M I N T

Valley Reporter letter 01/12/2012

2012-01-13T17:06:00.002-05:00

People of Vermont: Thank you!

State of Vermont: Thank you!
Our saga with re-opening MINT restaurant in Waitsfield has now come to a new stage. After all the ups and downs, can we’s or can we not’s, how’s and when’s, with the help of a lot of private people and help from the state of Vermont, we re-opened the restaurant on Friday, December 30, 2011.
A flood insurance claim denial letter from FEMA via national flood insurance processing center also arrived, dated December 19. We are very saddened by the way our insurance has been handled. Denial of coverage based on location should have happened when we took out a policy. Every entity we are, insurance-wise, involved with seems to have and hold on to their own truth and this yields no resolution. No one to blame, no one to take responsibility for misleading us with a worthless insurance policy.
We didn’t hide it from Denis, Ricker and Brown, our insurance broker, that we were insuring contents of a restaurant when we took out a flood insurance policy . Yet we are getting the impression that no one gets it. All we hear is talk about a “building policy.” In the flood, we lost all restaurant equipment, electronics, furnishings, food, inventory—stuff that restaurants have.
It was no secret that we weren’t insuring a furnace or walls, floors or electric cables, which are part of building insurance, not content insurance. Yet, these are the only items insurance covers in our specific location. So, nothing we, as a restaurant, lost is covered? No!
At the same time the renewal for flood insurance also arrived. Wouldn’t you be puzzled? We thought that selling ethereal products were the business of New Age bookstores.
Now that the restaurant is open we have to focus our minds and mind our own business which is the business of cooking the healthy food at MINT restaurant. That’s what we love to do.
Open for lunch: Wednesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Open for dinner: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Thank you, everybody! We don’t know all your names, but we’ll personally thank you when we see you.

Savitri Deskov, MINT
Waitsfield

MINT is OPEN now! No thanks to insurance companies>

2011-12-29T20:20:00.000-05:00

MINT is OPEN now! No thanks to insurance companies.

For the 3^rd time we put our business together. Starting in 2008 with the TEA STORE next door to our current location. Then we opened MINT in 2009 November here.

Then the flood came in 2011 August….

Now 4 months later we are back again. Better than ever.

Thank you for all your support and hard work. We thank everyone and we thank ourselves. I thank my husband Iliyan for being so positive all throughout the emotional battles. I couldn't do it without him.

Savitri

No thanks to insurance companies but thanks to the State and people of Vermont!

Valley Reporter editorial 12/1/2011

2011-12-01T12:56:00.004-05:00

Compounding the tragedy

Written by LAL
Dec 01, 2011 at 12:00 AM
The owners of MINT Restaurant in Waitsfield received word this week that their insurance company, Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company, had denied their flood insurance claim. Prior to Hurricane Irene’s floodwaters, MINT was on the ground floor of the Waitsfield Hotel building in the Bridge Street Marketplace. The furnishings were severely damaged by the flooding and the building was structurally damaged. The owners of the restaurant spent the three months after the flood helping clean the space, cooking and serving lunch from the basement of the Waitsfield United Church of Christ and working their way through bureaucratic red tape. To be told now that their claim was denied because their business was located in a basement is wrong and immoral. Keep in mind that the owners of the business specifically bought flood insurance for their restaurant. Last May when spring runoff raised the level of the Mad River, they upped their coverage to be on the safe side. When Irene struck they were devastated that the restaurant they had painstakingly built had been devastated but took comfort from the fact that they were well insured. They’ve been waiting to get back to their space for three months and could be back in there in three to four weeks had their claim not been denied. Here’s what’s wrong with the denial from their insurance company. First, the company took their premiums and then let them raise their “flood insurance” coverage without ever notifying them of their status as basement dwellers unqualified for a flood insurance claim. That’s insurance fraud at a minimum. If the insurance company took their money for flood insurance and would now disqualify them, their premiums need to be refunded with interest. Second, it’s arguable whether that space is in a basement. It’s on the ground level as is the Artisans’ Gallery. To enter or leave their restaurant, one walked in from the ground, not down some stairs. Waitsfield’s zoning defines a basement as any area of a building that has the lesser of three sides or 60 percent of its walls below grade. The building that housed MINT did not meet those criteria. This denial is a flagrant attempt by an insurance company to deny a claim based on a loophole that is absurd on its face and nothing more than an attempted sleight of hand.

