• Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!

    You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!

The "Sugarbush Thread"

ducky

Active member
Joined
Nov 18, 2017
Messages
301
Points
28
Location
Waitsfield, VT
Mad Burger (of Mad Taco) is going into the old Purple Moon/Shepherds Pub. They have been operating out of the Hostel Tevere this summer.

Also heard the folks from the Common Man will be running food service at The Pitcher Inn and Tracks.

My favorite new place from Royalton is Worthy Burger for their tur-duck-en burger with blue cheese and bacon served with Poutine fries. They'll be in the old Jay's. They're doing a full rebuild and redesign with a big bar down the back wall and no divider up the middle.

The hornets are nesting high this year.
 
Last edited:

cdskier

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
6,417
Points
113
Location
NJ
Also heard the folks from the Common Man will be running food service at The Pitcher Inn and Tracks.

I heard as well that Adam will be taking over there as chef when I was up in the valley this weekend. On a related note, I still can't believe Common Man is becoming condos. That was such a beautiful building for a restaurant, although I can see why it is tough to have a successful restaurant in the non-winter in that location.
 

tumbler

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 10, 2014
Messages
1,404
Points
83
I heard as well that Adam will be taking over there as chef when I was up in the valley this weekend. On a related note, I still can't believe Common Man is becoming condos. That was such a beautiful building for a restaurant, although I can see why it is tough to have a successful restaurant in the non-winter in that location.

I am honestly bummed out to hear that the people from the Common Man will be taking over Pitcher Inn and Tracks. It has already gone through a change making the upstairs and Tracks the same menu. Yes, upstairs was expensive but worth every penny and was the best food in the Valley. I wonder how this will effect their Relaix & Chauteax membership. Food is a huge part of that. I found their food at the Common Man meh and the menu was small and never changing. I was also very put off that they did not have a kids menu and would charge $20 for a pasta with butter. I hope that they do not change the menu and make it smaller than it already is.

As for a restaurant being successful in that location? When Mike owned it was tremendously successful year round. That was the place in the Valley to get a high quality meal and the atmosphere was great.

I am looking forward to Worthy Burger and good news that Mad Burger is taking over the purple moon. I hope that two burger places can do well. If they do take out that would be even better...
 

cdskier

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
6,417
Points
113
Location
NJ
I am honestly bummed out to hear that the people from the Common Man will be taking over Pitcher Inn and Tracks. It has already gone through a change making the upstairs and Tracks the same menu. Yes, upstairs was expensive but worth every penny and was the best food in the Valley. I wonder how this will effect their Relaix & Chauteax membership. Food is a huge part of that. I found their food at the Common Man meh and the menu was small and never changing. I was also very put off that they did not have a kids menu and would charge $20 for a pasta with butter. I hope that they do not change the menu and make it smaller than it already is.

As for a restaurant being successful in that location? When Mike owned it was tremendously successful year round. That was the place in the Valley to get a high quality meal and the atmosphere was great.

I am looking forward to Worthy Burger and good news that Mad Burger is taking over the purple moon. I hope that two burger places can do well. If they do take out that would be even better...

I thought Pitcher Inn's food was amazing when Sue was the chef, but I never made it there last year and heard they had a different chef (Michael) so can't comment on the more recent changes that happened there.

Interesting that you say Adam's food was "meh". Personally I've always felt the same way but people seem to have loved his food so much that I'd often just not bother telling people I didn't care for it as I thought maybe it was just me. The few people I said that to seemed to think I was crazy.
 

HowieT2

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 22, 2009
Messages
1,626
Points
63
I thought Pitcher Inn's food was amazing when Sue was the chef, but I never made it there last year and heard they had a different chef (Michael) so can't comment on the more recent changes that happened there.

Interesting that you say Adam's food was "meh". Personally I've always felt the same way but people seem to have loved his food so much that I'd often just not bother telling people I didn't care for it as I thought maybe it was just me. The few people I said that to seemed to think I was crazy.

too funny. Ive always had this debate with my wife and daughter. they loved common man. I thought the menu was limited and the food good but nothing to get excited about.
psyched for the 2 new burger places.
 

Hawk

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 22, 2016
Messages
2,430
Points
113
Location
Mad River Valley / MA
I liked the common man. I liked it more when the original owners were in charge but Adam did a pretty good job. We ate there 2 or 3 times last year and I was not really disappointed. Critiquing food is really hard. Some peoples expectations are sometime so outrageous you can't tell if they just hate food. ;-) No really, everybody is different and so I never take anybody's opinion on food. I go myself and form my own opinion. On more than one occasion my wife and I have sat at the end of a meal and said "Glad we didn't listen to that person".

But what the valley does not need is more Burger joints. You can get a Neil farm burger in just about any restaurant in the valley. We need more diversity and more on the high end since Common Man went away and Pitcher Inn is changing although maybe not changing that much. I like the Tucker Hill Inn lately.
 

cdskier

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
6,417
Points
113
Location
NJ
But what the valley does not need is more Burger joints. You can get a Neil farm burger in just about any restaurant in the valley. We need more diversity and more on the high end since Common Man went away and Pitcher Inn is changing although maybe not changing that much. I like the Tucker Hill Inn lately.

I agree with this. That's why I'm personally interested to see what Sage ends up doing. I've liked Tucker Hill the handful of times I've been there. Peasant is still my go to for a good dinner, but I'd like more higher end choices as well. In terms of diversity, I hope Fit2Be Thai'd continues to stick around for a long time as they are awesome for something different (and are a tremendous value too in my opinion).
 

