Belted Cow Bistro in Essex Jct, VT pretty darn good.

[Wursthof]

I can't say the weather was all that spectacular last week but we definitely found another food highlight(we definitely found some lowlights too). This place is new in the old Lincoln Inn where the diner/coffeshop used to be.
Food was solid all the way around. Seared scallops with cauliflower puree and grain mustard vinaigrette. The scallops were caramelized perfectly on top and served medium rare with a nice little tussle of micro greens. Grilled flatbread with figs, blue cheese, VT swiss and duck confit and balsamic was a great balance between salty, sweet and slightly gooey with perfectly crispy crust(very similar to the one we had at Campania in Waltham, Ma where the chef came from except this was a grilled version).
Excellent smoked pork tartine with a little bit of bbq sauce flavor with pickled onions and cabot cheddar fondue on grilled red hen bread(this is our favorite bread bakery in VT and we always stop for bread it is right off 89 in Middlesex).
Entrees were spot on too. Seared halibut with peas, fingerling potatoes and pea shoot broth was about as good a halibut dish as I have ever had. Very light broth with garlic scapes and good pea flavor. We had a special of Boyden Farm (really nice farm that also has a winery that we have visited up on the way to Smuggler's Nothch)skirt steak served with local tomatoes and baby arugula with some Boucher blue cheese. Great combo of flavors again. I think the steak was marinated in soy and garlic and the grill marks had that great flavor of soy caramelization. Tomatoes were perfectly ripe and the local arugula was nice and spicy.
The only dessert we tried was the blueberry crostata with vanilla ice cream. Excellent crust and deliciously sweet tart filling garnished with candied lemon zest.
Service was extremely friendly, if not perfectly polished. I'd rather have friendly and pour my own wine than obtrusive and snooty.
I started with a pretty good Belle de Brillet sidecar martini style. Nice and cold and crisp. We shared a bottle of Falanghina and then glasses of Deloach Pinot Noir.
Seems like a lot of local sourcing with farm names on the menu. That's nice to see. Clearly no halibut or scallops are coming out of Lake Champlain but regionality works for me too and it is New England after all.
The bill was $151 including tax before tip. Portion sizes were right on and we had plenty of food. Nice atmosphere. Overall a very pleasing experience. We'll keep this one on the list with a couple of our other favorites in the area, Kitchen Table, L'Amante and Hen of the Wood.