Gallus Handcrafted Pasta, Waterbury, Vermont

What a treat! This new restaurant is in the location of a previous favorite--the Waterbury Hen of the Woods restaurant moved into a very modern building and left this charming (but small) site behind. I love this old mill, aside a stream (of course) with a dry staacked black slate foundation, and now it has new life with a handmade pasta restaurant run by the same chef! The menu is a pared down one, with about bread, about 5 appetizers, 6 pasta dishes, 2 mains, and one dessert. The drinks menu is similarly slimmed down, but wow, everything packs a punch. From our recent visit--and we will be returning--the favorites included: first, the eggplant parmesan, which was a lovely blend of fired eggplan, parmesan, and a bright tomato sauce--I could have had another order and still wanted more. The second for me was the meatballs in the spaghetti and meatballs. They were light as a feather and full of flavor, with the spaghetti being a great foil for them. All the food was delicious, and the few things our table did not try that night were ordered by fellow diners and looked equally tasty to what we ordered. And the swag they have is top notch to boot.