The Scuffer's Outdoor Dining

The Scuffer restaurant on Church Street in Burlington, Vermont used to be known as the Rusty Scuffer.  Two years ago, it underwent a change in management, and dropped the “Rusty” from its name.  That’s not the only change.  I hadn’t eaten at the Scuffer in many years, because my previous experiences there left me quite unhappy.  It culminated in a visit with my nieces, when we all ordered different things and none of our food was good.  We all walked out of the restaurant saying “We could have had a better meal at McDonalds for a lot less money.”  Yeah, it was that bad.  I vowed to never eat there again.  How times have changed.

The new Scuffer has transformed into a solid purveyor of steakhouse food.  I have eaten here three times in the past few months and my meals have all been good. Twice, I have had the bacon avocado burger, and once I had the house salad with onion rings. The portion sizes are large and lunch prices  are reasonable. The burgers are terrific and when I say medium rare, it comes out exactly the way I want medium rare to be–pink and juicy. There are vegetarian offerings on the menu, but there are better local restaurants for vegetarian dining.  Eat here if you’re a red meat carnivore.

I had dinner here the other night with a friend and discovered our timing was terrific–Wednesday has 1/2 price hamburger night, and martinis were on sale for $6 (normally $9).  Score! Unfortunately, we both ordered the same burger, cooked different ways and the waitress mixed them up, which we didn’t realize until after my friend took a bite.  At that point, we decided to live with what we got, but the medium burger just did not live up to the medium rare, in my opinion.  It was a little too dry.

How does the Scuffer rate on the solo-friendliness scale?  Well, I haven’t eaten there alone yet, but there are 9 seats at the bar, where you can chat up the bartender or watch a game on TV, and there is outdoor sidewalk seating which is great for people-watching during nicer weather. If you can’t sit in one of those spots, try for a window seat.