HowieT2

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 22, 2009
Messages
1,626
Points
63
I agree with this. That's why I'm personally interested to see what Sage ends up doing. I've liked Tucker Hill the handful of times I've been there. Peasant is still my go to for a good dinner, but I'd like more higher end choices as well. In terms of diversity, I hope Fit2Be Thai'd continues to stick around for a long time as they are awesome for something different (and are a tremendous value too in my opinion).

big fan of fit t b thaid.
I disagree about the burger situation. while its true u can get a burger anywhere, there really is a limited selection of places for reasonably priced bar food. CR pub closes before dinner. mad river barn is impossible to get into. I like dinos place in sb village but that's really it.
I have to go to too many fancy/expensive restaurants in my real world to have much of a desire for that up in the mrv.
As far as diversity, I'd like to see a sushi place and vietnamese.
 
Joined
Jan 18, 2010
Messages
662
Points
0
Location
spring mount, pa
I thought Pitcher Inn's food was amazing when Sue was the chef, but I never made it there last year and heard they had a different chef (Michael) so can't comment on the more recent changes that happened there.

Interesting that you say Adam's food was "meh". Personally I've always felt the same way but people seem to have loved his food so much that I'd often just not bother telling people I didn't care for it as I thought maybe it was just me. The few people I said that to seemed to think I was crazy.

+2...sue's food and mason's hospitality made pitcher inn one of my favorite dining experiences ever, totally worth the splurge. common man never excited me that much, menu or execution, but that is, like, just my opinion, man

with 2 little kids the menu nowadays is cooking at home and saving money
 

cdskier

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
6,417
Points
113
Location
NJ
I disagree about the burger situation. while its true u can get a burger anywhere, there really is a limited selection of places for reasonably priced bar food. CR pub closes before dinner. mad river barn is impossible to get into. I like dinos place in sb village but that's really it..

Hah. Dino's place is probably one of the few that I didn't care for (although I did like the sign over the bar about last call). What about Hyde Away, Localfolk, Blue Stone, or even Rumbles? Tucker Hill has a pub too. I normally don't have a problem squeezing into the barn, but I usually only have 1 or 2 people with me.

On another food note, The Butchery in Waitsfield is closed as they decided they were doing so well with their new Stowe location that they would just focus on that one. I don't think I saw that mentioned in this thread yet.
 

HowieT2

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 22, 2009
Messages
1,626
Points
63
Hah. Dino's place is probably one of the few that I didn't care for (although I did like the sign over the bar about last call). What about Hyde Away, Localfolk, Blue Stone, or even Rumbles? Tucker Hill has a pub too. I normally don't have a problem squeezing into the barn, but I usually only have 1 or 2 people with me.

On another food note, The Butchery in Waitsfield is closed as they decided they were doing so well with their new Stowe location that they would just focus on that one. I don't think I saw that mentioned in this thread yet.

forgot about the hyde away which I love. my wife doesnt dig bbq or the scene at the smokehouse so I rarely go there. Ive never been to blue stone although Ive heard good things especially about their burgers. also never been to tucker hill inn.

the butchery had some good steaks but that's more a summer thing for us grilling.

man, I need to get back up there.
 

WWF-VT

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 23, 2005
Messages
2,598
Points
48
Location
MA & Fayston, VT
We had a great dinner at the Tucker Hill Inn this summer and will definitely go there more often. Looking forward to Worthy Burger too.
 

teleo

Active member
Joined
Oct 6, 2008
Messages
203
Points
28
The butchery closed[emoji23] bummer. Not so sure about the demand for 2 new burger joints. Agree with Tucker Hill Inn. Went for 1st time in july, had dinner on the deck and it was great.
 

1dog

Active member
Joined
Oct 2, 2017
Messages
586
Points
43
Just very happy there is no chains in valley. I don 't even like the flashing solar-powered speed signs - ruins the 1950's vibe.

Not sure of of the decade old fact of Stowe/K-Mart with 30-40K beds and MRV with 6K beds, but I bet the ratio is still around that. If you don't have the population you can't have 15-20 choices in a seasonal business. Certainly more people living in MRV that work remotely tho.
Summers have gotten much busier than 20 years ago, but volume is volume. Might not be there for sustainable businesses. And of course, the old adage - 85% of restaurants fail in 1st 5 years. . . its a tough business. Like someone said here - Hawk or Howie maybe - one persons 'wow' is another persons 'eh'. Take people to Flatbread at least 3-4 times a year - some love, some say ' what? where the cheese? Tomato sauce? $24 a pie??' Liberty and freedom to choose your own way. What a country, huh?. Snow flies in 3 months . . .
 

tumbler

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 10, 2014
Messages
1,404
Points
83
If one of the burger places can have a well run and timely to go/pick up operation then I think that will help it tremendously. I'm thinking Mad Burger. To be able to call in an order and pick it up about 30 minutes later is such a great option for dinners especially when getting off the hill and need to figure something easy out.

So of all the new dining options, who is going to be serving breakfast? I love Big Picture but another option would be great.
 

cdskier

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
6,417
Points
113
Location
NJ
So of all the new dining options, who is going to be serving breakfast? I love Big Picture but another option would be great.

Choices in that regard are certainly a bit lacking. I only eat breakfast out in the non-ski season when I'm up there though. I also wish the places that did have breakfast were open earlier. It would be nice to have a choice at 7AM other than Three Mountain Cafe.
 

ThinkSnow

Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Messages
735
Points
16
Location
Bad Liver Valley
The food & service at the Common Man before Adam & Lorien was always top notch. So what came first, the decision to change the use of the property, or the decision to not reopen the restaurant?
 
Top