Fuel Up at Vermont’s Newest Slope-Side Dining Destinations

Every winter, perhaps excluding the last one, visitors from all over the world flock to Vermont for snowy wonderland activities. Whether boarding down a half-pipe,...

by Melissa Pasanen

December 7, 2021

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Every winter, perhaps excluding the last one, visitors from all over the world flock to Vermont for snowy wonderland activities. Whether boarding down a half-pipe, slicing through the backcountry or gliding along a high-elevation cross-country trail, everyone works up an appetite. Three new food options close to — and even on — the slopes show that Vermont offers an equally global menu.

Craving traditional Mexican tacos? How about a Southern-style feast? Or maybe Japanese miso soup and rice balls? Read on for a whole new set of reasons to head to the mountain.

Miso toh Kome

Bolton Valley Resort, Jay Peak Resort, Stowe Mountain Resort and Sugarbush Resort, 518-605-4474

Jon Cohen of Miso toh Kome at Bolton Valley Resort JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

When Jordan and Momo Antonucci launched their Miso Hungry food truck at Jay Peak Resort in 2014, “We had $2 to our name,” Jordan said. Seven years later, the couple can count a little bit more. They now serve food inspired by Momo’s native Japan out of one tram, two trucks and, new this year, three trailside huts.

The Antonuccis began their business with ramen bowls and have gradually added rice balls (onigiri in Japanese) to their menu. The two foods fueled the couple during their courtship in Japan, where they pursued a shared passion for snow sports.

Pork and spicy tuna rice balls JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

This winter, three new Miso toh Kome huts will open at Bolton Valley, Sugarbush‘s Mount Ellen and Stowe‘s base lodge. Kome means rice in Japanese. Each hut will serve up steaming bowls of Momo’s from-scratch miso soup, made from a mix of white and red miso with caramelized local apples, ginger and other ingredients. Also on the menu: assorted rice balls and canned Japanese coffee.

The rice balls, especially, are perfect for long days in the backcountry, Jordan explained. Warm, seasoned sushi rice is shaped around fillings such as braised and flame-broiled Vermont pork; spicy New England-caught tuna; nuggets of sour plum; braised shiitake with kelp; or marinated, broiled eel. Each triangular rice ball, about the size of a baseball, comes wrapped in a rectangle of dried seaweed.

The rice balls are rich with carbohydrates and protein, sturdy and portable when wrapped in foil, and perfectly suited for eating on the go. “They are the Japanese version of a Clif Bar,” Jordan said.

Expanding to new resorts is exciting for both business and personal reasons, he continued. When you have an excuse to get season passes for four different mountains, Jordan said with a laugh, “You’ve made it.”

The original print version of this article was headlined “Snow Snacks”