Vermont
Ondis Serves Seasonal Fare With a Side of Community in Montpelier
In July 2016, I spent one last day scrubbing down the tiger-lily-orange kitchen walls of my recently closed Montpelier business, Salt Café, and locked the door behind me. Since 2010, when I left my full-time job at Seven Days to open a restaurant, I’d spent nearly every day there, making flourless chocolate cake, rolling out sheets of herbed pasta or washing the dishes when a dishwasher called in sick. When times were tight, which was sometimes for months, I even spent my nights on a bedroll stretched out beneath the dining room tables, dreaming to the burble of chicken stock simmering on the stove.
Salt was located at 207 Barre Street, just steps from Hunger Mountain Co-op, and until three weeks ago, I hadn’t set foot in the building since that summer day eight years ago. What lured me back? One peek at the menu of Ondis, a new restaurant that opened in December after long-lived Kismet — which began in that space, moved downtown for a few years and then returned — closed its doors.
Ondis is co-owned by bartender couple Emma Sanford and Christopher Leighton. (He also owns Après cocktail lounge in Stowe, in partnership with Mirror Mirror owner Lindsay Chisholm.) They hired culinary school grad and longtime area chef Max Vogel to run the kitchen. Together, the trio serves up a playful, creative seasonal menu with exceptionally crafted drinks that put fresh twists on the classics. The restaurant vibe is cool and urban, with neutral tones on the walls and concrete and metal accents in the décor. There are just 20 indoor seats, but the opening of a seasonal patio will double the capacity.
“Something I really enjoy about our space being so small,” Leighton said, “is that it feels like something you’d find in a city, in some way … It’s a space where people can translocate.”
On a Thursday evening in late March, entering Ondis from the quiet, chilly residential street and emerging into a sleek, metropolitan restaurant, filled with customers shooting oysters and clinking glasses of wine, did feel something like walking into a wardrobe and landing in Narnia. After taking a seat near a collection of cookbooks and some potted plants, a friend and I pored over the winter menu, which has since changed for spring.
At the next table, Sofia and Michael Philbrick — coincidentally, customers of mine at Salt and now fervid Ondis regulars — insisted that we order the truffle fries ($16). We obeyed, ordering those along with much of the rest of the menu. The fries were labor-intensive and stunning, made by stacking layer after translucent layer of potato, cutting out rectangular slices, and frying them until golden and crisp. They were served with a sunny hemisphere of truffle aioli and topped with a blizzard of shredded cheese and chives.
The Philbricks come to Ondis for the “intimate atmosphere” and excellent service, Sofia said. “I really appreciate the time [Leighton] takes to explain the wine and the dishes,” she noted. She added that she never feels like she’s being rushed, even when all the tables are full.
Other pros for the Philbricks include the interesting selection of sauces that accompany the raw oysters, the price-to-quality ratio and the fact that the menu is well designed for people who want to share dishes with their companions.
Given the parade of plates at our table, I was grateful indeed to be splitting with a friend. In addition to the fries, my favorites included Moroccan spiced carrots, blistered but still bright, sprinkled with powdered pistachio and mounded with a tangle of microgreens ($12); plump shrimp perched on a cake of grits, accompanied by seared corn kernels ($17); and pillowy steamed buns stuffed with Korean-style pickles and battered-and-fried oyster mushrooms ($15).
On the new menu, there is still a steamed bun ($20), but now it’s filled with lobster salad and microgreens, drizzled with yuzu-flavored Japanese mayo. A mezze appetizer, featuring a selection of dips and dippables, has been transmuted into an entrée with the addition of lamb kebabs and homemade flatbread ($40).
There are completely fresh items, too: pork belly with ramp cream and apple-fennel slaw ($12); chicken congee with crispy chicken skin and chile oil ($20); and sea scallops with pancetta, beech mushrooms, bok choy and cognac-miso beurre blanc ($18).
At the moment, the food list is happily heavy on seafood thanks to deliveries from Wood Mountain Fish, and the owners are continuing to build relationships with Montpelier-area farmers and artisans. “We want to work with smaller producers who are doing stuff off the beaten path,” Leighton explained. In the past, he’s purchased seaberries and tiny northern kiwis from East Hill Tree Farm in Plainfield to use in cocktails.
