Yummy Lunch at Chef's Corner

I hardly ever venture to Williston because I hate "box stores" with an unholy fervor. Last week I made an exception because I needed to locate some weatherstripping for my ultra-drafty apartment. I didn't think I could find any artisan, locally produced window plastic or vinyl foam, so Home Depot it was.

As my mom's birthday had been the previous day, I decided to invite her along and buy her lunch at Chef's Corner. The café and bakery is owned by two talented chefs, Jozef Harrewyn and Scott Sorrell (Sorrell recently purchased co-founder Rene Ball's share of the biz). I've met Jozef a couple of times — First at a wine pairing dinner at Vermont National Country Club and then while snacking on crispy pig's ears at Shelburne Farms  — but due to my Williston-itis, I'd never eaten at his restaurant.

I'm really glad I did. Mom and I shared the meatloaf lunch special with mushroom gravy, a Niçoise salad made with fresh tuna on a bed of buttery lettuce, and tiny tastes of marinated artichoke salad and sweet 'n' earthy roasted corn salad. Everything was well made and really delicious.

We took home a bunch of desserts, too. I can't vouch for the ones my mom got, but I can say that the mini maple cheesecake, coffee meringue and lemon diplomat (it's a dessert made with mousse)  were  excellent. 

I may have to start going to Williston just to eat there. My next venture will be for weekend brunch. Jozef tells me that they have an eggs Benedict special every Sunday.

Comments

[Cat Woodward]

Good to know there's something edible in Williston. Last time I ate there, it was at a pseudo-Mexican place and the food was quite unpleasant. I usually just drive home to eat rather than waste my money & lose my appetite.

[martha]

they do have a lovely salad nicoise and the cafe is always so inviting and clean-i love the desserts and think it's a bright spot in the community.

[Geoff Spady]

I've eaten at Chef's Corner three times. The first time I got the Po' boy, and it was amazing, with a side salad which was fantastic.
Fueled by this, I went a couple weeks later, and got a turkey sandwich, which was so covered in mustard that it was impossible to enjoy, and I like mustard. Everything else was lost to the mustard taste.
Remembering my first experience, I went back today to give it another chance. I got the Salmon Benedict. It looked amazing, but once again, there was a serious balance issue. It had too much sauce on it, and the sauce was salted out of all proportion. It completely drowned out the comparitively delicate flavor of the salmon. The only way I could enjoy it was to screp most of the sauce off, which had the side effect of making it decidely less attractive.