Hen of the Wood - Waterbury — Restaurant in Waterbury

We have mixed feelings if we would return. We dined here twice with very differing experiences. Our first visit was unplanned – we went early, got 2 seats at the bar and loved it. The bartender was super attentive and our meal was Michelin star worthy. Our 2nd visit was planned but left us confused on how our experiences could have been so very different. Make reservations unless you go early (5pm), are just 2 people and are prepared to eat at the bar. Hen has a fancy farm to table natural rustic feel with mixologists not bartenders. Our first dining experience, the mixologist was terrific, made excellent recommendations and just made the whole experience fun. We ordered fazzoletti – some of the best pasta ever and the plating really did not do it justice as it resembled something regurgitated. Hen of the wood mushroom HOTW toast - the challenge is to ensure each bite has the tasty combination of crunchy toast, gooey egg with the bacon and HOTW mushroom. Oysters were perfect and served with multiple sauces to enhance the flavor. Cucumber spring turnip with duck egg , crispy bacon, herby buttermilk - somewhat bland. Striped bass and duck breast were cooked to perfection. We did not care for the carrot puree. Duck was cooked rare but the presentation was obscured by baby arugula. Dessert 3 cheeses was a nice variety but the crackers coated in a sugar were inedible. We were unable to find a wine by the glass that we liked after trying/having 3 different ones. Dish delivery timing was ideal – every item arrived in prompt order after we’d finish a dish and moved seamless into the next. Otherwise, we were in heaven and could not wait for our next food experience at Hen of the Wood Waterbury.

NOTE: They say you are born with a preference for sugar or salt. By our 2nd visit it became very obvious that this chef had a strong preference for sweet (sugar crackers with cheese plate and sweet purees).

Our 2nd dining experience was disappointing. We sat in a nice booth and were eagerly anticipating curated feast. Timing was off from the start – everything took awhile to arrive which is unexpected on a Wed at 5:45pm. Hen does not provide any kind of complimentary snack/bread while you wait so we ordered the parker house rolls – this was not a must have. The ½ dz oysters were great and did not disappoint. Not sure what we were expecting with the fried green tomatoes but it different but not something we would order again. The heirloom tomato panzanella was uninteresting. The hen of wood arrived but it felt like we received a half order – at the same time, two servers brought what looked like two ½ hen of wood dishes and then got confused and left us with one of them. The toast was in half and only 1 piece of bacon. The homemade pasta pansotti was delivered looking not great but unlike the fazzoletti the pansotti did not taste great – the stuffing was not optimal. The NY strip for Two – umm, are these 2 people on a diet? It was not enough food for 2 non-dieting adults to eat – maybe 1.5 adults would be a stretch. The striped bass was served on a pureed green something – perhaps one day we will eat it with a mouse in a house in the rain on a train (Seuss) but the bass was good and the green gunk needed to go (and we love and eat prolific vegetables and up until now have yet to meet a vegetable we did not like). The pac choi was great but with anchovies (ok) but some unknown yellow sauce not listed on the menu. In terms of drinks, this time we stuck to beer and mixed drinks and...

The hype! The HYPE. I’d heard such high praise for this place. “Best in Vermont”, was thrown around quite a bit. Getting a reservation was difficult, which, with the reputation, is understandable. I was exited to try it.

Parker house rolls - good, the radish butter was dumb. The radish added nothing to the dish, besides a pretentious “flourish”.

Smoked coppa - I mean, a big fat plate of thin sliced coppa, drizzled with a tiny bit of olive oil. This was ok, I guess, but there wasn’t even anything to go with it. Just the big plate of cured meat. Funny, kind of.

Ordered 3 cheeses - 1.25” cubes of cheese that you can find in any decent shop around here for $10 a piece, with some arguably delicious apple butter, mediocre crackers, and 7 candied hazelnuts. Silly.

Crispy skate cheeks, and whatever slaw that it came on - it was just deep fried fish nuggies, on a nondescript “slaw”. Totally forgettable.

I ordered the crispy rabbit leg, with hot honey, and radicchio. Wow was this disappointing. With the “crispy” skate cheeks, I guess should have known was what coming, but did not expect what arrived. It was a small football sized mass of chicken fried rabbit (maybe it was chicken thighs, glued together with Activa RM. I couldn’t verify), with some barely seasoned, wilted radicchio literally draped over it, Totally bland, and the honey was a complete absentee. The radicchio was laughable - you had to toss these leaves to the side, in order to see the thing in its full glory. They were like an anticipatory cloak to be pulled back, revealing, the most beautiful deep fried mound of flesh the world has ever seen. There was a ludicrous amount of breading on the rabbit, and since there was no sauce or moisture of any kind, I had to choke it down with water. I was expecting something delicious, like a slow cooked leg with crispy skin, drizzled in a hot honey sauce, with a side of sautéed radicchio, served on a bed of the creamy polenta, or SOMETHING. That is what this dish should have been. I almost audibly laughed when it came out. I was halfway to incensed that they’d pawn this breaded and fried hunk of fairground food as anything close to fine dining. What a joke.

Side of creamy polenta - star of the whole show.

Overall, the whole meal felt like it was phoned in, like the chef was just plain out of ideas. Hen of the Wood is not great, nor is it close to “fine dining”. It seems like it’s supposed to be an attempt at creativity, but it’s just gastropub grub in a fancy restaurant setting. Definitely not worth the big talk. At all. There’s a tiny little restaurant down in Randolph that cooks circles around this place, if you want this type of food, but better. Don’t waste your time, or money here if you’re expecting...

Hen of the Woods is the best of what Vermont is. It is a fierce, independent, and likeable place. Likeable because the atmosphere and space have a finesse, service, and quality to it. Independent because the menu includes many locally fresh ingredients. Fierce because the restaurant and kitchen staff work to combine those local ingredients to make flavorful and healthy combinations. Maple and mushroom are abound.

Though I visited in early July, the menu stood out and so did the food. The cocktails had interesting notes in them, and I remember a particular cocktail activating different flavor response in my mouth. You know the kind, where the sweet and sour travels up the lining of your jaw. The spicy and hot stays in your mouth, and the softening punch of the alcohol puts your mind in a different place. (Drink responsibly, folks!)

Hen Of The Woods is named after a fungi that is readily available and harvested in the woods of Vermont. Harvesting it, though, requires someone to know what they are doing, they need to find the right areas with specific biodynamic qualities. That might mean that the woodsy area needs to be the right kind of moisture and season, usually from September to November. And this species of fungi is typically found on the ground, as Hen Of The Woods is typically a fungi that feeds on the root systems of mature trees.

Vermont is also known for it's maple syrup production. This is also a resource intensive product that takes lots of time and planning, but produces a sweetener that is a bit more nutrient dense than regular processed sugar.

Good menus are a nexus for the exploration of a region's agricultural output. And Hen Of The Woods is a great restaurant from which to start your tour of the various kind of farms and foragers that feed the state. I recommend coming here and exploring the various kinds of food, and from there, reaching out to a local grocery store or maple syrup harvester to see if they offer tours.

Up the interstate is Burlington, which offers a few venues and services that any city center provides. You will not be disappointed by making Waterbury your first destination.

Remember to plan for a reservation by making it ahead of your arrival. Our visit was planned about two weeks ahead. Dress nice, if you want.

You...