Three Tomatoes Trattoria receives three thumbs up

One of Burlington’s Italian Restaurants sets itself apart

Story by Christine Thompson

Burlington’s rustic Church Street lends itself to some of Vermont’s most appealing shops and eateries. And on a cold, cloudy, and damp Saturday afternoon, this appeal drew me and two friends into Three Tomatoes Trattoria.

Walking down Church Street, Three Tomatoes doesn’t pop out at you unless you are looking for a seemingly less crowded place to grab a quick bite to eat. Once you open the door to the glass interface assuring you that indeed, there is a restaurant somewhere beyond these doors, you descend down a slight spiral stairwell. The walls are made of stone and you begin to feel romanticized by the thought of going into an underground dwelling of Italian cuisine.

At the foot of the stairs is a podium, where a host waits to seat you. There is a large open area of tables lined in rows throughout the dining area. The walls are alternating sections of jarred stone wall, deep pumpkin-colored lined cloth, and a grayish cloth. The bar/kitchen area is separated from the main dining area by a stone archway.

Our host led us through this open seating area where a couple of families were already enjoying their early lunch. We sat in a more secluded area with red walls and indulged in a quiet and intimate conversation.

Our waitress promptly arrived and took our drink orders and then disappeared with a dash and returned in the blink of an eye with not only our drinks, but a small basket of sliced bread and a dish of diced garlic as well. We mixed the diced garlic with some olive oil and dipped the bread in.

Within minutes, she returned for our orders. I debated over trying the wood-fired pizza or a salad to stay on the healthy side, but I ultimately decided to get the soup, salad, and panini special; my choice was between tomato basil soup or the soup of the day and half of any of their panini’s with a small mixed green salad topped with balsamic vinaigrette.

We took the downtime to converse about the decorum of the restaurant, the stone walls being the point of interest and commented on the rich, vibrant flavoring of the garlic mixed with the bread. One diet coke down, the waitress returned with each of our lunches on square white plates. I had decided to try the tomato basil soup and the open-faced wood-fired chicken parmigiana panini.

The panini wafted a strong aroma of the fresh tomato smell, mixed with the mozzarella cheese. The sauce and the cheese covered the golden breaded chicken breast, which was approximately six inches, and rested snuggly between the halves of Italian bread, wood fired to perfection. The first bite crunched with each teeth imprint into the juicy sandwich and startled my taste buds into action. From there, I took a fork-full of spinach leaves into my mouth and enjoyed the understated salad coupled with the soup and sandwich.

The only disappointing part of this whole experience for me was the soup, which was lifelessly resting in the small, round cup. It was a pink and red mix of mess that reminded me of what a Valentine’s Day card done by a three-year-old would look like-the indecipherable mix of red and pink scribbled incessantly with no end. But I was optimistic about this soup experience and boldly dove in with my spoon and brought the soup to my mouth. My optimism faded. Or perhaps my expectations were too high. The soup had a very bland taste, which wasn’t expected since everything else had been so robust with flavor. There was no intense tomato flavor, nor was there an earthy undertone of basil. While I devoured the panini and the salad, I didn’t finish the soup.

For approximately $11, though, I wasn’t upset by Three Tomatoes untraditional Italian cuisine. They provided an outlet for me to indulge in something new for my taste buds. And my taste buds thanked me for the rest of the afternoon.

Have you eaten at Three Tomatoes?