Gourmet eatery offers food flair Panini branch expands to include restaurant and bar

Author: Dina Magaril

Fans of the Vergennes branch of the delicious panini eatery Eat Good Food, which opened in 2001, will be excited to note the newest addition to downtown Middlebury - the opening of a new Eat Good Food venue that will function as a grill, bar and deli. Though the space is still being renovated, Tara Vaugh-Hughes, the owner of both Eat Good Food branches, is excited for the chance to enter the Middlebury scene.

Vaughn-Hughes, who grew up in Middlebury and attended Middlebury Union High school as a teenager - she was elected prom queen - hopes that the opening of EGF will provide the town with an exciting option of good, Mediterranean-style comfort food. "It's good food with a cosmopolitan flair," said Vaughn, who added that she hopes the eatery will "infuse downtown [Middlebury] with a new life." Vaughn hopes the restaurant will bring both Middlebury students and Middlebury town residents in to enjoy its offerings.

Eat Good Food opened to the public on Thursday, Feb. 16, and is currently open for dinner reservations. In the coming weeks Vaughn-Hughes is working on having the café open for lunch, where she will serve up a menu of paninis and soups, which are found in the Vergennes branch of the store. Along with the lunch paninis EGF will have a Deli case of gourmet foods, which will be available to take home or to eat in the lunch area of the store. Vaughn said the finished interior will be very colorful and she hopes to eventually have artwork to put on the walls.

Vaughn's motto for the restaurant is its message of bringing simple, good food to its patrons. "I don't believe you should only eat good food on a special occasion," she said, and she hopes that each meal tasted at her restaurant will perpetuate the idea of "food as a life-affirming pleasure," citing olive oil, lemon and capers as some the best ingredients for achieving this goal.

The enjoyment of a meal at EGF can be most fully realized when accompanied by one of the old-world wines that EGF lists on its menu. "Our wines are very reasonably priced," said Vaughn-Hughes, "and they really complement the flavor of the meal. Eat Good Food's array of inexpensive wines by the glass - especially the many enjoyable Proseccos - can be sampled with each meal. Vaughn said that offering so many wines by the glass allows people to "buy and try" without the commitment of a bottle, so that the wine is always circulating.

A warning to all tomato lovers: don't expect to see tomatoes until late May or early June. Only fresh ingredients grace the EGF menu, according to Vaughn-Hughes. "We really believe in using the best ingredients," she said, "and I wouldn't want to ruin a delicious sandwich by using an unripe tomato."

The restaurant is also a big supporter of Vermont's local farmers, citing Dakin Farm and Misty Knoll Farm as two of the many local farms from which it buys its ingredients. Everything from cheeses to turkey - which is not a current dish on the menu - to vegetables are bought from local farms. To keep things interesting, Vaughn says that the menu will change slightly from month to month so customers can continue to enjoy new flavors throughout the season. To get a sample from the menu, here are just a few of the foods one might find: grilled octopus with wheat berry and salsa verde, fava bean ravioli, pan fried skate and apple crostata or lavendar crème brulee for dessert. The parsnip and shittake mushroom salad with chicory, crispy pancetta and sage vinaigrette is another popular favorite. So if you're craving a small snack or a full course meal and good wine, stop by Eat Good Food and chat with Tara Vaughn-Hughes, who is often seen mingling with the customers. The restaurant is currently open for dinner starting at 5 p.m.