http://www.valleyreporter.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4421&Itemid=39

Update to Valley Reporter-Waitsfield, 11/28/2011

2011-11-29T08:03:00.000-05:00

Letter to a local newspaper:

Hi Lizzy,

Sorry we didn't get your message until today, hopefully we are still in time:
We do have some news. We actually would like to publish something in one of the sections of your news paper.

We find ourselves in a situation that we might not be alone fighting.
We have built MINT from scratch into an amenity to the area, the community. A fairly successful restaurant by our standards. We could do this because we believed we were standing an a firm physical and administrative ground. That has all changed with the recent flood. The physical space became not so sound anymore but we still believed that the administrative ground still stood firm. Today that has changed also. Our flood insurance claim has been denied based on the claim from Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company that our business is located in a basement. We are outraged! We feel cheated on several levels.

This is what I am thinking: If we are allowed to rent a space in a building, if the town allows the building to rent this space to operate as a restaurant, if we got septic, water, if we can get a permit from the department of health, a liquor license from the state and if we can buy insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program, i think because the town of Waitsfield elected flood plain zoning then all this should suggest that we are putting our business in a space that is suitable for a business. Key word here is THE SPACE. We believed that the decisions made above us are keeping us and the community safe. These decisions should take care of potential disaster situations where a lot is lost and wasted. Mostly hope in the grand sense of the word…

So we bought insurance, raised the coverage in May when waters were rising and were congratulating ourselves on our foresight when Irene came around.
When it did, we were of course in shock, first because of the destruction of the Beauty we worked tirelessly and full heartedly to create and share with our neighbors and visitors. Then because we had no idea where to start the clean up but there were so many who did.
Then our 2 months long experience at the Waitsfield UCC. They took us in and made us forget a little, kept us sane, kept us in touch with what we love to do.

We have been waiting to go back to our space for 3 months now. The owners of our building have been getting the space ready to be rentable again.
It's a long time to keep one's spirits up. But now as that work is coming to an end we can start to recreate MINT again. In 3-4 weeks we could be ready to open. But now it's a disaster all over again. As we contemplate our course of action with the insurance company and FEMA this is our update...

Construction update

2011-11-19T07:45:00.001-05:00

All the major stuff is almost done. A few things still remaining and then ... we can go in and set up the restaurant.

M I N T under construction

2011-09-19T07:31:00.000-04:00

New entrance

Looking through the kitchen wall

Future kitchen entrance

Bathroom

Dining room with plenty of natural light (and positive emotions)

Other part of dining room

MINT

2011-09-12T05:53:00.001-04:00

Was...

Is...

Was...

MINT is a vegetarian restaurant and tea lounge in the heart of historic Waitsfield located on the corner of Bridge and Main streets. We opened the restaurant in November 2009 and have been received with great enthusiasm both by the local community and visitors to the area.

In the two years we have been in business we have turned this 24 seat restaurant into a quaint, elegant and romantic establishment. We have many regulars who have been supporting us since the start and more and more are discovering us. Ever since we opened the restaurant in 2009, the surrounding business owners have testified that they noticed an increase in their revenues created by the additional attraction of diners and shoppers. The Green Cup café and MINT are the only two restaurants in the downtown area and both have been badly damaged by the flood of the Mad River on August 28^th.

Our philosophy behind opening a vegetarian restaurant and tea lounge is that food is not only a source of pleasure but also a source of medicine and healing. We strive to provide clean, balanced healthy, uncomplicated and tasty food to our guests. Food that is prepared with respect and reverence, served with humility and eaten in peace and comfort is vital to our well being and to the wellbeing of our communities and planet.

