Planning a December Vermont visit..need some help

Yeah. Not too many options to staying in Waterbury area. During winter might be difficult due to skiing season. Burlington (and South Burlington) offer quite a bit of hotels that's about 45 mins away. Also, there's a couple in Williston (30 mins away). There's several B&Bs in the region if you're looking into something like that. I'd suggest booking a room as soon as you confirm your schedule.

 

I may also be up in Burlington from December 31-January 2nd. Anyone know if HF will be open and if heady topper will be available to buy in cans around that time? I remember reading heady isn't always readily available in stores. Probably will be a lot of people from out of town in the area too.

 

are you a foodie? some will say you don't need to be a foodie (just watch) to enjoy Hen in the Woods.
i've not been there, but I will go one of these days.

http://www.henofthewood.com/

 

Honestly, if you are a beer fan and a foodie, I'd save you're $$$ dinner for Farmhouse in Burlington. Hen of the Wood is just not worth the $$$$. The food very good, but I don't think the food is worth the price.

 

Agree with dunix. I went for the first time this year and I was completely unimpressed. It's hyped as one of the best, but honestly, I've had better service and food at much less costly places. There's a great view, but I just feel it's not worth the money. The Farmhouse Tap & Grill has comparable (or better) food and much better drink selection.

 

I disagree, I think Hen of the Wood is a better value, yes it is more expensive, atmosphere is far superior, the food is better, the service far exceeds Farmhouse IHMO. The only thing that Farmhouse has, is a more extensive beer list.

 

yea, hard to call Farmhouse a better value...$17 lamb burger, lol.

The only thing they beat Hen of the Wood on is a larger beer selection.

 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, but in my opinion, one of the best food experiences you could possibly have in the state of Vermont is at Misery Loves Co. in Winooski, conveniently located just around the corner from the sprawling selection at Beverage Warehouse. They just opened, so as of now they only carry a couple of craft libations on tap (Citizen Cider, Trapp, Stone and a couple others) but they are inline for HF, and plan on getting some Shelton Bros goodies, including Mikkeler! Seriously though, don't miss out, their sandwiches are works of art.

 

Too each their own. But I'd say posting on a beer forum, Farmhouse would be a better choice. Hen of the Wood was nice because it was the only place with Heady on draft, but if you only get one pint + a meal, you'll spend less at Farmhouse and get "almost" as good food. Hen of the Wood does have an amazing cheese plate selection tho.

 

That $17 Farmhouse burger always sticks in my craw when the bill comes. Try the new Worthy Burger in So. Royalton - super-casual, fast, options to choose from, killer taplist (lots of HFB & Lawson's) and an effort to keep prices down. Too bad it's so far south of me, but when enroute on I-89, it really hits the spot and doesn't feel like such a wicked splurge.

 

Farmhouse is crowded, noisy, has a passing resemblance to the McDonald's it once was and is overpriced but has a lot of great beer. Hen of the Wood is uncrowded, quiet, beautiful and overpriced with a small list of good beer. HOTW food is significantly better. Eat at HOTW and then stroll into the village to drink at Blackback, the Pig or Reservoir.

 

This x100. Also, there's NO WAY farmhouse's food is better than hen of the wood. Their beer selection is far, far better, but hen of the wood isn't trying to be a beer destination. I'm genuinely shocked we're even having this discussion...

 

In Waterbury, has anyone been to Blue Stone Pizza yet? Apparently opened very recently and I saw one good review. They are supposed to have a bar but haven't seen a tap/bottle list anywhere. http://www.bluestonepizza.com/#

 

When I was at Hen of Woods, it was very crowed and loud, every table was full, and there was a couple of "parties" going on in the middle area. Much louder than even Farmhouse Tap & Grill. My wife and I could barely hear the server and had to shout just to hear each other. The service wasn't all that great and we had to wait over 15 minutes to get a glass of water, then another 15 minutes for them to return to take our order. The food tasted fine, but the whole experience wasn't enjoyable. I think we may have just had a very bad experience there, but for the money, even if a $$$$$ is having a busy and loud night, the service should still be at a certain level of friendliness.

 

are you sure you went to hen of the wood and not the reservoir?
There is no room for a party, let alone parties at HOTW.

 

Lol. Yes, it was the HotW. It took a while for us to get reservations, so we were really looking forward to trying the restuarant. I remember the middle part of HotWs has a table that's lower than the other floor. It wasn't a "party", just a group around 6-8 people around a large table. I've been to the Reservoir (and many other Waterbury establishments). I used to live in Richmond, so we were in Waterbury at least a few times per month.

 

Went to the HotW for dinner mid-November with some brewers whose beers were on there - great meal, awesome jazz trio, excellent service, and no one in "the pit" as they call the lower long table. However, we drank all wine that night as the sommelier was a friend of theirs. It was a truly memorable evening. I was a guest so have no idea what the bill came to - suspect I could never afford if I was paying! It will remain one of those "special occasion" places for me, I think. If the OP needs info on great places to eat in Montreal, BM me.