal, 28 Taft Corners Shopping Center, Williston, 764-0279 Apparently, it’s an annual tradition for me to celebrate chicken soup. Last year I sang the praises of the matzo ball soup at Leo Co. in Essex. This year, it’s the deeply restorative posole from El Comal, a small Williston eatery that two Vermonters with Oaxacan roots opened in January. Cayetano Santos and his business partner, Casimiro De Jésus Martínez, buy corn, beans and dried chiles from Indigenous farmers, and their small team crafts every dish from scratch. That includes the laborious process of making fresh masa daily for tortillas and the crunchy totopos that come with the posole. Santos told me that the restaurant sources one corn variety just for the posole. The housemade broth is filled with plump, chewy, hand-peeled heirloom kernels and tender, shredded, locally raised chicken. Fresh, crunchy vegetables top it, and I add fresh lime juice and El Comal’s smoky, guajillo chile-based red salsa with a generous hand. Every sip warms body and soul, like Mama’s penicillin does the world over. — M.P. Top Dog 10 Green Street, Vergennes Colombian hot dog at 10 Green Street Credit: Courtesy of Kevin Barry I’ve had lots of occasions to visit 10 Green Street since the sweet wine bar and furniture showroom opened in December 2024 — it’s walkable from my house. One summer night, co-owner and La Montañuela winemaker Camila Carrillo introduced me to Vino Freddo, a new chilled red from West Pawlet’s Farmer Wines. She poured me a glass of her Florecita Rockera sparkling coferment on my birthday. On several Sunday mornings, Carrillo’s husband and co-owner, Nathan D’Aversa, has gathered a crowd to watch Premier League soccer. (Go Gunners.) The most surprisingly delightful visit, though, was for a hot dog. In July, Carrillo recruited her mom to make Colombian hot dogs, a popular street food where her family is from. They sold out in two hours. Mine was the most loaded dog I’ve ever had. Topped with pink sauce, mustard, mozzarella, pineapple sauce and crushed potato chips — with optional quail eggs and pickled onions — it was all at once savory, sweet, crunchy and a little drippy. I smiled the whole time I ate it, which wasn’t very long, to be fair. The Little City is lucky to have 10 Green Street — and now Castel’s Jerk Joint, with its excellent Jamaican food — to spice things up. — J.B. Farm to Flame The Shepherd’s Hearth, Danville. Note: The Shepherd’s Hearth is on winter break and will post 2026 public event dates in the spring. A duck egg frittata from the Shepherd’s Hearth Credit: File: Jeb Wallace-Brodeur I showed up at the Capital City Farmers Market in Montpelier early on a mid-June morning eager to see what the Shepherd’s Hearth team would whip up. Make that fire up. The market vendor makes everything on-site with ingredients sourced almost exclusively that day from their fellow farmers and food producers. Intrinsic to the operation is a Brazilian-style, 6.5-foot-high, custom-welded grill on wheels. Chef Jesse Kaufman, who runs the itinerant food business with his wife, Lucia, cooks the menu over the live fire. Plenty of vendors at Vermont’s many markets serve good food, from farmers griddling breakfast sandwiches and juicy burgers to entrepreneurs sharing global dishes of their native lands. But Kaufman’s menu is on a different level. As one appreciative customer said, the fare could easily have been served at any of the state’s farm-to-table destination restaurants. That Saturday, the menu included a duck egg frittata with bacon-leek sausage and fromage blanc; smashed, Greek-style beef meatballs with butter-roasted carrots; and miso-maple chicken with bok choy. I’ll have to wait until next year’s outdoor cooking season to see if Kaufman repeats a favorite of Em Virzi of Northfield’s Union Brook Farm, whose eggs and sausage starred in the fluffy, yolk-bright frittata. “‘Give me more chicken hearts’ is not what I normally say when someone feeds me chicken hearts,” Virzi said with a grin. — M.P. Wild Times Wilder Wines, 210 College St., Burlington, 540-1048 Sipha Lam at Wilder Wines Credit: File: Daria Bishop 2025 was the year of the wine bar. Bar Renée, Wilder Wines and La Reprise all opened in Burlington in the spring, each with its own personality. I love them all. The surge of places to drink good wine from good people is great for Vermont’s wine world. My favorite sip from the three was Wilder Wines’ lambrusco spritz. The lower-alcohol option is a combination of its namesake Italian sparkling red wine, Ghia nonalcoholic aperitif, grapefruit juice and a Castelvetrano olive — all served over pebble ice, the