When Carol and I moved to the Upper Valley way back in 2001, the fine dining scene was substantially different; there were fewer options for fine dining, and most of the stalwarts from that era, such as Hanover’s Cafe Bon Gustaio, have long since departed the landscape. And most of the remaining places that aren’t associated with hotels have moved on as well. But one particular fine dining restaurant has managed to stay in pretty much continual operation for over fifty years, and that’s Woodstock, VT’s The Prince and the Pauper.
I’ll fully admit, it’s been several years since I lasted visited The Prince and The Pauper (since before I started this blog 20 years ago, so probably around 2004 or 2005). It’s stayed on my radar, since we visit Woodstock a lot, in particular liking the products from the Woodstock Butcher next door, and pretty regularly I’d at least peruse their current menu when passing by. Circumstances the last few years usually don’t have us looking for fine dining when we’re in Woodstock, but a recent outing by my friends Geoff and Kristy to celebrate a birthday had us heading out to Woodstock for drinks at Au Comptoir (itself a 2022 addition to Woodstock). After that, looking for a good local dining option, they select The Prince and The Pauper for dinner.
Walking inside, very little has changed since my last visit to The Prince and The Pauper aside from some light dining room refurbishment: the place is still classic white tablecloth service in a converted house, with both front and rear dining room. While we had had a starting round of cocktails over at Au Comptoir, I couldn’t resist one of their house cocktails, a Maple Old Fashioned, made with Smuggler’s Notch bourbon. A nice, well-rounded cocktail.
Looking over the menu, another nice thing I liked immediately about The Prince and The Pauper is that they’ve also got another classic experience that I don’t see as much these days: the prix fixe menu: a reasonable selection of an appetizer, a salad, and a main course, for $84 (with a few modest supplement charges for some of the higher end entrees). I decided that a good price fixe dinner was exactly what I was looking for, and I started out with their raviolo del Giornio. This was a house-made ravioli filled with Vermont-local quail, parmesan, lemon zest, and herbs, served with a garlic cream sauce. Everything was good here: a nice quail filling with a fair bit of dark meat, a perfectly done ravioli wrapper, and a nicely smooth and well-composed garlic sauce. A solid hit.
Next up, I had a choice of salads and went for the house salad. I usually don’t comment much on a house salad, but this one was well-above-average. Mixed field greens with julienned carrots, fresh dill, Bailey Hazen Blue and Danish Blue Cheese crumbles, and tossed with a house balsamic vinaigrette. A nice combination of flavors, a good overall composition, and it was perfectly-dressed as well.
For my main course, I want for the blueberry-glazed tenderloin tips, served with micro greens, roasted potatoes, and asparagus. I really enjoy the combination of berry flavors and steak, but it’s a dangerous combination: done well, the earthier notes of the berries complement the rich flavor and sear of the beef. Done poorly, and you get something more like those meatballs at the church potluck where “grape jelly” is the secret ingredient. Well, the version at The Prince and the Pauper was definitely the former; nice, tender, but well-seared tenderloin tips, a blueberry glaze that was more earthy and minty than sweet, and some nicely prepared potatoes and asparagus. Definitely a winner.
Finally; dessert. Like almost every time I’m choosing my own dessert (vs splitting one with Carol), if there is crème brûlée on the menu, I’m ordering it, and The Prince and the Pauper didn’t disappoint. A nice, smooth cream filling, a perfectly crisped candy crust. What else do you need?
Overall, I’m glad our outing to The Prince and the Pauper gave me a good excuse to visit one of the areas older and more venerable restaurants, and to verify that they are still bringing a solid dining experience, with a reasonable cost. I noticed that they also have regular theme nights (Italian on Wednesday, Thai on Thursday), which may give me a good motivation to go back and try them again sooner rather than later.
