Bits and Bites
Lauren Carifio of Bennington Bagel Company rolls bagels right before the baking process.
FILE PHOTO
From apple-cheddar bagels and festival pies to new menus and celebrated local cheese, Southern Vermont’s food scene has fresh updates.
Hungry for the latest local food and restaurants news? Here’s what’s happening, presented in a bite-sized format.
Bennington Area
In addition to its Friday hours, Bennington Bagel Company is adding Thursday mornings 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to the schedule for hot breakfast sandwiches at the Community Market. For fall, it is featuring a bagel called Apples on Cheddar, which the store describes this way: “[It]starts with a toasted Cheddar bagel and a layer of plain cream cheese, then gets topped with local Cortland apples from Propagation Piece Orchard in Shaftsbury, roasted pepitas, and a drizzle of honey. Sweet, savory, crunchy, creamy – and about as Vermont-in-the-fall as a bagel can get.”
Owner Steve DeTeso says he wants to expand both the hours and offerings in the future.
Its bagels are distributed in other places, including Nature’s Market in Manchester.
Its storefront in North Bennington is open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays 8 from a.m. to 2 p.m.
Chef Lauren Davis, voted Bennington County’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Favorite Chef in the Banner’s latest compilation, is now executive chef at Madison’s Brewing Company Pub and Restaurant. She anticipates some changes to the menu starting late fall.
Brattleboro Area
The Newfane Heritage Festival runs this Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Among the attractions for this 57 year old festival are… pies. Over 200 pies are “lovingly crafted” according to the festival website using apples from Green Mountain Orchards in Putney. Buy a slice or a whole pie.
The festival also has breakfast sandwiches, popcorn, caramel apples, hamburgers, corn chowder and more.
And if that’s not enough food for you, The Fat Crow in Newfane will be open on Sunday, offering a limited special menu: Gourmet Pizzas, Soups and Salads. The bar will feature Mimosas, Bloody Marys, beer and wine.
The Newfane Heritage Festival also features local arts and crafts for sale, as well as a Super Raffle. All proceeds benefit the many activities of the Newfane Church. (Because of problems in previous years, organizers ask that visitors not bring their dogs.)
Manchester Area
Ye Olde Tavern offers some of the most atmospheric dining in town, the inn harkening back to the 1790s. Owner Andrew Iraci says the restaurant offers a broad selection with something for everyone: steaks, pasta, pot pies, pot roast and more. Pumpkin bisque is new to the fall menu, and Assistant manager Jenna Caler adds that “people rant and rave about the pumpkin pie.”
Al Ducci’s Italian Deli is hiring. According to an online notice, these are the qualifications: having a good attitude, being dependable, and being able to lift 50 pounds. (No, the sandwiches are not that big.) Anyone interested should come in person to Al Ducci’s: 133 Elm Street, Manchester Center. While waiting for strong staff members, the deli sells its gourmet sandwiches, pasta dishes, and all foods Italian.
The Woodlawn Creamery in Pawlet continues to draw praise for its cheeses. Recently, Josie Krogh from Culture Magazine wrote a blog entry entitled “The Best Things We Ate at the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival.”
“Rupert Reserve is a new addition to Woodlawn Creamery’s lineup, made possible now that the creamery has been able to hold back wheels long enough to reach the 12-month mark,” she wrote. “The wait is worth it: Reserve was complex, savory, and nutty, with the kind of concentrated flavor that only comes with more time in the cellar. It felt like a new chapter for a cheese I already love, and one I’ll be keeping an eye out for.”
Dining and Cooking