unequivocal best kind. Owner Sipha Lam mentioned the drink in January, when we reported on her tiny natural wine shop’s move and expansion to College Street. When she opened her gorgeous new bar and slightly larger retail shop in May, the spritz was the first thing I tried. (I’d been dreaming about it the whole time.) Since then, I’ve enjoyed stunning glasses of rosé with nectarine-ricotta toast in Wilder’s cozy couch-chairs; picked up bottles of Mexican wine and Spanish vermouth; and learned a thing or two from the smart, welcoming staff. The spritz isn’t exactly a winter drink, but I’m sure things will keep sparkling there into 2026. — J.B. The Sweetest Thing Holy Halvah, 28 North St., Bristol Halvah and tahini sundaes at Holy Halvah Credit: >Melissa Pasanen © Seven Days I first tasted Rebecca Freedner’s version of halvah, the sesame-based Middle Eastern confection, at the Shelburne Farmers Market. For a uniquely Vermont spin, she’d sweetened it with her Lincoln neighbor’s certified-organic maple syrup. As people caught wind of how good the crumbly, melt-on-your-tongue Holy Halvah was, the business took off. Earlier this year, after Holy Halvah had outgrown her home kitchen, Freedner rented a production space in downtown Bristol. As the weather warmed, inspiration struck. Freedner and her partner, Shaun Dedrickson, had always suggested customers try halvah crumbled over ice cream. Why not put their advice into action with a seasonal creemee stand? I practically drooled into the phone as Freedner described plans to top local dairy creemees with shards of her original white sesame halvah or a newer version made with black sesame tahini. The sundaes could also be gilded with warm, maple-salted tahini drizzle; maple whipped cream; and caramelized bananas. When I finally got to spoon a sundae into my mouth, it was better than I could have imagined: a savory-sweet, creamy delight shot through with ripples of texture. Holy Halvah is available year-round at local stores for DIY halvah sundaes. For Freedner’s inspired creations, hang tight until she starts swirling again in May. — M.P. Peace on Earth Peace Burger at Afterthoughts, 8 Route 17, Waitsfield, 261-7465, Burgers and fries at Peace Burger Credit: File: Jordan Barry For our Food Issue in June, we took a road trip. Well, several road trips — six of us headed out for movable feasts at recently opened restaurants around Vermont. I went to Waitsfield for a really excellent burger. Aaron Zurcher opened his bar-side burger joint in January at Afterthoughts, conveniently located above Valley Meade cannabis dispensary, in case your munchies need a jump start. Peace Burger is fast-food inspired, serving rip-offs of American classics. But it’s way better than what you can get at a drive-through. And there are crinkle fries! The burgers are made with ground beef from nearby 5th Quarter — which had its own banner year, expanding and rebranding as the new owner of Mad River Taste Place and landing local meats on pretty much every menu everywhere. Zurcher is a genius at topping combos and ratios, original or otherwise. This summer, I had the Roundup: a double smash patty with bacon, American cheese, crispy onions, pickled jalapeños and barbecue sauce. Pickle burgers, Thanksgiving turkey burgers and Caesar-inspired Brutus burgers with hot Calabrian chile sauce are reasons for me to make return trips. This winter, sled down the mountain and grab yourself a burger. You can thank me later. — J.B. Barfly Dreams La Reprise, 388 Pine St., Burlington, 540-2891 Clockwise from left: Papardelle, Clos Sainte Magdeleine rosé, tomato toast, Oddero “Convento” red wine, steak tartare and halibut at La Reprise Credit: File: Daria Bishop Cue the tiny violins to play a lament for the food writer who wants very much to become a regular somewhere but is always bustling on to try the next new place instead. If she were to have her wish, however, you might find her hanging out with a glass of Sancerre and a crunchy gem lettuce salad with radishes, candied pecans and shaved Gruyère at the beautifully tiled bar of La Reprise. The wine bar, store and restaurant rose like a phoenix from the ashes of Dedalus this year. Chef Brian Popov’s menu is succinct but always on point. Pastas are perfectly al dente and sauced with skill, seafood is handled with the delicate touch it requires (but is so rarely accorded), and vegetarian mains never feel like second-class citizens. The expansive wine list comes with expert guidance from the staff, led by La Reprise owner Ari Sadri. One summer’s eve, Sadri suggested a glass of crisp, salt-kissed Clos Sainte Magdeleine rosé to