The Wildflower Restaurant and Pub — Restaurant in Lyndon

The restaurant is very cute and has a beautiful view. I was sitting outside and the hostess was kind enough to bring me extra blankets so I wouldn't get cold, which I've never had offered to me at a restaurant before and I really appreciated. It was nice until the swarm of mosquitoes came out after sundown, at which point I had to abandon the view and move to a table inside.

My waitress was sweet and friendly but inexperienced and didn't know the menu very well, and couldn't tell me what anything about the specials were other than what they were called. To her credit, she did go back to ask the kitchen staff and came back to me wit's the answers. It's clear that the restaurant is just hiring teenagers with a good attitude but not training them very well.

Unfortunately, the food was mediocre, bordering on bad, and so were the mixed drinks. The dishes were the kind I'd expect from an American restaurant that learned what fine dining was several decades ago, can't make it very well, and hasn't learned how to make anything new or different since. The portion sizes were very large, though, so if you're looking for old-fashioned American food made in huge American portions then this restaurant is for you.

The beer list had some great local beers but the Bee's Knees cocktail I ordered was awful. It was watered down (or maybe just very unbalanced - I don't think it was about cheaping out on alcohol, just an unknowledgeable bartender) and tasted like old lemon juice. I drank maybe half of it before I decided it wasn't...

I came for the music but stayed for the food. I came up here because Dave Keller , one of the best blues musicians in New England, happened to be performing when I was traveling around Vermont. This place really is like a Paradise. It’s an incredibly beautiful in with very tasteful rooms and common spaces including a game room. There’s also a beautiful indoor restaurant, a separate indoor bar lounge area, but I really enjoyed the outdoor lounge space with the live music music.

But back to the food: I’m not uploading a photograph of the food because the culinary team here wisely understands that it’s all about the taste, the taste, and the taste. They use local ingredients and have done some of the most basic cooking in the most delicate and delicious ways. For example, they had a special scallops, and also another one of Striped bass simply because those are in season now in New England, and they were able to get them for the fishmonger, and so there as fresh as if you were eating them on Cape Cod. They were accompanied by very delicate sauces, as to not overwhelmed the beautiful taste of the fish. A friend got a fantastic Berger, which was made with a local blue cheese, which was out of this world.

The setting here is incredible. It’s on a beautiful hill with nothing to see except nature at the sunsets.

This place is certainly worth a journey and definitely worth coming up to have a great meal and to...

We dine at Juniper's every year during our summer vacation in the Kingdom. The food has always been very good, which -- along with the spectacular view -- is why we return. But this year, our dinner was outstanding. We started by splitting a Darling Hill Summer Salad, which had caramelized onions, strawberries, blue cheese and maple candied walnuts. My wife ordered a special -- coconut-braised mahi-mahi -- and I had the codfish tacos, which delivered a satisfying crunch without any hint of greasiness, and were well dressed with guacamole, cilantro, tomatoes and onion. We both selected the garden veggies and roasted potatoes as our sides. Everything was perfectly prepared and beautifully plated. With our meals we enjoyed a couple of craft draft local beers. Service was spot-on, even though we were seated outside at the far end of the "communal table." As we finished our meal, the chef came out and cleared our dishes. Her personal engagement was gratifying and no doubt plays a large part in creating such a wonderful overall experience. We look forward to returning next summer -- and...