We want to continue to operate and develop our restaurant thus serving our community and visitors. We are a team of two and we do everything, from mopping floors and sweeping patios, to beautifying, painting and researching recipes all the way to bookkeeping and financial planning.

At this time our whole business (and the heart of the village) has been wiped out by the floodwaters and we are in need of financial assistance to start the rebuilding of walls, counters, plumbing, fixtures, floors and so on. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Savitri Bhagavati and Iliyan Deskov from MINT restaurant and tea lounge.

Flood

2011-08-28T16:10:00.002-04:00

We are under water, MINT is under water. We don't know the future at the moment. Heavy rain is still coming down, the restaurant is completely flooded. We will keep you updated as the rain stops and we will be able to go into our space again. We hope that all surrounding businesses will be able to rebuild after all this...Let's hope for the best, renewal and for the design of smarter spaces.

Savitri and Iliyan

2011-08-06T13:48:00.000-04:00

FOR SOME BEAUTIFUL PICTURES

2011-08-04T18:22:00.002-04:00

http://hendricksonphotographyweddings.com/blog/2011/05/18/mint-waitsfield-vt/

TEA CUP CLUB CLASS on Tuesday, August 2.

2011-08-02T17:06:00.000-04:00

August: Tulsi: The Amazing Medicine of Sacred Basil

Tulsi, or Sacred Basil, is considered one of the most sacred plants in India, believed to open the heart and mind, and bestow the energy of love and devotion. Join us for ane exploration of the many uses of this sacred plant, and delicious ways to bring it's medicine into your life.

Marathon on July 10th

2011-07-06T17:19:00.001-04:00

Welcome participants in the MAD MARATHON and those accompanying them.
Good Luck Everyone! We hope you are going to have a beautiful experience in a gorgeous setting..We think it's going to be fantastic.

July 4th -Monday - Happy 4th of July!

2011-06-30T13:22:00.002-04:00

We will be open on Monday, July 4th for dinner only from 5 - 8:30.

NEW TEA AND HERB CLASS ON JULY 5th-TUESDAY at 6:30pm.

2011-06-22T17:49:00.000-04:00

Our next class with Danielle Charles-Davies:

Soothing Summer Flowers

From lavender, chamomile and rose to linden and elder, summer provides all manner of floral delights to soothe our spirits, bodies and minds. I will be talking about some of my favorite summer flowers, and sharing some simple and most delicious ways to incorporate their medicine into our lives - including summery beverages and tea-time treats; floral baths and body care recipes and a discussion on making and using flower remedies for healing issues of the spirit. As always, you will get to sample a variety of recipes and herbal products, drink delicious tea, and go home with a handout full of recipes and info.

Please call us in advance to reserve a spot! This is very important for Danielle since she prepares extensively for the class (treats, samples and reading material).

802.496.5514

TEA CUP CLUB CANCELED

2011-06-07T11:17:00.000-04:00

Tonight's class is canceled, please check back later for next month's class.

TEA CUP CLUB - CLASS on Tuesday, June 7th.

2011-06-03T11:49:00.001-04:00

June: Soothing summer flowers

From lavender, chamomile and rose to linden and elder, summer is the season of beautiful flowers that soothe our spirits on many levels. Join me for a floral celebration as I discuss the many ways – from medicinal teas to aromatherapy and soothing body care preparations – that the summer flowers can be brought into our lives to soothe the mind , body and spirit.

Class cost is $ 30.00/person or if you bring a friend it's $ 15.00 each.

Call us to reserve a spot: 496 5514. See you here...

Discover some very interesting things about plants you always knew but never used...

CLOSED ON FRIDAY, JUNE 17th

2011-05-30T14:20:00.001-04:00

MINT will be closed on June 17th (Friday) due to a special event.

OPEN ON MEMORIAL DAY-Monday, May 30th

2011-05-30T12:11:00.000-04:00

We are open today for lunch from 12 pm to 4 pm.

