• Matthew Thorsen
• Waterworks Food + Drink

Waterworks Food + Drink — Chittenden County mourned Winooski’s original Waterworks Restaurant for years after it closed in the early aughts. When Pizzeria Verità co-owner David Abdoo announced plans to restore the restaurant in late 2014, Seven Days readers were so elated that a story about the revamp was one of the top-read articles of the year. Once opened, in December, the new Waterworks met with immediate fanfare: Prime-time reservations at the nearly 200-seat restaurant were a rare score for months. Early reviews raved about the gorgeous, well-appointed space and elegant cocktails, and during Vermont Restaurant Week in April, pastry chef Nicole Maddox took the grand prize at the Sweet Start Smackdown. So save room for dessert after enjoying the kitchen’s modern, approachable cooking with a mist-kissed view of the falls — if you can score a table.

Other Finalists

• The Bench
• Butch + Babe's
• The Gryphon
• The Swingin' Pinwheel Café and Bakery