pair with a fat slab of toast slathered with garlic aioli and juicy tomato pulp, then crowned with sheer ribbons of ham. I would belly up to the bar for that any day of the week. — M.P. An Evening of Bliss Bliss Farm, 74 High St., Chester From left: Beth Herbert, Nevin Taylor and Tyler Akabane in the Bliss Farm barn kitchen Credit: File: Jordan Barry This one’s not just a best bite of the year, it’s a best night of the year. On Fridays and Saturdays from June through October, Beth Herbert and Nevin Taylor host dinners on their small Chester farm. The barn beckons with string lights and fresh-picked flowers. Herbert brings in squash and peppers and herbs from the garden, and Taylor — a chef with all the chops in the world — transforms it into dinner for 30. I was at Bliss Farm on an extra-special night in July, when the couple’s friend and Somerville, Mass., mushroom man Tyler Akabane showed up with heaps of yellow chanterelles, lobster mushrooms and chicken of the woods. People get a little worked up about Boston encroaching on the Green Mountains, but it’s nice to experience an injection of energy from its big-city food scene every once in a while — especially when our local industry folks have ties there as strong as Taylor and Hebert’s are. As the team prepped mounds of mushrooms in the barn’s kitchen, with a pizza oven glowing right outside, the vibe was all Vermont. I chomped into a crostini with chanterelles, whipped ricotta and corn, sharing BYOB beer with tablemates-turned-friends under the setting sun. — J.B. Double Doughnuts Hudak Farm, 599 St. Albans Rd., Swanton, 527-1147. Note: Hudak makes cider doughnuts only in September and October. Mr. Creemee, 377 Pine St., Burlington Left: Hudak Farm’s cider doughnuts. Right: Mr. Creemee doughnut sandwich Credit: File photos: Melissa Pasanen and Jordan Barry< The Seven Days food team has a well-documented love affair with doughnuts. This year, we’re indulging in a twofer. My pick was an exceptional, from-scratch cider doughnut freshly fried in lard at Hudak Farm in Swanton, available in September and October. Not only is this one of the few places to find the Vermont fall classic prepared without the aid of a packaged mix, but the gingerbread-house farm store and quirky antique fryer make a visit there a slam dunk. It’s a tease to get readers excited about something they can’t taste until next September, though. So allow us also to shout out the recently opened Mr. Creemee on Pine Street in Burlington, an expansion of Little Gordo Creemee Stand on South Union Street. (The latter is now under the Mr. Creemee umbrella and open year-round, too.) On top of churning out housemade creemees, Mr. Creemee bakes fresh pastries, including delectable doughnuts such as eggnog crème-filled and strawberry cheesecake. My fellow food writer, Jordan Barry, described the doughnut creemee sandwich as “a fluffy yet structurally thoughtful cinnamon-sugar doughnut sliced in half and stuffed with a creemee swirl” — an all-seasons treat. — M.P. How Now, Brown Spirits? High Drive Distillery, 2703 Bridgman Hill Rd., Hardwick, 472-8889. Available at 802 Spirits stores around Vermont. Corn, barley, clover and rye, some of the ingredients grown at High Drive Distillery Credit: File: Jeb Wallace-Brodeur The 250 acres of organic corn, rye, oats and barley fields sprawled over Nick and Taylor Meyer’s Hardwick hilltop look much as they did for the 40 years it was a dairy farm. But in the barn, the brothers have swapped cows for booze. They’ve filled the former milking parlor with shiny tanks and a hybrid copper still. Barrels full of whiskey slumber, awaiting release. I first sampled High Drive Distillery’s spirits in May, when Juniper Bar Restaurant bar manager Kate Wise texted about a new gin I had to try. She’s a trustworthy source when it comes to booze, so I stopped in for a refreshing Crimson and Clover cocktail as soon as I could. The drink’s name nods to one of High Drive’s very Vermonty botanicals: the state flower. Red clover grows in fields all over the farm and was a favorite snack for the dairy cows. Tasting the smooth, floral gin again with Nick and Taylor in their future on-farm tasting room — after which I sampled their now-released bourbon and rye — I wondered briefly what the cows would think. A few sips later, I thought, Moo cares? — J.B. No Fooling The Wise Fool, 260 North St., Burlington Becca Christie and Elliot Sion Credit: File: Daria Bishop Elliot Sion grew up in Manhattan amid the city’s glorious culinary smorgasbord, raised on the cooking of his Jewish-Egyptian-Syrian family and halal street carts. The Wise Fool restaurant — which the former Honey Road chef opened in Burlington’s Old North End this year with his wife, Becca Christie — honors both with its affordable yet high-quality menu of the Middle Eastern diaspora. Generous family platter combos star Sion’s excellent marinated chicken shawarma, herby falafel or spiced kofta made with local beef. Chunky fries crunch satisfyingly, and griddle-freckled, housemade laffa bread is soft and flaky. Do not miss the fatayer — though I highlight them to my own detriment, since the kitchen makes a limited number daily. The small, triangular, savory Lebanese pies are made with laffa dough, filled with cheese or kofta beef, and served with a lemon wedge. The cheese version, with its savory mixture of creamy Bulgarian sheep’s milk feta, herbs and fried onions, is especially good. Race you there. — M.P. Club Sandwich Garam Tava Club, pop-ups in Chittenden and Addison counties, @garamtavaclub on Instagram Bombay Frankie (right) and other dishes from Garam Tava Club Credit: File: Jordan Barry Katherine Patel told me she hasn’t run out of things to do with vegetables, but if she did only one thing — the Bombay Frankie — I’d be fine with it. Patel launched her Garam Tava Club pop-up and catering biz in March. In the fall, she held regular events at Tandem in Bristol and Red Wagon Plants in Hinesburg. The Frankie is her most popular item, a “cult classic” street dish from Mumbai, Patel explained, of roti filled with richly spiced potato; shredded carrot, cabbage and onion; green chutney; and fresh chile vinegar. Patel rolls each flatbread by hand and cooks them on a tava, the flat steel stovetop pan that gives her business its name. My first bite of the handheld wrap reminded me of the approximately 10,000 achari paneer kati rolls I ate at the Kati Roll Company on MacDougal Street while slogging through grad school at New York University. But it was better: fresher, spicier, crunchier, and wrapped in roti that’s somehow pillowy and chewy at the same time. I’ll follow Garam Tava Club wherever it goes next year. Nothing snaps you out of winter doldrums quite like vibrant Western Indian flavors and blaring Bollywood music. — J.B. Winging It Zabby Elf’s Stone Soup, 211 College St., Burlington, 862-7616 A plate of hot and cold bar selections, including Misty Knoll wings, at Stone Soup Credit: Melissa Pasanen © Seven Days Chicken wings are everywhere, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when someone told me that Burlington’s best could be found on the hot bar at Zabby Elf’s Stone Soup. Turns out, these chicken wings come with a pedigree, an intriguing backstory involving recipe secrets. But mostly, they are just really good and unlike any other wing around. The daily wing roast is expertly handled by Stone Soup co-owner Avery Rifkin, who follows a recipe that his business partner, Tim Elliott, “borrowed” many years ago from the late, legendary Five Spice Café. The bronzed wings come out with sticky, caramelized skin. Bittersweet molasses balances a soft buzz of heat from loads of black pepper and sambal chile sauce. Elliott fervently believes that recipes belong to everyone, and he’ll gladly share this one with anyone who asks. It’s easier, though, to just fly by Stone Soup and grab a dozen. — M.P. Work of Tarte Café Monette, 97 N. Main St., St. Albans, 782-8079 Right: Onion tarte tatin at Café Monette Credit: Owen Leavey Each year, a restaurant opens that we just know will be good. This year, I wasn’t psychic — I met the Café Monette team for a preview a couple of months before the St. Albans spot launched. Under the auspices of interviewing Adam Monette, Tyler Comeau and Henry Long about their teacher-student mentorship, I sampled their RD versions of housemade pâté and Toulouse sausage. After the chic, French-ish restaurant threw open its garage doors in August, I learned they’d held back a real banger: the onion tarte tatin. It was sumptuously savory, with a quenelle of Boursin cheese atop layers of silky caramelized onions atop flaky pastry. I’d like to eat it several times, with different glasses of damn cool natty wine from the carefully curated list. (Gut Oggau? Get outta here.) The service was great, the produce was local, there were baguettes for the road, and Café Monette’s trio of partners seemed to be having a bunch of fun through the window in the open kitchen. Good, indeed. — J.B. The original print version of this article was headlined “Decidedly Delicious | Dig into our favorite bites and sips of 2025” The post Seven Days Food Writers Share Their Best Bites of 2025 appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less