NEW JACKETS

2011-05-24T18:22:00.003-04:00

Some of our teas are getting new "clothes":

ONLINE TEA STORE MOVING

2011-05-17T09:44:00.001-04:00

Our online tea store is moving, the new store will be up soon...sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to anyone. Please call us with your order during this transition.

802.496.5514

TEA CUP CLUB ON MAY 3RD

2011-04-22T12:46:00.000-04:00

Danielle's next class is coming up soon. It will be held on Tuesday-May 3rd. Call us to reserve a spot.

May:

Rejuvenate with Spring Roots and Leaves

Awaken your tired system after winter's dark and cold with the vibrant green medicine growing right in your backyard. Learn to identify and prepare common spring edibles, and the many ways they can restore vitality and wellness to your system. We will be taking a plant-walk if the weather permits, and harvesting our own wild leaves and roots to make a tea and a wild salad to share back at Mint.

Some of our teas...(we serve about 50 different teas and tisanes)...

2011-04-11T18:39:00.003-04:00

Spring Soup

2011-04-03T08:44:00.002-04:00

Soon spring will bring about lots of fine leafy greens, likely more than we can put away in salads. To this end, I looked around some old Bulgarian cookbooks for ideas. I found a "chorba" (a hearty soup) recipe that uses spinach and arugula as the base, but substitutions are endless - go for nettles, some lettuces, kale and later on even grape leaves. Serve with some plain yogurt or crumbled feta, or neither if you don't want the dairy.

Here's MINT's adaptation:

1 pound each of spinach and arugula, chopped coarsely
2 medium onions, diced finely
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 Tbs. vegetable oil
several sprigs of fresh mint and thyme
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbs. paprika (preferably Hungarian) or sweet chili powder *
1 cup (or more if you desire) cooked brown rice.
juice of one lemon

Sweat the onion and garlic in the oil, add the herbs, salt and pepper, then the chopped greens. Turn a few times until the greens start wilting, and then cover with water and add the lemon juice. Bring to a boil add the rice and simmer for a few minutes. Do not overcook, greens will turn bright green when they are ready. And this is it, simple and quick. Soup is also very good cold, depending on the weather.

* Paprika or red pepper powder is made in many places. Hungarian paprika is said to be the most sophisticated in taste. Spanish paprika comes close, but in my experience is somewhat harsher and not as sweet. In any case, this soup needs some sort of sweet chili powder for the right balance of color and flavor.

MARCH 1.-CAMELLIA SINENSIS- TEACUP CLUB

2011-02-18T18:28:00.006-05:00

Snows of late winter

Flower of early spring

MINT

March is just round the corner with it's promise of warmer days, spring rains and the first burst of green awakening in our gardens. For whatever reason, March is also the month that I especially love sipping a cup of green tea: perhaps the vibrant green flavor and awakening effect on the mind seem particularly suited to the season. I sit next to the window with my steaming mug on those rainy March days and get whisked away to distant lands: envisioning the vibrant green mountainsides of China, Thailand and India with their intricate terraces of tea where harvesters gather the first flush of growth for the year - the treasured two leaves and a bud that give rise to such a wide variety of character in our teacups and benefits to our health.

Since March marks the beginning of the tea harvest, and since a cup of tea is so especially good on rainy March days, I thought it would be the perfect month to really explore and celebrate this renowned plant and its beloved infusion. In just a single cup of tea, there is so much; there is history, there is culture and refinement and all the special touches of those who grew and processed it, there is place - cool and misty mountaintops or hot humid jungles, and there is medicine - thousands of plant compounds that provide wide ranging benefits to our health. Come discover all that a cup of tea has to offer while we sample a wide range of teas and discover how processing techniques and the effect of place make each one so unique. And you will, of course, learn to brew a proper cup of tea by understanding the techniques and nuances of each variety.

The class will be held on March 1 at MINT restaurant from 6:30 - 8 pm. The cost is $30 (or bring a friend and each pay $15) and includes sampling of several varieties of tea. Please call MINT at 496-5514 to reserve your place.

Green Blessings!

Danielle

OPEN on Monday, February 21.

