15 hours Ago
FRANKLIN COUNTY — Congratulations to Greenwood Bakery, winner of the 2025 Best Maple Menu Contest. This first-time participant is located on Main Street in Richford, serving meals and a variety of baked goods, including maple donuts, maple bars and, their specialty, the maple whoopie pie. Twenty-two eateries registered for this year's contest; 15 turned in ballots.
A minimum of 25 ballots was needed to qualify for the Best Maple Menu. This contest is “judged” entirely by diners who order maple items and provide feedback, using a numerical rating scale. The percentage of quality points determines the final score (points earned, divided by points possible).
796 ballots were collected and tallied. For the first time in the four years of the existence of the contest, all participants scored at least 94%, with the majority in the high nineties. Compliments to the chefs! We are blessed with many wonderful dining options, where quality local products are served in creative and delicious ways.
We were pleased to welcome many newcomers to the 2025 contest, including two in Alburgh, three in Highgate/Swanton and one in Richford. They hit the ground running, with two of them finishing in the top three and one collecting a record-shattering number of ballots from their diners. The impact of this contest is immeasurable, as visitors and residents alike, have the opportunity to try maple in so many traditional and innovative ways.
The Vermont Maple Festival is pleased to recognize the successes of these restaurants who support the maple industry year round and still manage to enhance their menus for April. Below is a small sampling of the overwhelmingly positive comments made by diners: Vermont Bake House (St. Albans) – Maple Cinnamon Roll - “Warm, gooey and AMAZING!” Missing Piece Bakery – Maple Scone - “It tasted like a maple dream.
” Greenwood Bakery – Maple Bar - “These are the best maple bars I've ever had. The maple flavor is strong and the crust is always perfectly buttery and the perfect texture.” Kathy's Tavern – Tavern Steak/Chicken Platter - “Great tasting food with local Vermont Maple Syrup.
” Arline's Filling Station – Maple Sugared Donut - “best maple sugar flavor and fresh donuts” Kaiju Kitchen – Musubi and Maple Wasabi - “These two were perfectly paired. The sweet maple was BRILLIANT with the heat of wasabi.” Phoenix House – Sap Brined Maple Wings - “The most unique wing flavor we have ever had! Fantastic!” Catalyst Coffee Bar – Paris in VT (tea latte) - “so yummy and sweet, yet refreshing!” Maple City Diner – Maple Bacon Chicken - “so so soooo good” Green Mountain Bistro – Maple Butternut Bisque - “Perfect balance of maple and squash/creamy perfection.
” Traveled Cup – Maple Pecan Chai - “Loved it! Warm, spicy, sweet. Yum!” Fiddlers on the Green at Joey's Junction – Maple Bacon Jam Burger - “Extremely good!!!” Vermont Bake House (Alburgh) - Maple Oat Bread - “Very tasty homemade bread.” Mill River Brewing BBQ and Smokehouse – Maple Dumpling - “Try the maple bacon ice cream; it pairs well with the dumpling.
” Red House Sweets – Maple Buns - “Absolutely phenomenal!” Thank you to all who participated – owners, chefs/support staff, servers and diners who took the time to assess and offer feedback..
