The cocktail list is equally inventive, organized by flavor profiles like “light and aromatic” or “boozy and bold.” Staying true to the local-first ethos,you’ll findmany a Vermont-made spirit, and garnishes such as mint, basil, and edible flowers are likely to have been plucked from Spruce Peak’s own gardens. The summer menu is refreshing and balanced, with an emphasis on citrus, which complements fish as naturally as squeezing a wedge of lemon over a grilled filet.
Of course, this being Vermont, we can’t forget about the craft beer, and the plentiful menu selections look no further than state lines. One to try: “Ten Bends Beer—located just over the mountain in Hyde Park—makes a balanced, citrusy IPA exclusively for Spruce Peak,” Thompson says.
Connecting Mountain and Sea
Sustainability is baked into Spruce Peak’s ethos (we are an Audubon International Sustainable Community for our commitment to environmentallyfriendly practices )—and that includes the thoughtfully assembled restaurant menus. “All of our fish is traceable, sometimes down to the boat that it’s caught on,” Blomgren says.
And sustainability goes hand-in-hand with quality—the “greenest” seafood is in abundant supply during a given season, so it's fresh off the boat and super tasty. The summer menu includes Maine hake, halibut, and bluefin tuna; shellfish from the Boston piers; and trout raised in a stateof- the-art ecological fish farm in New Hampshire. He’s also working to secure Vermont farm-raised organic shrimp, grown by Sweet Sound Aquaculture,part of the Earthkeep Farmcommon collaborative in Charlotte.
“Our suppliers take a lot of pride in healthy aquaculture, making sure fish stocks are where they need to be,” Blomgren says. “I can get a fish from a certain captain, on a certain boat, and the dish I make with it will tell that story,” he says. The stories Tipsy Trout is telling are waiting to be devoured.