hen of the wood

I have a crush on Hen of the Wood.

For whatever reason, I cannot get this to rotate.

Two nights in a row, my folks and I dined at Hen of the Wood. This was night one. The dinners were sating, and now I'm back to hard-boiled eggs with sea salt, and peanut butter and banana to sustain me.

martini, up, olives, on this stowe street on the saturday night. i've recently been trading these in for a slew of spanish wines, mostly monsants, and the occasional stray to argentinian malbecs, to commemorate a friend's trip to the patagonian andes. well, and then there's el nido's clio, which i even drink with lunch.

but on this night, and at most meals out, I begin with gin and end with bourbon.

a nightly-changing menu.

menu negotiations

we drank our "welcome" sparkling while we planned our attack.

settlement:

Hen of the Woods Mushrooms

Vermont Bacon, Poached Egg & Red Hen Bakery Bread

Crispy Fried Oysters
Aioli with Tarragon, Cornichons & Capers

Rhode Island Calamari

( i rarely stray from these starters, their mainstays)

with these above, we

Braised Greens with Smoked Chilies, Lemon, and Breadcrumbs

Winding Brook Farm Pork Loin (Art Meade, the farmer, is my neighbor. Love him, love his pork.)

Glazed Local Turnips & Valentine Radishes with Housemade Red Wine Mustard

Winding Brook Farm Lamb Shanks

Organic Main Beans with Local Cipollini Onions & Green Olive Salsa Verde

Vermont Highlands Cattle Co. Hanger Steak

Crushed Local Potatoes & Grilled Pete's Farm Sweet Onions