On the current drink list — which bridges the liminal space between blizzards, mud and the first tender moments of spring — there are still what Sanford refers to as “spirit-forward” drinks that feel warming in chilly weather and hint at sunnier times to come. Think vodka with celery shrub and fresh pineapple ($13) and tequila milk punch flavored with tulsi, rose and lime ($14).
The one truly classic drink on the menu is a gin and tonic ($10) in honor of Sanford’s late mother, for whom the restaurant is named. Sanford, who grew up in nearby Marshfield, learned to love food and drink, and sharing them with community, from her family.
“My parents always cooked, and their friends were always over having dinner parties,” she recalled. “Dining was this special thing of getting everyone together. It held importance to me, and when we were naming [the restaurant], that spoke to us.”
Leighton and Sanford live in Plainfield, and both previously tended bar in Montpelier at Barr Hill. When they learned that Kismet was closing, they began dreaming of opening a business there, close to home.
“We went back and forth on what we wanted the space to be,” Sanford recalled. “Chris and I are both bar people, but there’s a commercial kitchen, so it seemed kind of silly not to do food.”
But the couple couldn’t find a chef who seemed like a good fit and were resigned to serving only drinks and snacks. Then, just before the opening, Vogel — a New England Culinary Institute grad who was running the kitchen at the Reservoir in Waterbury — showed up for an interview.
“Max has been entirely in charge of the food program, and we’re really appreciative to have him,” Leighton said. “We give him the space to be creative, and the business runs with him, because of him. He’s super talented.”
With three visionaries packed into a sardine can of a kitchen, how does the menu-planning process work? First, Vogel “will lay out his brainchild,” Leighton said. “We’ll collectively look at it and make decisions about what we think will work and what might not work.”
If a dish excites the trio but would be hard to source for an entire season, it might become a special. “We do a seasonal menu that will be the skeleton for three months,” Leighton noted, “but something will change nearly every day.”
Although the drinks are intended to complement the food, Sanford explained, they are not necessarily created with specific pairings in mind. “It’s more based on seasonality,” she said. The use of fresh, local ingredients in both the food and the cocktails — including herbs and specialty items grown by the owners in their garden — creates a harmony that makes the complex beverages and intricate dishes taste great together.
With all the buzz around their business, managing a small number of seats could be a tricky task. So Sanford and Leighton eschew reservations and instead use a wait list for in-person and online table requests. Locals can drop onto the list digitally, from the comfort of their living rooms. After receiving a text that a table is available, they have 15 minutes to scoot over to Ondis and claim it.
I caught Knayte Lander, co-owner of Buch Spieler Records, on the way to band practice prior to dinner at Ondis. Lander is impressed by the restaurant’s execution. “Their cocktail is, like, ‘vodka cocktail,’ and then it comes out, and it’s simple in its presentation yet completely unmakeable by [me],” he said. “They’re not showboating … They’re just really well trained at what they’re doing.”
Leighton summed up the philosophy that he and Sanford share: “We take the extra time and do the simple things really well. It makes all the difference.”
Diners seem to appreciate the effort. “The town is struggling to recover from a flood,” Lander said, referring to last July’s catastrophic rainfall. “Montpelier is having a rough day, but for a whole year. My aunt used to say that in times of distress, frivolity is important. Ondis isn’t frivolous, but it’s helping people feel OK right now.”
Lander echoed Leighton’s observation about Ondis having a different feel from its immediate environs, and from Montpelier in general. “Ondis is giving this otherworldly vibe,” he mused. “It seems equal parts European and incredibly urban, with attention to detail plus a very nice, comfortable atmosphere. It’s not your home. You’re transported.”
For a moment in time, the Ondis space actually was my home, and I’d worried that it would be painful to be back. Because the space was lovely and the food was exciting and the company was friendly, it wasn’t.
This commentary is by Mike Mrowicki, democratic state representative for the Windham-4 district.
