Haymaker Bun Company — Restaurant in Middlebury

The service was friendly, the drinks, muffin, fries and atmosphere were good, but sadly, overall, a disappointment. Stereotypical, bland VT food but with farm fresh ingredients. It was my second time giving this place a try and each time I had a similar experience.

They told us it was a 30 minute wait, which makes sense on weekend, but it ended up taking them an hour to get us fries, a $22 farrow bowl, and very small $22 chicken salad that had about as much flavor as my sleeve. The farrow bowl flavors (or lack there of) were almost exactly the same as my salad. Maybe we just got unlucky with how they prepared our food, maybe there are other better dishes on the menu… but still, based off of my two experiences there, I’d say fresh, quality ingredients, while present at Haymaker, are no substitute for a chef who actually knows how to consistently craft and deliver great tasting dishes. Although the chicken had zero taste the salad needed more of it (for what you’re paying) more fresh herbs as well as acid of some sort (lemon, balsamic, acv) in the dressing. The fries were decent but did not come with any kind of dipping sauce accept high fructose corn syrup ketchup you could get at the counter.

Perhaps they might consider sticking to baking, increasing meal size and skill/craft level of their dishes, upgrade their flavors or simply reduce their prices to match what you get. I understand there is very little competition in Middlebury in terms of high quality restaurants, and people are desperate to find worthwhile spots within VT’s slim selection, but come on, is this really James Beard...

We tried the Arcadian for diner for my mom's birthday. We specifically requested a table on the deck. We arrived on time and we're told that our table wasn't ready, but we could sit inside or wait at the bar. We decided to wait at the bar since it was hot and very noisy inside. The hostess was very nice, but seemed like she had a lot going on.

We waited at the bar for a long time. The bar tender ignored us for awhile then seemed disinterested in serving us. When our table was finally available, she seemed to be hinting that we should pay for our drinks at the bar rather than just adding it to the food bill at the end. Not sure why that would matter unless she was hoping to not share the tip.

I was going to go with 3 stars for this review based on what I've mentioned above, but the quality of the food and our waitress gave it a boost to 4 stars. The waitress was extremely nice and accommodating. She joked around with us some too and made us laugh. The food was very very good. They do have options other than pasta, but the pasta dishes definitely stole the show. Fresh and full of flavor.

I will definitely try the Arcadian again, but I'll opt to go earlier in the day on a slower night when they can actually...

ARCADIAN-Six of us had dinner out for my Mom’s 90th Birthday this evening. Almost an hour from Burlington, we had been to the location before, but not since it was the Arcadian. The Arcadian had just started dine-in seating again, and we had a reservation for 5PM. We felt welcomed from our entry to our exit. A seat in lower level with river view was the perfect place for our crew. A few words family used to describe the cocktails were creative, balanced and yummy. Brenna, our server was wonderful, engaging and animated, yet sincere. The food was fresh, prepared with thoughtful combinations of flavors and we all savored every bite. The owner came by the table with a bottle of homemade Toschi Nocello (walnut liquor) and 6 cordial glasses, announcing he wanted to do something special for a special persons Birthday. He poured us each a glass and left us to toast our amazing Mom. Though we were full, a few ordered dessert and it did not disappoint. It has been a long time time since the 6 of us had equally amazing meals. The was a fetè, as the Arcadian...