One of the last spot we visited before we left Vermont last summer was Worthy Kitchen. They are a craft beer and farm-to-kitchen spot, which sounded great. It was not in a busy city center, but easy to get to via car. They had a nice size parking spot, but as they share the space with other businesses, it can get full easily. We were there early evening, so we didn’t have much issue finding a parking spot.

They had a nice size outdoor space, which was not yet full when we arrived. We had a reservation for indoor table, so we didn’t need to worry about finding a table either way. Now, sadly, I did have one bad experience as soon as we arrived. The hostess, shown here, who was welcoming and greeting all the customers and directing them to their table, treated me very differently. As soon as she got to me, she looked almost confused, and said, “Can I help you?” as if I was lost, or certainly didn’t belong. I said, “I have a reservation” and she acted as if she couldn’t understand me. When my husband repeated that, she all of a sudden understood perfectly and directed us to our table. Maybe because I am Asian, she treated me less-than, like I was not “worthy” at the Worthy Kitchen. It left a really bad taste in my mouth, but I decided not to let her ruin our evening.

Our table was in one of their dining rooms, cozy with lots of light wood everywhere, and artworks by local artists. Most of the artworks, if not all, were for sale, so if you find something you love, you can buy it right there too! I liked the metal chairs, bringing the space to look modern and fun. The table that is assigned to you have a number, and be sure to remember what the number is, as you need to provide that when you are placing the order.

The rest of the dining area was more open, with different type of seating, with colorful metal chairs. To the right of that is where you go and place your order. This was interesting. You don’t have a server that come to your table to take you order. Instead, you go to the ordering counter and place your drink and food order, and give them your table number. If you ordered drinks, they will make the drinks right there, so you wait for that before you head back to your table. The food order will be brought to your table by a staff. If you need to add anything else to your order, you go back to the ordering counter.

The staff behind the ordering counter, who also makes the drinks, were very friendly and polite, and they helped us decide what to order. We ordered Raspberry Whale Cake ($7) and White Sangria ($12). The Raspberry Whale Cake, which sounds like a delicious dessert, is a draught beer by Burlington Beer Company in Vermont, and is a Cream Ale with Raspberries. It had a very pretty red color, with a pleasant fruity flavor. It is made with raspberries from a local berry patch, and is a seasonal beer. We were happy we got to taste it!

White Sangria is made with White Wine, Blackberry Schnapps, OJ, Seltzer, and Fresh Fruits. It certainly was loaded with fresh and ripe fruits. It had a very nice flavor, fruity without being too sweet. I enjoyed eating those fruits that soaked up the goodies at the end.

For food, we ordered Worthy Fishwich ($16) and Worthy Mac N’ Cheese ($15) with added Fried Chicken ($6) and Bacon ($3). Yes, we went all out!

The Fishwich had a choice of Salmon or Swordfish, and I went with Swordfish. It was served with Worthy Fries, but I substituted with Truffle Oil & Parmesan Fries for additional $2. And I say it was totally worth it. The fries were a delight! Not greasy, soft, and packed with truffle and parmesan flavor that you can really taste.

The Worthy Fishwich is made with Worthy Bun, Lettuce, Onion, Pickles, and Tartar Sauce. The swordfish fillet was really thick, which was great. The fish was very moist, went great with the tartar sauce. Veggies were fresh and crispy, and the buns were fluffy yet strong enough to hold all that goodness in between. We enjoyed it!

My hubby was really excited about the Mac N’ Cheese, and when it came out, I clearly saw the reason why. I mean, look at this beauty of a dish! The Worthy Mac N’ Cheese is made with Cavatappi Pasta with Plymouth Cheddar Cheese Sauce, topped with Croissant Crumble Topping. And then, we added Fried Chicken and Bacon, resulting in this beast.

Seems like this dish was one of their very popular item, and after the first bite, I completely understood… It was amazing! And did you say croissant crumble topping? Who is this genius? The addition of bacon bits and fried chicken do make this an expensive dish, but I must say, it was totally worth it! Chicken is super tender and juicy, with thin, super crispy batter. As you can imagine, this was a super filling dish.

We wanted to order one dessert to share, so we packed up some of the food to leave some room in our stomach. We ordered Tuxedo Bombe Cake ($10), which was the only dessert on the menu. It is made with Dark Chocolate Cake with White and Milk Chocolate Mousse, Enrobed with Dark Chocolate Ganache. It was much smaller than I expected it to be, but it was a lovely dessert. Creamy and velvety inside, and the mix of dark chocolate and sweet milk and white chocolate went perfectly together.

We had a really great dinner here. We loved the drinks and food that we had, every bite was delicious! The staff who brought the food to us was really lovely and friendly. The only issue I had was with the hostess, but everything else was great. I am so glad I was strong enough to deal with the way she treated me. I would definitely go back again, and hope that they have a different host/hostess…

Worthy Kitchen – 442 Woodstock Rd, Woodstock, VT 05091