Friday, November 8, 2019
Landmark downtown Burlington restaurant Daily Planet will reopen at 4 p.m. Friday, owner Copey Houghton told Seven Days. The restaurant closed abruptly on October 30 after a pending sale of the business fell through.
Houghton said he has since hired new staff members, including chef Jeff Perkins, who said he was executive chef at the Mount Mansfield Winter Academy in Stowe for about 10 years.
“I used to come here 15 years ago,” Perkins, 35, said. “I wanted to get back to this style of food — the American-French eclectic type thing. I like the fine dining with a casual setting. It’s perfect.”
Tags: Daily Planet , Burlington , restaurant , open , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Editor’s note, 3:15 p.m. October 30, 2019: Wednesday afternoon, Seven Days published a story that said the Daily Planet was closing. Owner Copey Houghton’s daughter, Samantha Houghton, subsequently insisted it was not closed. Copey Houghton himself later called the paper and acknowledged the staff had “walked,” but added he had no intention to close. This story has been updated as more information became available.
A pending sale of the Daily Planet, which opened on Center Street in 1982, fell through earlier this month, and the future of the restaurant appears to be in question.
For many years, the restaurant has been the go-to hangout in Burlington, drawing a lively crowd that included restaurant workers, journalists, downtown merchants and more. But Tuesday night, staff and customers in attendance said it was the last night of service.
David Warshow, a prospective buyer of the restaurant, told Seven Days there were issues he and the seller, Planet owner Copey Houghton, could not resolve. Warshow, 28, declined to specify what the issues are, but said the failed deal was unrelated to financing. Efforts to reach Houghton on Tuesday were not successful.
“This turnout shows how important this place is to the community,” Warshow said late Tuesday night at the bar. “And how sad what’s happening is.”
After Seven Days reported the place was closing, Samantha Houghton insisted it was not — prompting the paper to correct the story. Around 2:15 p.m., Copey Houghton called an editor and asked for the story to be “taken down.”
Copey said he was out of town, and insisted a staff member had been telling people he was closing when he had no intention to do so. As a result, he said, the staff “walked.” Asked if there would be food service Wednesday night, he answered, “No, there can’t be any service there tonight, because of the fact that [the staff member] told everyone it’s closing. The kitchen staff walked. And I can’t get there right now.”
He hopes to get a chef and reopen soon, he said.
Tuesday night, a crowd filled the barroom. Tequila shots were $2, tacos were on special and Game Six of the World Series played on the TV. Customers said they came to pay their respects to the Daily Planet.
“I just wanted to come here and make sure I got my last hurrah in,” said Drew Johnson, 23, a cook at Leunig’s.
Ian Cyr, general manager of the Daily Planet, told Seven Days on Tuesday afternoon that summer had been busy at the Planet. He called the collapse of the sale “disappointing.”
“I think the space needs some renovating,” Cyr said. “It needs some upkeep. I’m not sure of the exact future.”
The Daily Planet is on the market for $285,000. The listing with VT Commercial describes it as an “iconic” Burlington restaurant. A second restaurant owned by Houghton, the Old Dock in Essex, N.Y., is also for sale. The asking price is $750,000.
Tony Blake of VT Commercial said a couple of parties are interested in the Planet. “The time frame is contingent, as all business transactions are, on a laundry list of conditions,” Blake said. “Even if you come to terms of agreement, a very short closing would be 60 days after that.”
He noted that a liquor license is not assumed with the change of ownership of a Vermont business. In order to get a new license, certain requirements must be met, including licensing by the Department of Health, Blake said.
A Seven Days reporter returned to the restaurant Wednesday. Cyr declined to comment, and others ordered the reporter to leave the premises.
Tags: Daily Planet , Burlington , bar , restaurant , nightlife , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Earlier that day, skaters at Andy A-Dog Williams Skatepark on the Burlington waterfront said they like to eat pizza and chicken wings. And Pringles.
“Skaters will appreciate any food,” University of Vermont student Tyler Varacchi said, before bicycling away in the rain.
The spread at the Great Northern was a cut above chips and wings — and mostly eatable by hand.
Tags: Talent Skatepark , the Great Northern , fundraiser , community , Honey Road , Hen of the Wood , Hotel Vermont , Juniper , Burlington , South End , skateboard , Web Only , Image , Video
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Taking a dog to a bar is kind of like dragging a toddler there. They'd have more fun in the park. It's not ideal for you, either. You have to pay attention to something other than the beer in your glass and the person next to you. That's especially true if a crowd of dogs and people convene — and there was a crowd Monday on the Juniper patio.
Tags: The Dogist , Hotel Vermont , Elias Friedman , Finn , keepingfinn , Instagram , dogs , image , Layla , Web Only , Image
Thursday, September 26, 2019
I thought about bringing my own crosswalk to Mimmo’s Pizzeria & Restaurant, the new restaurant in our South End neighborhood, but I remembered the city frowns upon DIY safety measures.