2011-02-17T10:48:00.002-05:00

Pistachio and semolina halva with cranberry gelee

We will be serving lunch
on Monday, the 21.

from 12 - 4 and

dinner by reservation.
We'll see you here...

Valentine's day

2011-02-10T12:15:00.001-05:00

We will open by reservation only for Valentine's day dinner on Monday 02/14. Give us a call if you want to celebrate here... Otherwise, happy Valentine's everyone!

TEA CUP CLUB-February 1.-Tuesday

2011-01-22T10:13:00.004-05:00

Our next Tea Cup Club is coming up. Here is Danielle's message :

Lemon tart

Thai chilies

February's Teacup Club falls directly on the ancient day of Imbolc, and we will be celebrating the awakening of our bodies and hearts with love potions and herbal aphrodisiacs. Learn about herbs for supporting and nurturing the heart as she awakens; tonics that nourish our passions by enhancing vitality and wellbeing; and deliciously intoxicating herbs for warming our bodies, hearts and minds. Chocolate will, of course, be heavily involved - and recipes are just as fun to enjoy with a sweetheart as they are with a group of friends. I'll be bringing all manner of love potions to sample as well - Love liqueurs, heart warming cordials and syrups, infused wines, massage oils and intoxicating herbal chocolates - and you'll go home with your own sample of LOVE tea. This class is not to be missed!

Class meets Tuesday February 1st from 6:30 - 8 pm at MINT. The class cost is $30, or $15 if you bring a friend. Contact MINT (496-5514) or myself (via email) to reserve your place.

Hope to see you all there, as we celebrate our awakening hearts and kindle our passionate fires.

OPEN ON MONDAY, JANUARY 17TH

2011-01-15T10:59:00.001-05:00

We will serve lunch from 12pm - 4pm on Monday, January 17th.

We'll see you here...

WINTER??? -indoor garden @ MINT

2011-01-02T19:50:00.000-05:00

TEA CUP CLUB

2011-01-01T11:42:00.002-05:00

Change of dates: Since the class on January 4th is just too close to the holidays, we moved the class one week to the 11th - Tuesday. Hope you can still make it. Call : 802 496 5514.

Holiday ans Ski season hours

2010-12-17T18:43:00.001-05:00

For the holidays and ski season our hours will be extended as follows:

December 24th    -    12-4
December 25th   -     Closed
December 26th, 27th, 28th 29th 30th 31th       - 12-4 lunch and 6- Close for dinner
January 1st    - 12 -4 lunch and 6-Close for dinner
January 3rd-4th Closed

Happy holidays!

TEA CUP CLUB

2010-12-04T13:42:00.001-05:00

So we we are back from vacation and getting ready for the holidays. Remember that on Tueasday, December 7th at 6:30 we are having our first herb and tea class. The cost is $ 30.00 but if you bring another person the cost will go down to $ 15.00 for the first class. We would like to generate enthusiasm for these classes because they will be great, interesting and useful in a very practical sense!
To register call MINT @ 496 5514.
See you here...

Vacations and cleaning time!

2010-11-03T19:08:00.001-04:00

MINT will be closed between NOVEMBER 17th and DECEMBER 2nd. We will reopen on Friday, December 3rd.

Remember to call Danielle (496 6285) to sign up for the herb and tea classes that will start on December 7th! (See previous post.)

CLASSES ON HERBS AND TEA WITH HERBALIST DANIELLE CHARLES DAVIES

2010-11-02T10:16:00.002-04:00

We are starting a series of classes (for details see link above) on HERBAL PREPARATIONS and TEA BREWING.

We promise they will be very interesting!

First class: December 7th, Tuesday 6:30-8
Cost $ 30.00 -all materials included
To sign up for the first class call Danielle or email her : 496 6285 or teacupandco@gmail.com
http://theteacupchronicles.wordpress.com/

MINT in color

2010-09-19T18:53:00.001-04:00

Change of opening hours

2010-09-12T14:05:00.001-04:00

From October 1. we are starting with new hours and a separate lunch and dinner menus.
The hours will be : 12-4 and 6-Close, five days/week. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
We will update the menu on this site on October 1.
Thanks for all the visits in our virtual and actual restaurant. We are going to be 1 year old on November 1 and we are very happy with the way things are going. Thank you again!

