New Chef Resets Menu at May Day in Burlington

Crispy skate cheeks (top) and lonzino with olives and pickled mustard at May Day Credit: Courtesy

May Day at 258 North Winooski Avenue in Burlington’s Old North End has hired Avery Buck as its new chef following the mid-June departure of the restaurant’s opening chef, Mojo Hancy-Davis. Buck has a deep local résumé that includes stints at Hen of the Wood in Burlington and Doc Ponds in Stowe. Most recently, he was on the opening kitchen teams at Burlington Beer and the Grey Jay in Burlington.

Matthew Peterson, now May Day’s sole owner, said he started “putting out feelers” after Hancy-Davis told him he was moving on. Buck, “a longtime friend of mine, threw his hat in the ring.” The two worked together at Hen of the Wood for three years.

Buck has reset the menu with more than a dozen new dishes, such as crispy skate cheeks with basil mayo and cucumbers; and blistered snap peas with fresh garlic sauce and chiles. Many will change weekly.

May Day owner Matthew Peterson (left) and chef de cuisine Avery Buck Credit: Courtesy

The signature May Day patty melt for $16 ($10 on Sunday nights) remains on the menu. A new $75 New York strip steak for two with charred garlic scapes and smoked chicken jus epitomizes the kind of “large, rambunctious plate” that the two friends enjoy eating and serving, Peterson said.

“In my favorite restaurants, those two things coexist,” he said, referring to the patty melt and the steak.

Peterson said May Day will soon start serving brunch and lunch Fridays through Sundays.