As we head into the 2025 legislative session in January, I want to first offer congratulations to Gov. Scott, Jason Maalucci and the Republican campaign effort. They sure got it right about affordability.
Yes, property taxes / education funding are on people’s minds but the ongoing frustration about inflation/affordability also includes the price of eggs, the increase in health insurance cost and rising home insurance costs. Especially where there’s been flooding two years in a row.
So, Vermonters want action and there sure seems a broad sense of enthusiasm from legislators to come together and get the work done. To balance the competing needs of providing our kids a quality education and making it affordable. After all, the kids of today will be taking our blood pressure tomorrow and don’t we want them to be able to do it accurately, based on the quality education they got in Vermont?
At the same time, no one should feel that their taxes are a threat to staying in their homes. We need to make sure, especially for those on fixed incomes, that despite rising property values, property taxes should reflect ability to pay.
In the spirit of working together with the governor, then, I and other legislators are eagerly awaiting his ideas for fixing the property tax / ed funding dilemma. And, we are ready to hear what he has to say on the raft of other factors that challenge Vermonters’ sense of affordability.
Like the cost of health insurance. Blue Cross Blue Shield Vermont individual premiums will rise by 19.8% next year. There isn’t a budget this doesn’t affect: home budgets, town budgets, school budgets and state budgets. It’s a cost driver across the board and we’re looking forward to hearing the governor’s plan on how to make this more affordable.
Housing is unaffordable and, in many cases, unavailable, especially for our financially challenged neighbors. The lack of housing is the barrier to progress in so many sections of our landscape. It is the greatest barrier to growing our workforce and economy so, likewise, we’re looking forward to the governor’s plans on Housing.
The cost of transportation and maintaining our roads and bridges is also unaffordable. This is compounded by our gas taxes no longer providing sufficient funds to maintain our roads and bridges. Here’s another area where we’re waiting to hear the administration’s plan so we can work together to solve this.
And, of course, climate change is costing towns across Vermont unaffordable amounts to fix the damage from this year’s floods, and last year’s as well. Who knows what next year will bring, but these are costs that Vermont taxpayers are bearing right now and adding to the pile of issues that are making Vermont unaffordable. We’ll be looking forward to hearing from the governor and his administration how we make those climate costs affordable.
Legislators are ready to work together, as the 18-week session nears. To work together in the spirit of cooperation and keeping focused on how we can best help Vermonters.
As the late Mario Cuomo once said when he was governor of New York in the last century, “You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose.” A good way of saying the campaign is over, the hard work is ahead of us.
Vermonters work hard to make ends meet. We get that. Legislators will also be working hard to make sure Vermonters feel heard and see results. When we adjourn in May, here’s hoping the spirit of cooperation brings us to a better place for all the issues facing Vermont, so everyone’s hard work feels all the more worthwhile.
Vermont
A trio of performers plans to host Bethel’s 1st annual drag-themed Christmas party – VTDigger
Three young drag performers are hosting a Christmas party in the small town of Bethel. They say they would rather do it in rural Vermont than in any big city.
“I feel like it’s really important to show up and show that there are people here,” said drag queen Ima Hoar, known offstage as Elijah Reed. “I’ve heard so many people say that we’re all just hiding in the hills a little bit.”
Ryder Faster, a 22-year old drag king also known as AJ Holbrook-Gates, said the trio, who all live in Bethel, want to bring drag to smaller communities to let people “who are under the radar” know that they’re seen.
The 18+ party is scheduled to take place Friday at the White Church.
Ima Hoar has taken the lead on logistics, overseeing essentials like the sound system and venue setup. Reed is married to Adam Messier, who’s also performing in Friday’s show as Lavender Homicide. The pair’s drag journey began during the isolation of Covid-19, when they started performing at home and hosting karaoke nights. Their creative spark, born in private, has since grown into a dynamic partnership bringing drag to Vermont’s rural communities.
“We wanted to have a similar vibe to that, where it’s like a relaxed space where people can have fun and just do whatever kind of makeup you want and do whatever kind of songs you want,” Lavender said.
