Bennington B&B adds A-plus bistro

By definition, a bistro is small, intimate, serving moderately-priced meals in an unpretentious setting. Does the cozy bistro still exist? It does - in this unlikely Vermont bed-and-breakfast.

At the Alexandra Inn Bed & Breakfast in Bennington, in a restored 1859 farmhouse just a squeak over the border from Massachusetts, a private dining room -available exclusively to guests at the inn - accommodates a mere 10 diners nightly.

The two-acre, 12-room B&B and bistro are owned and run by Daniel Tarquino, 27, a self-taught cook who purchased the inn and quietly turned it into a cozy gourmet retreat.

As guests relax over a glass of wine, Tarquino bustles between tiny kitchen and tiny dining room, serving up locally sourced, seasonal, professional-quality meals, accented with a hint of his Latin heritage. Consider one recent menu: plump, perfectly seared scallop; a salad of baby mesclun and Vermont goat cheese; and ahi tuna with a piquant walnut chimichurri.

"Cooking has always been a part of my life," Tarquino said. "I come from Colombia. Early on I was exposed to my mom and my grandmother and the maids that we had cooking for the family. I was always drawn by the aromas of what they were cooking. I always wanted to learn how to create that food."

Although my husband and I had planned a day of poking around antique shops, we lingered over coffee and fresh-baked scones as Tarquino told us about the B&B.

After graduating from college in Albany, N.Y., in 2003 with a business degree, Tarquino maxed out his credit cards to purchase the inn where he had worked weekends and summers as an undergraduate. Then-owners Alex Koks and Andra Erickson, for whom the Alexandra is named, were poised to retire just as Tarquino sought an alternative to Wall Street.

"I wanted to be my own boss," he said. "I saw my college buddies working 14 hours a day, 7 days a week at investment banks, and I knew that wasn't for me."