6/20/2014
Location
Downtown Burlington
86 Saint Paul Street, Burlington, VT
What I ate
Arctic char crudo bite
Cheese plate - smoked windsordale with pickled radishes, candied walnuts, and a maple-sherry gastrique
Octopus terrine with salami vinaigrette and fennel
Five-hour braised flatiron with roasted potatoes and carrots and jalapeno mashed potatoes
Maple Tap - frozen maple custard, poached rhubarb, oatmeal crust
Beer & Chocolate - chocolate mousse with stout curd and almond cake
What I drank
Maine Beer Company - Lunch
Website
Thoughts
Whoa! I've been writing this blog for almost six years (!) and that has to be the longest "What I ate" section. From the outset, the folks at Bluebird Tavern were nice and generous. The amuse, cheese plate, and second dessert were given without asking, rounding out my meal and then some. I went there after a long week of work, looking for a delicious, filling meal and was certainly not disappointed.
Though they certainly checked the box for quantity, they didn't neglect quality. The crudo was light, tasty, and just the right kind of fishy - a nice way to start the meal. I wouldn't have put those things together on the cheese plate, but each part was great and they worked off of each other. I've come to the conclusion that I can't have a whole pickle plate to myself since it's just too much of that flavor, but they small handful of radishes were delicious. The cheese didn't have a strong taste to itself, but it helped smooth the transition between the radishes and walnuts. The house-made bread was also quite good.
I hadn't had octopus before and listened to a piece on it recently, so it was an obvious choice. I'm happy to have gotten it, but I'm also glad it was sandwiched between all of the great food. The octopus didn't taste like much by itself. That may be a little unfair - the whole bite of octopus, dressing, and fennel was quite good - but I ordered the dish because I wanted to taste octopus.
After my long week, I was hoping for that full, content feeling after this meal. The braised flatiron was a delicious, fancy way to do just that. If I picked up my knife, it was only to cut a potato. The occasional roasted carrot gave that little hit of sweetness that, with the background heat of the jalapeno mashed potatoes, kept the dish from being heavy. This is probably a good place to mention that the beer was also delicious. Their website says it has "intense hop flavors" but, either because I haven't had many beers that do that right or because of the context of the meal, I found it refreshing, a good complement to my food. Thanks for the tip, Suzie!
Of course I still had room for dessert! I had so much trouble deciding that I asked the waitress if she could talk the kitchen into some sort of small sampler. I'm sure this annoyed them; sorry, Bluebird kitchen! If I knew I'd be in town longer and could come back, I would have gone multiple times and tried each one. I settled on the Vermontiest one of the bunch. The textures were a little weird - I had trouble taking off small pieces of the crust, but it's entirely possible I was just doing it incorrectly. The rhubarb was also just a bit too tart by itself. That said, once I was able to get a bite of all three parts, it was easy to see why they were on the plate together. I had to take most of the beer & chocolate home, but it was great, too. The ribbon of almond cake through the mousse was a great touch.
The atmosphere was nice - small place with a nice, slightly rustic edge - and I was able to catch a little bit of World Cup from afar. More importantly, my waitress was awesome. She talked candidly about much of the menu and dealt with my curiosities, even when I was dangerously close to being a character on Portlandia. When I dine alone, I generally want to just focus on the food. She helped me understand my food and the restaurant, elevating my whole experience. If my receipt is to be believed, her name is Lindsey. I won't be back in Burlington any time soon, so someone reading this should go thank her for me.
Though they certainly checked the box for quantity, they didn't neglect quality. The crudo was light, tasty, and just the right kind of fishy - a nice way to start the meal. I wouldn't have put those things together on the cheese plate, but each part was great and they worked off of each other. I've come to the conclusion that I can't have a whole pickle plate to myself since it's just too much of that flavor, but they small handful of radishes were delicious. The cheese didn't have a strong taste to itself, but it helped smooth the transition between the radishes and walnuts. The house-made bread was also quite good.
I hadn't had octopus before and listened to a piece on it recently, so it was an obvious choice. I'm happy to have gotten it, but I'm also glad it was sandwiched between all of the great food. The octopus didn't taste like much by itself. That may be a little unfair - the whole bite of octopus, dressing, and fennel was quite good - but I ordered the dish because I wanted to taste octopus.
After my long week, I was hoping for that full, content feeling after this meal. The braised flatiron was a delicious, fancy way to do just that. If I picked up my knife, it was only to cut a potato. The occasional roasted carrot gave that little hit of sweetness that, with the background heat of the jalapeno mashed potatoes, kept the dish from being heavy. This is probably a good place to mention that the beer was also delicious. Their website says it has "intense hop flavors" but, either because I haven't had many beers that do that right or because of the context of the meal, I found it refreshing, a good complement to my food. Thanks for the tip, Suzie!
Of course I still had room for dessert! I had so much trouble deciding that I asked the waitress if she could talk the kitchen into some sort of small sampler. I'm sure this annoyed them; sorry, Bluebird kitchen! If I knew I'd be in town longer and could come back, I would have gone multiple times and tried each one. I settled on the Vermontiest one of the bunch. The textures were a little weird - I had trouble taking off small pieces of the crust, but it's entirely possible I was just doing it incorrectly. The rhubarb was also just a bit too tart by itself. That said, once I was able to get a bite of all three parts, it was easy to see why they were on the plate together. I had to take most of the beer & chocolate home, but it was great, too. The ribbon of almond cake through the mousse was a great touch.
The atmosphere was nice - small place with a nice, slightly rustic edge - and I was able to catch a little bit of World Cup from afar. More importantly, my waitress was awesome. She talked candidly about much of the menu and dealt with my curiosities, even when I was dangerously close to being a character on Portlandia. When I dine alone, I generally want to just focus on the food. She helped me understand my food and the restaurant, elevating my whole experience. If my receipt is to be believed, her name is Lindsey. I won't be back in Burlington any time soon, so someone reading this should go thank her for me.
Recap
Pros - Great food and plenty of it, nice, helpful waitress
Cons - Nothing stands out as negative.
Overall - Go for a special (or not-so-special) occasion. I certainly spent more than I do on an average dinner, but it was well worth it. If I lived in Burlington, this would be high on my go-to list for a nice night out.