Instead, I ran across Shelburne Road — praying mid-dash there was no car on the far side of the Jeep Cherokee I couldn’t see past. I made it.
I was surprised to find a full parking lot at Mimmo’s at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday. The dining room was full, too, pulsing with a happy-sounding crowd. I found a seat at the end of the bar, where I was treated to a favorite view: cooks at work.
I watched the pizza guy spread ricotta on rounds of dough, and saw a line cook salt the ingredients in her sauté pans. The highlight of the show was flames shooting from a pan of penne alla vodka, a dramatic blaze produced by chef-owner Domenico Spano. He opened his first Mimmo's in St. Albans in 1995, naming it with the nickname his mother gave him more than four decades ago in Torrito, Italy.
I turned away from my view of the spiffy kitchen to look down at the menu, and chose on an eggplant parmesan hero ($9.25) and a pint of Switchback. While I waited for my food, two women who work at the restaurant, which opened a month ago, raved about working at Mimmo's. They said they're treated like they're part of the family.
Lindsey Lowell, a delivery driver, said Spano gave her money from his pocket when she was “stiffed” on a catering delivery. He solicits and listens to input from employees, she said. “He takes everyone’s ideas,” Lowell said. “I love it here.”
My server, Sara Rooke, graduated last spring from St. Michael's College, where she majored in international relations. “I love people,” she said.
Rooke delivered my sandwich with a flair worthy of the little package of classic Italian-American flavors — garlic, parmesan, breading, red sauce — piled on my bread. She stopped by to talk as I ate my meal, making me feel like I was part of the family.
“I’m a broke college student and I would love to dine on a dime, or even a nickel," Rooke said. "Can you do a nickel for me?”
When there was a lull in the kitchen action, Spano came out to the bar and we talked for a bit. He told me he left his home in southern Italy — where his father farmed olives, grapes, almonds and legumes — at age 14 to live with relatives in Long Island.
“I cried when I left,” said Spano, who learned English at high school in New York. “But I wanted to make a future.”
At his new restaurant, he's back in the kitchen — prepping, cooking, mopping, training — after years of mostly office work managing his restaurants in St. Albans and Essex. Spano plans to throw a grand opening party on Saturday, October 19, three days before his 49th birthday.
“I just can’t help myself,” Spano said of his decision to open a third Mimmo's. “I love building crews and restaurants. It gives me gioia di vivere.”
Dining on a Dime is a weekly series featuring well-made, filling bites (something substantial enough to qualify as a small meal or better) for $12 or less. Know of a tasty dish we should feature? Drop us a line: [email protected].
Tags: Mimmo's Pizzeria & Restaurant , pizza , eggplant parmesan , Burlington , Switchback beer , Mimmo’s Pizzeria & Restaurant (South Burlington) , Web Only , Image
Friday, September 6, 2019
The new restaurant, which Farmer expects will open in late winter or early spring, has yet to be named. It will be a quick-service, farm-to-table restaurant whose concept and menu will be further developed when Foam hires a chef/kitchen manager to run the new business, Farmer told Seven Days.
Tags: Foam Brewers , Burlington , farm-to-table restaurant , waterfront , Web Only , Image
Thursday, September 5, 2019
The South End Art Hop begins on Friday, September 6. A couple of days before the festivities I stopped for lunch at Tomgirl Kitchen in the Soda Plant on Pine Street. The building will be the site of art exhibits this weekend, but a set of vivid colors — purple, orange, green, pink and yellow — was on display at Tomgirl before the show began.
Red cabbage and beets, carrots and pickled squash, kale and cucumbers, radishes and bell peppers, were the source of the rainbow atop Tomgirl’s counter. They formed the ingredients of a make-your-own salad bowl for $10.95, though its actual construction was performed by a pro behind the counter.
All I had to do was point to my choice of grain, the four veggies I wanted, my protein pick, and select any add-on seeds that struck my fancy. Before my eyes, a salad took shape on a bed of arugula and kale, topped with a scoop of black rice and spoonfuls of local cucumber, cabbage, beets and pickled squash.
I chose avocado for my protein and said yes to hemp seeds, sunflower seeds and dried apricots. With a few squirts of cilantro-lime-curry dressing, lunch was served. I ate at a picnic table outside the Soda Plant.
Some businesses in the building were getting ready for Art Hop, including special pickle prep at Pitchfork Farm & Pickle, and chit-chat at Brio Coffeeworks about the Latte Art Throwdown to be held there on Saturday, September 7.
Over the weekend, Tomgirl will team up with Co Cellars, a drink biz in the Soda Plant, on an Art Hop peach mimosa, according to Tomgirl owner Gabrielle Kammerer. Co Cellars is a hot company to pair with: A joint venture of ZAFA Wines and Shacksbury Cider, Co Cellars was recently named one of the 100 greatest places in the world to eat and drink by Time.