DESSERTS

2010-08-05T20:14:00.001-04:00

Vegan toasted coconut and bitter sweet chocolate tart.

Blueberry butter crumb cake -Knoll Farm berries....Yum!

Taste of the valley on August 2! We will be there!

2010-07-22T18:03:00.001-04:00

Monday, July 5th

2010-06-30T12:22:00.001-04:00

On July 5th we will be open with regular hours: 12-After dinner.

Vegetables are beautiful right now...EAT MORE of them!

2010-06-24T14:47:00.001-04:00

A lot of gardeners are approaching us these days about fresh, beautiful, healthy produce. There is so much of it...we would hate to see them go to waste. EAT lots of veggies!!!!!!

Memorial day

2010-05-30T19:56:00.001-04:00

We will be open for lunch from 12-4 on Memorial day.

BAKLAVA

2010-05-23T17:42:00.000-04:00

2010-05-07T09:22:00.000-04:00

First MINT cooking class

2010-03-23T17:16:00.000-04:00

2010-03-11T15:01:00.000-05:00

MINT Cooking classes :
Savory simplicity on

MARCH 22 - MONDAY at 6PM

For the past several weeks we have been toying around with the idea of hosting cooking classes right here at our restaurant. After many discussions and ideas we decided that a cooking class in the traditional sense is not what we are interested in doing…

Instead, with your help, we would like to build an event, an experience, … a dinner party, where we prepare all the food together and enjoy it afterwards at an informal sit down dinner.

We can accommodate up to 5 enthusiasts at a time. Every participant may invite a friend to share the products of our labor at the end of the class. We encourage “hands-on” learning, so there will be peeling and washing involved, even some hard-to-remove spots on clothes. (we have aprons for your convenience)

The classes cost $55 per person.
50% of the cost is due at reservation.

802 496 5514

2010-02-24T14:25:00.000-05:00

Did anyone expect this??? We didn't. Winter wonderland. Beautiful, there were some people in the restaurant for lunch and they were feeling so snug and warm inside, while it is piling snow outside...

NEW HOURS FOR SPRING

2010-02-17T20:18:00.000-05:00

Starting March 1st we will be open for 5 days, Wednesday - Sunday 12-After dinner.
Monday and Tuesday - Special events

MINT VALENTINE

2010-02-12T14:40:00.000-05:00

Valentine's day dinner special:

Moletto prosecco - dry italian sparking wine -
$18 / 375 ml

Pineapple-Fennel Salad with Sesame-Ginger dressing - $12

Mint Valentine:
Simple red lentil dal, baked tempeh marinated in mild chili powder and cumin, citrus-tamari kale, sauteed asparagus, and a peanut dipping sauce. -
$16
Chocolate-espresso mousse tart- $ 8

Oh, and we reserve the right to change all this at the last minute...but we will try not to...

2010-02-06T12:41:00.000-05:00

BACK IN BUSINESS

2010-01-27T08:38:00.001-05:00

The water inside of our dinning room is all gone and we are ready to go. Wednesday lunch is on! See you at 12 pm.

FLOOD

2010-01-25T17:20:00.000-05:00

Lots of rain today! Our dinning room unfortunately couldn't hold up and we got lots of water inside. We are in the middle of trying to get the water to stay outside and cleaning up the floor. We will have to close for Monday (January 25th) dinner. Sorry everyone. Hopefully we will be ready to go on Wednesday for lunch.

Closed for lunch on the 20th

2010-01-16T08:43:00.000-05:00

This coming week in addition to Tuesday, MINT will be closed for lunch on Wednesday, January 20th . See you at dinner on the 20th.

Pasta making

2010-01-09T12:52:00.000-05:00

Cooking class

2010-01-03T18:59:00.000-05:00

We are thinking about a cooking class. Anyone interested to have some fun with food and teas?
We could create some beautiful, tasty dishes with veggies, grains, spices, breads, desserts, teas...

