Offbeat Eats

There were few places in recent history that have had as much anticipation as the opening of Redcan (well, maybe the West Leb Jersey Mike’s, but that’s another matter). With the departure of Trailbreak Taps and Tacos, that moved over to the former Dana’s space in Quechee by the Gorge, there’s been a bit of a hole in the White River dining scene, with much anticipation once the building owner mentioned that he already had a replacement restaurant tenant lined up. The anticipation ratcheted up another notch when it was announced that the new spot was going to be run by Jason Merrill, one of the partners that had previously brought us Worthy Burger and Worthy Kitchen. The Worthys have, in my opinion, lost a little bit of their shine, but are still very popular, especially with the tourist crowd. And Jason has had a lot of chef experience himself, including working at The Hanover Inn prior to its conversion to Pine. Named as a tip of the hat to his mother (who liked Coca Cola), Redcan focuses on high-end American food served small plate style. While they opened in late June (you can read a nice review by fellow UV food reviewer Susan Apel on her Artful blog from her mid-July visit), between inability to get reservations and competing travel, we didn’t get there until August, but we actually managed to get a pair of celebratory visits in with friends.