Local Ingredients: Carpenter & Main

When I was up in Norwich, Vermont a few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to get a chance to dine at Carpenter & Main.

After some research and many group emails later, Alicia contacted the restaurant to make a reservation.  Since there were nine food bloggers with distinctive food preferences and allergies, she asked if the restaurant if Carpenter & Main could create a prix fixe menu for us.  We were all thrilled when they happily obliged.

When we arrived, we were seated at a semi-private dining room.  There were a few tables finishing up their dinners when we arrived and for most of the evening we had the room to ourselves.  I liked that they displayed local artwork in our room.

I was also happy to find that Carpenter & Main utilizes as many local ingredients as possible and proudly state it on their menu.

 To start, we were offered an amuse bouche of white bean cassoulet. 

This was the perfect bite for a cool end-of-summer evening.

We also indulged in a few bottles of bubbly.  Who could say no to champagne?

Despite baking and nibbling all day, we were all pretty hungry and eagerly munched on the dinner rolls.  To be honest, I found that the bread was a little bland and lacking salt.

The dinner roll became a distant memory as I perused the menu.  The restaurant gave us a lot of different options for each course and it was hard to choose.

 

The house pate was delicious even if it didn't photograph well.  Although I loved the toasted bread, pate and mustard, the real star for me were the pickled greens.  They were sharp and helped cut the richness of this dish.

I couldn't resist the fennel pollen crusted halibut with its accompanying carrots, spinach and fennels.  Although I am not a fan of tomato based soups, this tomato saffron broth had a lot of great flavors and because it was a broth, it was nicely thinned.

And then came dessert....

When I saw the cream soda float with coffee ice cream and chocolate hazelnut donuts, I knew it was the right dessert for me.  I thought a milkshake and donuts was so whimsical that I couldn't help but order it.

It was a wonderful leisurely meal and the perfect way to end a wonderful day at King Arthur Flour.  Thanks Alicia for organizing this great meal and a special thanks to Carpenter & Main for being so accomodating!

Carpenter & Main is located at 326 Main Street, Norwich, Vermont.