LadolceVT: Stuck on the cinnamon buns

By Randal Smathers Herald Editor

Back this week to the theme of little-known places.

Some months ago, I had heard rumblings of a bakery in Poultney that was knockin’ ‘em dead; then I heard that the owners — Kelly Draper and Lynn Kratochvil — were moving to Castleton, so I resolved to drop in on the new location before they upped sticks again.

I’m glad I caught up with them — although they seem to be settled in for the long haul at the new location.

The Green Mt. Country Depot is in the old (and perhaps future) railroad station on Route 4A, just at the east end of Castleton’s downtown. To help with those more accustomed to the quaint, New England-style directions, I’m told it’s the place that used to be the piano tuners. As long as you know where that used to be, you’re golden.

We stopped in on one of our “daddy slept in” Saturdays after a Friday night shift at the paper, so the rest of the family had eaten breakfast and I needed caffeine to catch up. One sniff inside the door and that became “I needed caffeine and sugar to catch up.”

It was that Pavlovian combination of aroma/visual stimulus that makes me drool every time I drive past a Krispy Kreme with its “hot now” light on. Amend that … I can’t honestly remember not stopping … the Pavlovian combination that makes me drool as I do a hard turn into the parking lot every time I see a Krispy Kreme with its “hot now” light on. Good thing the chain petered out south of the Massachusetts state line or I’d weigh an extra 30 pounds by now, all in a big “original glazed” shape just above my belt.

But back to Castleton: I had, you see, arrived in the Country Depot just as the counterman — Kelly; Lynn does the baking — was juggling a tray of fresh-from-the-oven cinnamon buns into a spot in the display.

I’m a sucker for cinnamon buns with raisins. But with raisins, not too much glaze and fresh from the oven? It’s just as well I had enough cash and our firstborn male child was in the car.

Oh, and I should define my terms … Mom called them cinnamon buns so I call them cinnamon buns. You may call them sweet or sticky buns or cinnamon rolls. Whatever. We’re talking a sweet, yeast-bread dough, rolled like a pinwheel with cinnamon sugar and raisins (sadly) optional, baked in the oven and topped with a glaze-type icing.

Some people prefer the slightly crusty outside buns, particularly the corner ones, from a pan; others prefer the soft-all-four-side inside buns from a tray. I’m not picky.

I won’t say the Country Depot has the best cinnamon buns in the county as I haven’t done an exhaustive survey, but they’re every bit as good as Baba A Louis, which is high praise indeed.

They also bake a variety of other sweet breads: bear claws, danishes, turnovers, muffins, brownies and the like, but I haven’t got past the cinnamon buns in two trips so I can only say the others look good. Two cautionary notes: Once they’re gone, they’re gone. The first morning of school, the pastry shelves were pretty thin by 11 a.m. And second, lacking a glass pastry counter to retain steam, the Depot’s baked goods crust quite quickly, so a noonish lunch guest on a subsequent trip found hers a little crusty and wanting butter.

The day of the first visit, we peddled halfway to Poultney and back on the Delaware & Hudson rail trail and then, having worked off at least half (almost half? A quarter? Some? Some!) of the calories from the cinnamon bun, ventured back for lunch.

The sandwiches are very good, on a variety of homemade rolls or breads; each sandwich made to order. The Depot got Brownie points for using Vermont cheddar and horseradish from “the garden.” It lost points for using store-bought tomatoes during local tomato season and broke even for using store-bought lettuce on the grounds that “the rabbits got there first.”

Unlike most chef’s salads, at the Depot, you can pretty much pick and choose your toppings, kind of cheese, etc. The house vinaigrette is excellent. Something besides a foil take-out container would be a nice upgrade. There’s a modest yet appetizing selection of salad/side dish type items on display as well. Beverages run the standard gamut of soft drinks, coffee (Green Mountain of course), tea, etc.

For décor, the Depot is sticking to its railroad roots. There are a handful of tables for those who don’t want carry-out and a picnic table outside. It’s early days, though, and growth is on their minds. A barbecue with more outside seating is a possibility for next year, and the owners are pushing to get Amtrak to move their passenger stop from Fair Haven to Castleton, which might entail evening hours.

Overall, it’s nothing fancy but the food is good to spectacular, particularly the baked goods; the service friendly and helpful and it’s got location and a big parking lot out front for the Rutland commuter traffic. I foresee a happy future.

Green Mountain Country Depot, 266 Main St., Castleton VT 05735; (802) 468-0077; Mon. to Fri. 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sat. 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Closed Sunday. Sandwiches in the $4-$6 range. Cinnamon buns $2.25. Handicapped accessible. ? ? ? 1/2