For the Love of Chocolate

Hi, Friends! If you’re like me, you celebrate as many holidays and special occasions as possible. Most of them involve celebratory food of some kind (admittedly, this might be one the primary reasons I celebrate everything!) With Galentine’s Day & Valentine’s Day on the horizon for this weekend, I specifically have dessert on my mind, and that brought me back to our dessert feature in Manchester Life Magazine Holiday ‘25/Winter ‘26. Sadly, I didn’t get a chance to sample any of the desserts we featured. Until now!

I recently had a lovely meal at curATE Café, Southern Vermont Arts Center’s (SVAC) artful eatery. Chef Julie Heins’ Chocolate Budino was one of the desserts we featured, so I absolutely had to order it, despite my almost-full belly. Oh, my! This was my first time savoring a budino, and it was as delightful as I hoped it would be. The silky, rich texture was similar to a pot du creme, but jazzed up with a crumbly, cookie-like bottom layer. The budino is always on curATE’s menu, reflecting the tastes of each season. The winter budino was served with an airy, spiced pumpkin nougat, a bath of caramel, and some roasted peanuts for extra crunch and flavor. I made sure to bring some home to my sweetheart, so we could share the love (and the calories!)

I highly recommend a visit to curATE Cafe- for the gorgeously-presented food & cocktails, for the beautiful artwork on display (gallery viewing is encouraged while you wait for your meal), and most definitely for the budino. Can’t wait to see the spring budino flavor profile!

The savory portion of my meal was also yummy! The Vermont Hot Brown is a unique take on a classic open-faced turkey sandwich. In this case, the “gravy” is a sinfully gooey cheddar cheese mornay sauce, generously poured over roasted turkey, tomato jam, bacon, and country white bread. Even the side salad had special touches, with roasted nuts, dried cranberries, and red onion dressed in a mustard vinaigrette. It was a tangy, fresh accompaniment to this hearty sandwich.

The Dreams Never End specialty cocktail is made with Bulleit Rye, pear syrup, sweet vermouth, a splash of Fernet Branca, and a Luxardo cherry! It’s the pear syrup that does it for me…

Check out “Sweet Things,” our dessert feature in Holiday ‘25/Winter ‘26!