This Friday’s party will mark Ima Hoar’s second performance, where she’ll swap the glitz of traditional burlesque drag for her signature style: comedy. Her specialty? “Grandma drag,” a playful homage to her childhood memories, performed in a nightgown.
“That kind of comes from when my grandmother had wigs growing up, and so I would always dress up as her essentially,” she said. “I would wear the wigs and put on both my sisters’ princess heels and walk around with a cane.”
Ima described her drag queen persona as leaning heavily into comedy, embodying the awkwardness and playful allure of a “sexy grandma.”
As a nonbinary performer, Ima sees drag as an exploration of extremes, where gender becomes a playful exaggeration. “It feels very nice to do this polar opposite of this super gender thing, where you’re just dressing up as gender personified a little bit,” she said. “I definitely find it very healing in a gender way.”
Lavender Homicide, 22, on the other hand, describes herself as an “80s hooker in a horror movie.”
“I’ve always loved the rock and roll and the punk aesthetic of it all,” she said, adding that seeing the women wearing fishnet tights and miniskirts with crazy hair was inspiring.
She chose the name Lavender Homicide not only because she likes the flower, but also because she tries to mix sweet names with scary ones.
She also wears a lot of perfume, mainly the scent Champagne Toast, out of fear of smelling bad while performing.
Lavender recalled being encouraged years ago to perform by Emoji Nightmare, a drag entertainer in Vermont whom she has known since she was 15. “She’s the big game in Vermont,” Lavender said.
“She kind of was all the time, like, ‘Hey, when are you going to come perform?’ And I’m like, ‘I’m a teenager. I can’t do that,’” she said.
Lavender recalled struggling with finding her identity when she was young. While she wasn’t ready to perform as a teenager, she started at 15 with drag makeup and has been perfecting it for seven years now. “I love wearing dresses and heels and makeup, but I’m also fine with the body that I was born with and how I dress day to day,” she said. “And I went through a lot of inner turmoil with that.”
It wasn’t until Bethel Pride Fest 2023 — an event Lavender was helping run — that her mindset started to shift. She received a surprising message from another drag performer the following week asking if she wanted to be part of an upcoming show. Lavender’s response? “Absolutely.”
Lavender’s former classmate at Randolph Union High School will also be taking the stage Friday night.
The Christmas party will be Ryder Faster’s second themed event, following a Halloween party where he missed a memo about the dress code.
“It was supposed to be a spooky Halloween theme, and I dressed up as Donald Trump,” he said. “And then everybody else was wearing black dresses and such.”
Ryder’s drag persona draws inspiration from other performers, particularly fellow drag king Prince Muffin, who also plans to perform at the Christmas party. With his cowboy hat, chaps, and bold contouring, Ryder hopes his performances share the message of self-acceptance.
“I hope to encourage people to love themselves for who they are,” he said. “Because I certainly didn’t do so for a while.”
The Christmas party is hosted together with Babes Bar, which will have a pop-up bar at the party. The collaboration blossomed out of an initial favor the owners of the bar, Jesse and Owen McCarter, did for Ima and Lavender in real life. They helped the couple buy a house.
“I’m super excited to support younger folks who move into town,” said Owen McCarter. He has seen them all perform and believes they all complement each other.
“Ryder is the Western manly character. Lavender brings very fierce energy. She’s very bold and confident, and Ima, she’s hilarious and has a lot of jokes,” he said.
Breaking barriers
In Bethel, these drag performers are carving out an inclusive space in a community that might initially seem an unlikely stage for their art, Ima said. The choice to settle in a rural town rather than a city like Burlington, known for its openness and established LGBTQ+ community, was practical and intentional.
“We moved here last year, and Bethel has a very engaged community just all around,” Ima said. “It’s very supportive of just little projects everywhere.”
With initiatives like the Juneteenth Celebration and Pride Fest, Ima and others are not only fostering connections but also challenging the perception that rural spaces lack inclusivity.
For Lavender Homicide, drag is not just performance — it’s a statement of visibility and resilience in a time when mainstream attention has brought both celebration and backlash.
