Best Maple Menu Contest

The Vermont Maple Festival is preparing to sponsor the 4th annual BEST MAPLE MENU contest.

The contest welcomes participants from across northern Vermont. Any food-service establishment, with maple on the menu, is invited to register for this month-long, diner-judged event.

The 2025 Vermont Maple Festival-sponsored Best Maple Menu Contest opens April 1 and continues until April 30. Throughout the month, diners are invited to serve as the judges for this competition, now in it's fourth year. Previous winners were Nelly's Pub and Grill, Kaiju Kitchen and Phoenix House. Ratings and comments, for all participants , have been consistently positive and enthusiastic.

This year's winning establishment will be chosen based entirely on the scores and comments of diners. Any diner who orders a maple-infused item (or items), from the menu, may complete a ballot (or ballots), rating each menu item with a numerical score, supported by comments. The 2025 contest has expanded and now includes several northwest Vermont eateries, in addition to those in St. Albans.

The list of competitors includes: Phoenix House (West Berkshire), Greenwood Bakery (Richford), Kathy's Tavern (at the Quincy Hotel), the Bumblebee Bistro and adjoining Country Store (all in Enosburg Falls), Vermont Bake House and Arline's Filling Station (Alburg), Green Mountain Bistro and Missing Piece Bakery (Swanton), Fiddlers on the Green at Joey's Junction (Highgate Center), Mother Hubbard's and Maple City Diner (just north of St. Albans City), Mill River Brewing BBQ and Smokehouse, Mill River Taphouse and Bubba Duffer's Favorites (Lake Road, St. Albans) and downtown St. Albans locations: Traveled Cup, Nelly's Pub and Grill, Catalyst Coffee Bar, Red House Sweets, 14th Star Brewery, Grazier's, Kaiju Kitchen and Vermont Bake House.

To vote, visit any of the participating eateries, peruse their menus and make selections from among their many creative maple-infused offerings. Fill out and submit your ballot(s) to a server or the frontdesk. Contest results will be announced during the first week of May.

Watch for the maple plaque in the winning restaurant and for press releases to see who offers the BEST MAPLE MENU of 2025. "Bringing Families Together”. We appreciate the community support from all of our sponsors and from those who will participate in the Best Maple Menu contest – partnering with us to help families make special memories around Vermont maple.