If you are interested, please let us know in the comments or send an email.

Happy New Year - thanks to all for a very good holiday season!

2010-01-03T13:35:00.000-05:00

We survived this week !!! Things went smoothly and one menu item received extraordinary attention. The Sproutada. So here's a little photo sequence on how we make the dish.

We toast a yellow corn tortilla with rice, beans, chili sauce and cheese, then the plate gets avocado and sprouts, then goes the hot tortilla, topped with tahini dressed greens, carrots, beets...

License to sell beer and wine

2009-12-17T18:21:00.000-05:00

We finally got our beer and wine license today! Now we can slowly build up our inventory and create an interesting selection for you. For this "glorious" occasion, we offer a delicious tapas plate - marinated feta, sauteed green beans, raw fennel, caramelized beets, crostini and a balsamic reduction. Goes well with the Meritage... See you at dinner....

Snow and tonight

2009-12-11T16:49:00.000-05:00

We are getting snowed in tonight and we love it! It feels really cozy and warm in here at MINT.
Come and join us for some delicious food, some lights and intimate dining or just some hot tea and pastries.
Our sweets tonight are:

Viennese apple strudel with toasted almonds and caramel sauce
In-house made Tiramisu
Apple cinnamon dumplings with orange glaze
Lemon tart
Chocolate mousse pie
Gerbeaud - layered pastry with walnuts, home made cranberry and orange preserve and chocolate
Poppy seed christmas bites
Baklava

See you soon and have a nice and cozy evening...

Thanksgiving Day

2009-11-25T18:48:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow we will be open from 10 am to 4 pm! Come early! Happy Thanksgiving for everyone!

2009-11-23T16:14:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving

2009-11-19T19:10:00.000-05:00

We are open for thanksgiving lunch from 12 to 4. We'll try to make some nice pre-thanksgiving special to warm you all up to a yummy dinner...

MINT

2009-11-12T11:00:00.000-05:00

Moving Day

2009-10-31T12:38:00.000-04:00

Today is moving day but we are still open at the Tea Store. We are getting ready and hopefully Sunday we can smooth out the last wrinkles...
We hope to open for business on Monday (Nov. 2nd) at 12 pm. In case our kitchen is not ready, we will still open the Tea Store and Tea Lounge. See you there...

London T-Mobil ad

2009-10-20T12:25:00.000-04:00

In case anyone needs a lift:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM

Chanda Mama

2009-10-20T12:19:00.000-04:00

Listen....http://www.playingforchange.com/episodes/7/Chanda_Mama

Status Update Oct 20th

2009-10-20T10:26:00.000-04:00

All the tables are done, windows are clean, winter is coming and we need curtains... Every table will have a world city name engraved into it. Here we are looking at Adis Ababa and Cairo.

Unfortunately my phone doesn't take great pictures and we can not see how vivid these colors are. In the far right corner is where the Tea Store will migrate on Nov. 2nd.

Some pillow samples - these were made especially for us, by us and our friend Michelle... We used Indian saris for the casing.

So many things are happening at the same time, it's not even funny anymore. Fortunately I'm told it is normal. Now with foliage gone and winter approaching there are less people around and more time to get things done right.

About the wandering mind of creativity...

2009-10-09T17:11:00.001-04:00

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124535297048828601.html

SEVEN DAYS

2009-10-08T11:43:00.000-04:00

There is an article about us in Seven Days! Please read it, it's a perfect description of us and what we are trying to do. Thank you Suzanne! Read the article here.

Status update (!)

2009-10-08T10:47:00.000-04:00

The two booths are made of maple wood (I think) and the aligator green paint matches it very well. Still haven't decided what to do with the carpet, but by the looks of it it will just have to be shampooed ...

While we were in the space painting, a number of people walked by and peeked in. Some even came inside to check out what we were doing. The empty space looks large at the moment, but experience shows that as soon as you put the tables, chairs and all the other props space runs out.

