We've been meaning to try The Seasoned Skillet in Randolph, VT -- finally went last night, and it…read morewas well worth the wait! The ambiance is ideal--unfussy, comfortable and appealing. I love the skillets on the wall, and the size of the dining room, small and intimate and easy to have a conversation.
The app choices were irresistable and despite thinking we would share one or two, all four of us ordered one--we had the Thai chicken skewers, shaved asparagus salad, and two specials: Hasselback (sp?) roasted potatoes and the roasted cauliflower special. All were flavorful, and very generous portions, but the roasted cauliflower and the INCREDIBLE SAUCE makes me wish I had ordered one to take home for today, it was gone in two minutes.The yogurt marinated Thai chicken skewers were juicy and delicious with another incredible dipping sauce, and could nearly have been a meal--yum! The shaved asparagus salad was work of art, plus crunchy and delicious, featuring roasted pistachios and a lemon-basil vinaigrette that I wanted to take home in a bottle.
Of the four of us, three chose the Beef Barbacoa Bowl. It was tender and loaded with flavor, yet made light and summer perfect with fresh pico de gallo, guac, corn and pickled onion. The portions were generous and I'm very much looking forward to my leftovers today! The Hoisin Duck Salad was a table favorite with shredded bits of pickled ginger and other home-pickled veggies, a honey mustard vinaigrette, and the amazing crunchy fried shallots.
Despite all that, we somehow managed to order four desserts, and made short work of the maple puffs, mocha mousse, lemon cheesecake, and maple pavlova. The mousse was the richest, smoothest chocolate mousse I've ever had, with a frothed coffee cream layer under whipped cream. If chocolate is your thing, GET THE MOUSSE! The lemon cheesecake is a classic, with a homemade graham cracker crust and a tart curd with fresh blueberries, but was next level in terms of flavor and texture. If they sold desserts to go (HINT!) in a chiller case I would be in trouble, but very very very happy. (All the desserts are made in house.)
You can sit at the bar instead of the full meal -- we saw a couple there with wine and a shared plate, while we did the full three courses. Our server Nick was warm and attentive, and helped us through a few tricky decisions from the menu. And while Chef Nora doesn't have her sauces, salad dressing and desserts for sale to go (yet! we can dream about that!) her cookbook, Vermont Farm to Table is available for purchase! (We bought it.)
The cookbook includes the recipe for the Summer Maple Berry Pavlova on the summer menu, and hot tip: the recipe for the Smashed Yukon Gem Potatoes in the book has a very similar flavor profile to the potato appetizer featured on the specials, with sour cream and brown butter crispy chili sauce. I'm hoping volume two will include the roasted cauliflower recipe, the lemon-basil vinagrette recipe and the CHOCOLATE MOUSSE recipe.
Note--the menu changes seasonally, and these dishes are on the new summer 2026 menu. If I had to sum it up our meal in one word, it'd be "flavor" and if I had two words, I'd add "comfortable." The Seasoned Skillet gave us all the best parts of going out (interesting flavors, fresh and local ingredients, a menu that takes some chances, great service) but still felt familiar and homey. Already trying to figure out when we can go back! Five stars, 1000% recommend!