The Silver Fork restaurant should be very proud of its exclusive steak tartare—an exquisite prelude to the main event. Steak tartare has to be one of my all-time favorite dishes, we have it every time we see it on the menu, and we had it again last night. However, steak tartare, like wine, is uniquely personal. Brasserie Lipp in Paris serves it differently with a stronger emphasis on Dijon mustard, Holder, in old Montreal is another excellent nearby choice for this classic French delicacy, and we are looking forward to experiencing the tartare at Le Train Bleu, an iconic restaurant at Gare de Lyon renowned for serving the best steak tartare in Paris. The short story here is that Silver Fork is in very good company with its steak tartare. Well done Silver Fork, well done!
Seven Springs Garden & Sculpture Park • Manchester, Vermont
This was the most impressive garden we’ve ever visited—”simply magnificent,” is an under-statement! Four of our recent guests returned and said the same thing…
The land on which Seven Springs Gardens (privately owned) now sits has a history dating back to the beginning of Vermont. The gardens have a rich history, and was part of a thirty-six square mile tract of land that dates back to 1761. Fast-forward to 1923, the property was purchased by the Doubleday publishing family as a summer retreat, two years later in March 1925, the property was featured on the cover of Country Life magazine (I tried to find the cover). You can read more about the property when you visit the gardens! The Gardens close for the season after this weekend, but I’ll try persuading the owner to allow our guests to visit through October. The distant views from the property of the Green Mountains in October will be spectacular!
I was recently asked, what makes Silver Fork special? It’s undoubtedly, one of the most important restaurants in the area. The effortless and relaxed, but flawlessly charming style of service is a perfect fit for the setting. Located inside the old Mark Skinner Library in the heart of Manchester Village, the mid-century décor is an absolute masterpiece with comfortable space that’s aglow in natural light. Beyond expansive windows, the upstairs bar pictured above has a long dining bar that offers intimate dining possibilities.
Silver Fork is a fine-dining restaurant with extraordinary attention to detail. Through the sharply focused culinary lens of award-winning Chef Mark French lies his remarkable ability to coax out the intrinsic natural flavors of local and seasonal ingredients. Mark’s dishes draw on global influences that blend beautifully with this quintessential New England town of Manchester.
The menu enriches the senses, our favorite first-course dishes—beef tartare, duck eggroll, and lump crab salad are absolutely delicious! The wiener schnitzel is outstanding—our server told us that a couple from Austria said it was “just as good as home.” And, we agree! The rack of lamb, Maryland crab cakes and slow roasted brisket are among our favorites, and our guests too.
Owner and Sommelier, Melody French, has created a well-balanced wine list with recent upscale wine selections that complement the always popular regular wine list. Melody has adroitly focused on matching tastes and flavors on the menu that share the chef’s palate making wine selection far easier and less intimidating.
Kay joins me in thanking Melody for the special attention shown to all our Pond Mountain Inn guests.
Updated on December 3, 2023… here’s what we wrote; “Another Spectacular Evening Last Night—Silver Fork offers a truly immersive dining experience, the food, exceptional, the service, unparalleled, and the interior is simply a mid-century masterpiece!”
Dorset is quintessential Vermont; this vibrant and historic community is nestled in the hills of southern Vermont. Make sure to have lunch on the “Dorset Green”. Manchester is a historic New England town with charming covered bridges nearby, lush Green Mountains and idyllic scenery with plenty of “things to do”
One of the popular places in Manchester, VT is Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home ; Robert Todd Lincoln’s estate is set on 412 acres with spectacular views of the valley and Green Mountains. The gardens are a must see and make sure to spend time at the farm.
Get the complete list of the places you can visit on this day trip Here.
Pond Mountain Inn 