October Show at the Artisans' Gallery and Tea Store

2009-09-26T15:01:00.000-04:00

The show by MARILYN RUSECKAS is called Out of the Ordinary and will hang for the month of October!

http://www.marilynruseckas.com/

Get Healthy

2009-09-26T11:13:00.001-04:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tara-stiles/do-your-part-for-health-c_b_299398.html

Kitchen

2009-09-26T11:08:00.000-04:00

Waiting....for our Kitchen...for equipment to be delivered and installed...for things we cannot do ourselves...

TEA STORE

2009-09-24T11:44:00.000-04:00

FIND A NEW HABIT WITH TEA!

www.shop.aromasandteas.com

Just a reminder: The TEA STORE behind Artisans' Gallery is open! Lots of loose, fragrant and beautiful teas, infuser pots and other "Tea Ceremony" items. We will be moving to our new spot on October 31st, waking up on November 1st at MINT...

2009-09-22T19:41:00.000-04:00

On the air...
http://www.dinnerhour.org/downloads/dh/dh_2009-09-22.mp3

We were just interviewed by Robin @ dinnerhour.org, who also hosts a very cool show on WMRW-LP - a local radio station. So the word is out, MINT is coming and we are both very nervous and happy. This was our first ever interview and I know I was very nervous during the first several minutes. Then Robin asks "I hope it's okay if I video-tape this show for everyone who can't get the radio broadcast, so that they can see it on channel 44..." Great, I am nervous, we just spent 3 hours in our new kitchen scrubbing walls, floors and sinks and we look it and everyone can now see all of it... But as soon as Robin started the show and her soft voice lent a nice calm to the studio, everything improved, I felt comfortable again and happy to be in a radio station.

We talked about our move from LA to Waitsfield and how we found the Tea Store, which led us to MINT. The topic of "local food" came up naturally. I am very happy to be living in Vermont since the climate here is very similar to the climate in Hungary and Bulgaria (where my wife and I are from). This means that we have similar ingredients growing in the vicinity and therefore, making use of it will be fairly familiar. One thing we miss from Southern California, though is good Mexican... Avocado on toasted crusty bread with olive oil and lemon juice and black pepper, fresh guacamole, fresh corn tortillas are ... well very tasty. We'll see. Something else will come up in place of readily available, reasonably priced avocados... Or maybe I just don't know where to get them from.

So far we have purchased one double oven stove with a "flat-top" griddle and a salamander, on wheels (yes) so we can move it and clean behind it; a three door giant refrigerator, a three door sandwich fridge, a three bay sink, a bunch of cleaning supplies and a cook book by Susur. Next up is to find out about insurance and wines...

Not too pretty yet....

2009-09-20T16:47:00.000-04:00

The carpet in the dining room is in pretty sad shape. We are told that if we rip it up and just polish the cement underneath it will make the room too loud. Loud = unwelcoming, not intimate, the opposite of what we are trying to create. So the carpet stays for now, we will shampoo it a thousand or two thousand times and see how it will look then. We couldn't help wondering why things are left to deteriorate to almost unfixable levels. This is purely my personal take on the subject, but the overpass over I89 at Waterbury is horrible. And every time I drive over it I feel like I am going to loose a wheel or two. And one would think that a busy intersection like that should be in fairly good shape. Oh well...

I digress...

Back to the restaurant - it will need quite a bit of cleaning and painting, but when all is done, we will invite everyone do a opening party. Which, we promise you, is going to be super cool.

Future house of our kitchen....

2009-09-20T16:45:00.000-04:00

As of September 20, 2009 - before

2009-09-20T16:42:00.000-04:00

http://www.mintrestaurant.blogspot.com/google6019aa322663397e.html

2009-09-18T14:21:00.000-04:00

Preparations - as you can probably tell, I was trying to copy and paste google's control script on to this post, but since I am a newly-hatched rookie, I pasted it in the wrong spot, so now the post name looks funky. I'll leave it be for a reminder when I look back in time...