“I think drag is very important nowadays. I think more than ever,” Lavender said, reflecting on how shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race have catapulted drag from the underground bar scene into the cultural spotlight.
But with that visibility comes scrutiny.
“With most things, because it’s mainstream now, people are upset about it,” she said. Lavender and her fellow performers are determined to counter narratives painting drag as harmful or inappropriate.
“We’re trying to just push the community, especially with the whole ‘drag queens are dangerous to children’ narrative,” she said. “But we’re not, though.”
For Ima, bringing drag to small towns is about bridging distances — both literal and metaphorical. She said there are many drag performances in Burlington, but for many rural residents, attending these events involves lengthy drives, something not everyone can do regularly.
The goal, instead, is to create moments of joy closer to home — whether in Bethel or neighboring towns like Williamstown — where drag performers engage with local businesses, recognizing that these residents, too, exist in their own “bubble,” Ima said. Beyond convenience, there’s also a quiet defiance in this choice.
“I feel like some of it is semi-passive resistance against just the idea that rural communities aren’t super accepting,” Ima said. “We’re not doing anything super political, but we’re just existing in a way that holds space.”
Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show, which has a $15 admission fee, starts at 7 p.m.
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The 2024-2025 Vermont high school winter season has begun. See below for scores, schedules and game details (statistical leaders, game notes) from basketball, hockey, gymnastics, wrestling, Nordic/Alpine skiing and other winter sports.
TO REPORT SCORES
Coaches or team representatives are asked to report results ASAP after games by emailing sports@burlingtonfreepress.com. Please submit with a name/contact number.
►Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter:@aabrami5.
►Contact Judith Altneu at jaltneu@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.
WEDNESDAY’S H.S. GAMES
Girls basketball
Games at 7 p.m. unless noted
Blue Mountain at Sharon, 6 p.m.
Colchester at Mount Mansfield
Boys basketball
Games at 7 p.m. unless noted
Lamoille at Williamstown, 5:30 p.m.
Lake Region at Lyndon, 6:30 p.m.
Stowe at Richford
Peoples at Hazen
North Country at U-32
White River Valley at Randolph
St. Johnsbury at Colchester
Montpelier at Rice
Thetford at Oxbow
Boys hockey
Brattleboro at Rutland, 4 p.m.
Colchester at Rice, 5:20 p.m.
Harwood at Hartford, 5:45 p.m.
Missisquoi at North Country (Jay Peak), 6 p.m.
Burr and Burton at Woodstock, 6:55 p.m.
Champlain Valley at Spaulding, 7:15 p.m.
Milton at Stowe, 7:15 p.m.
Middlebury at South Burlington, 7:40 p.m.
Girls hockey
Hartford at Spaulding, 5:15 p.m.
Kingdom Blades at Essex, 6 p.m.
Middlebury at Brattleboro, 7:15 p.m.
Dr. Butsch Tournament at Central Vermont Memorial Civic Center
Stowe at U-32, 4 p.m.
Burr and Burton vs. Missisquoi, 6 p.m.
Burlington/Colchester Tournament at Leddy Arena
Beekmantown, NY vs Rice, 5:30 p.m.
Franklin Academy, NY at Burlington/Colchester 7:40 p.m.
THURSDAY’S H.S. GAMES
Girls basketball
Games at 7 p.m. unless noted
Randolph at Williamstown, 6 p.m.
Stowe at Woodstock, 6 p.m.
Milton at Richford, 7 p.m.
South Burlington at Spaulding
Lyndon at Hazen
Montpelier at Harwood
North Country at BFA-St. Albans
Thetford at Northfield
Oxbow at Rivendell
Boys basketball
Games at 7 p.m. unless noted
BFA-St. Albans at Milton
Danville at Twinfield/Cabot
Mount Mansfield at Essex, 7:30 p.m.
Girls hockey
Burlington/Colchester Tournament at Leddy Arena
Franklin Academy, NY vs. Rice, 5:30 p.m.
Beekmantown, NY at Burlington/Colchester, 7:40 p.m.
(Subject to change)
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