G ..
Yelp
Their Potato Pancakes are 5 stars. These are some of the better potato pancakes I've ever had, and I was surprised to find latkes this good in Vermont. A lot of places seem to make one of three big mistakes when it comes to potato pancakes: too much onion, overcooking them giving them a sharp burnt taste, or cooking them in the wrong oil/old oil, so then they just taste off and have a heaviness to them and a greasy flavor. Lots of places hit and miss and just end making bad circular hash browns (and no, latkes and hash browns are not the same thing!)
But these potato pancakes I got at Jericho Cafe & Tavern? WOW! SO GOOD. Honestly...these might be the best I've ever had. The whole flavor profile was perfectly balanced. I was curious about the maple cream, as it seemed like an extra Vermonty touch...but I was suspicious. I'm Team Sour Cream when it comes to potato pancakes, but not a big maple person and a lot of VT eateries seem to put maple in things to a degree that can just feel gimmicky and tourist-focused. I was so wrong...there was very little of it, a drizzle not a dipping cup, but ooh it was good! The maple was a very pleasant surprise. The cream didn't have a sharp taste was that sour cream would have, nor did it feel as heavy as sour cream. And the maple flavor was subtle, a subtle sweetness that fit so perfectly with the whole plate and balanced each bite. As I said, I'm not Team Applesauce when it comes to latkes, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the julienned apple on top...but again, WOW! And SO much better than applesauce! The flavors all come together so nicely, and the slight sweetness of the maple cream, with the pieces of slightly tart green apple, just the right amount of chives on top lending exactly the right amount of onion flavor, combined with the perfectly golden brown, not-heavy, not-greasy and not-overly-oniony potato pancakes...just delicious. Not burned, perfectly prepared, and the textures and flavors...whoever made this did a great job. Stack of 3, a nice serving size. And it was nice to see on their menu in December, just in time for Hanukkah...though frankly, I would order this for brunch any time of year and would be thrilled to see this on a regular year-round menu.
Their German Chocolate Cake (about $8) wasn't bad, but was kind of dense and not as moist as I would expect. If I was rating them on the cake, I'd give them 3 stars. But the potato pancakes were unmatched, a solid 5-star meal - based on that alone I'll be coming back again (honestly, maybe tomorrow) and I plan to try other items on their menu. I had heard good things about this place for a while - particularly about their dessert case. I only now came to check it out when I was nearby and saw they had potato pancakes on their menu...glad I came! And next time I might just try the key lime pie that I was eyeing.
UPDATE: I DID go back the next day, and got a chicken sandwich + an order of potato pancakes again. The potato pancakes were as good as before, but the chicken sandwich was overwhelming and felt pricey for what it was. I was unsure about citrus slaw, but the slaw was good (and generally I'm not a big fan of coleslaw.) It was a very creamy slaw, the citrus note to it was subtle but it was nice. Mild, not overly citrusy. The chicken itself was oversized and greasy. A thinner cut of chicken would have been better and made this sandwich a lot easier to bite into and a lot less messy. The bun sort of just slipped around and fell apart really quickly. A better bun might be helpful, as this just flattened into the sandwich and absorbed everything. Top bun, about a half inch of coleslaw, big piece of fried chicken, then wet pickles and a layer of ranch, and the bottom bun...all together equals a wet messy sandwich. It's the type of sandwich where once you pick it up you are committed to eating it right then, if you put it down it will be even messier and more difficult trying to pick it back up. Fries were okay. Some seasoning on the chicken would be nice. Halfway through the sandwich I was stuck with some wet pieces of bun and a bare unseasoned chicken breast. The breading was visibly greasy still when I got the sandwich so a lot of it just slipped off while eating due to the wetness of everything. For $17, I think this is a bit pricey for a pretty basic (and difficult to eat) chicken sandwich. I might order a side of the slaw by itself next time. For me it was too messy, too tall and unmanageable to try to bite into. Not too keen.
The potato pancakes are still the standout menu item for me, those alone are five star but everything else I had brings it down. The German chocolate cake and chicken sandwich left something to be desired.