It’s a small room with a bar, some benches and barrels, and glass vessels that hold “just fucking fermented juice,” to borrow ZAFA’s motto.
As a longtime Pine Street walker — and Bob Dylan fan — I can attest that the street has changed over the years from a dining "Desolation Row" to a foodie "Positively Fourth Street." Now it’s broken into the world’s top 100.
Dining on a Dime is a weekly series featuring well-made, filling bites (something substantial enough to qualify as a small meal or better) for $12 or less. Know of a tasty dish we should feature? Drop us a line: [email protected].
Tags: South End Art Hop , Tomgirl Kitchenl , Brio Coffeeworks , Soda Plant , Ptichfork Farm , Co Cellars , ZAFA Wines , Shackbury Cider , Time.com , Bob Dylan , Desolation Row , Positively Fourth Street , Pine Street , Tomgirl Kitchen , Shacksbury Cidery + Tasting Room , Web Only , Image
Monday, August 26, 2019
A woman who grew up in Chittenden County and left long-ago — for college in Montreal, traveling in India, living in NYC, raising kids in the country — comes back to town for a visit. My friend and I meet at Taco Gordo in the Old North End and the first words out of her mouth are something like, "This place has more hipsters than Brooklyn.”
The number of dogs lazing around the street corner that’s home to Taco Gordo — that ONE beacon where North Union St. dumps into North Winooski Ave. — is on par with the number of picnic tables outside the restaurant.
Tags: Ariana Grande , Taco Gordo , Burlington , Old North End , frozen margarita , frozen daiquiri , Burlington Bay , Web Only , Image
Friday, July 26, 2019
Dessert’d (pronounced "deserted") is B&J’s road-show celebration of its foray into non-dairy frozen desserts, and it is as glorious and indulgent as one would expect from a company known for its playfulness. Vermont's Queen City was the first of four event sites to host, each of which will feature the talents of a local chef in a live dessert cooking demonstration.
And each will feature heaps and heaps of vegan “frozen desserts” — the technical term for this cream-less treat — from non-dairy Cherry Garcia to non-dairy Peanut Butter Half Baked.
Tags: Ben & Jerry's , Dessert'd , ArtsRiot , George Lambertson , ice cream , vegan , non-dairy , Web Only , Image
Friday, July 12, 2019
Christina McLaughlin, 21, didn’t need a spreadsheet or business intelligence software to assess the drinking preferences of the Beach House crowd. “Definitely the Painkiller,” McLaughlin told me, naming a $10 cocktail on the house list.
This was interesting to learn, because it pegged me as a conformist when it comes to Beach House booze. Before McLaughlin revealed the bar's analytics to me, I had ordered a Painkiller.
I’m not sure if I made the choice because it’s the first drink on the menu or because I’ve had my share of Tequila Sunrises. The day was moving toward dusk, and a Painkiller called to me.
The bar’s setting itself is likely to kill any pain you might have. I parked on the street by Burlington High School and walked downhill along North Beach Campground, passing through the culvert under the bike path. (Any time you can walk through a culvert to a bar, do it!)
The fenced-off space that forms the Beach House — a little tiki bar and a collection of tables — is about 30 paces from the water. The bar offers a view of the beach and all that comes with it: sunbathers, speedboaters, kids playing in the sand, grown-ups getting their analytics tracked by smartphones.
The people at the table next to mine had Rollerbladed to the Beach House on the bike path from south of downtown. They were barefoot, their Rollerblades set on the pebble-covered ground beside them.
Chris Butch, an ICU nurse and one of the bladers, was shirtless and color-coordinated. His towel, bathing suit and JammyPack all bore the stars and stripes. He was welcome at the Beach House without the usual restaurant attire and without spending a penny: He drank ice water.
“I don’t like to wear a shirt or shoes,” Butch said, “which is why I like coming here.”
His friends, who drank spiked seltzer, said they enjoyed having a drink option on the bike path, at the beach, in a casual and welcoming setting.
Back at my table, McLaughlin had delivered my cocktail and these words: “I hope you enjoy your Painkiller.” (I enjoyed it so much, I suggested Butch offer it at the ICU.)
The rum-based drink, a spiked fruit punch, is the color of a hazy sunset. It’s foamed up with a coconut cream and spiced with nutmeg. Served with an umbrella and a slice of orange, it's a hometown vacation in a plastic cup.
The owner of the Beach House, Sani Pasagic, pulled up a chair and talked with me for a bit about running a seasonal business, the rigors of being a restaurant cook and his son’s Church Street cheesesteak cart.
“People are finally finding out about this place,” Pasagic said of his beach business.
Maybe more people would find the Beach House if parking were permitted in the BHS parking lots. But signs warn that cars will be towed from the lots. My vote: Let people park in them for free. School’s out, and the parking lots are mostly empty. Shouldn’t people be encouraged to walk five or 10 minutes and through a culvert to a city beach?