Posted By Julia Clancy on Thu, Sep 22, 2016 at 8:00 AM

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Julia Clancy

Ginger tea and raw honey at Stone Leaf Teahouse

Though the basil is still bolting in my garden bed, it’s official: This Thursday is the first day of fall. Taupe-colored butternut and Crookneck squashes are arriving at the grocery store, along with fresh-picked apples and pressed ciders. Leaves are turning along Route 7. Pint-sippers are starting to switch from pale ales to pumpkin brews and stouts. Mornings come with a crisp reminder: I should have closed more windows in the house.

It’s the time of year for a hot cup of tea. We’ve heard before that Vermont is quietly becoming a coffee superpower, from big hitter Keurig Green Mountain to small-scale artisan roasters like Brio Coffeeworks. I love a good cup of dark roast, but as we head toward chillier days, my Irish heritage creeps in and I find myself craving Barry’s Gold Blend and honey. Of course, most of my Irish relatives are devout Bostonians with a preference for Dunkin Donuts. The voices of my County Cork friends ring clearest on the matter.

Posted By Julia Clancy on Thu, Sep 1, 2016 at 4:21 PM

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Julia Clancy

Moon Dog Café in Chester

It was cold for August; one of those dim mornings that threatened rain but settled for dank fog, which had me craving socks for the first time since May. I puttered along Route 103 from Grafton, heading to my porch in Middlebury to spend an evening rereading An Everlasting Meal: Cooking With Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler and drinking the Hill Farmstead Nordic Saison I scored at Willey’s Store in Greensboro a week prior.

But first, coffee. I drove into Chester, scouring Main Street for signs of a pit stop. Moon Dog Café soon came into view, an off-green Victorian with a small stoop, some wrought-iron patio chairs and a striped “Open” flag urging locals inside. “Cappuccino and Juice Bar,” read the blue-and-red sign outside. “Natural Food Market,” read another.

Inside, Moon Dog Café is as welcoming as a friend’s bohemian apartment from the late ’70s: deep red walls, hanging portraits of the feminine Buddha, crates of vegetables from nearby farms, organic peaches, a cooler of local milk and cheese, air plants, aromatherapy bottles, shelves full of tea, hanging lamps and lanterns, wooden tables with mismatched chairs and an enormous stuffed mermaid draped in purple tulle and blue sparkles.

Tags: coffee , cafe , organic , local , juice , espresso , Chester , breakfast , lunch , road trip , Image , Image , Web Only

Posted By Julia Clancy on Mon, Aug 8, 2016 at 8:10 AM

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Julia Clancy

The Purple One and Mellow Gold at Foam Brewers in Burlington

My first taste of Foam Brewers was a mauve-colored pour of the Purple One, a black currant saison that’s lush, dry and extraordinarily bright with fresh berries. Its gentle sourness and effervescence countered the soupy August humidity clinging to foreheads and water glasses outside. I took my draft to a shaded corner of Foam's patio, letting the breeze from the nearby waterfront cut the heat of a 90-degree afternoon. For the first time, I was in love with a fruit beer.

Before Foam, I’ll admit I wasn't into fruit-forward brews. My avoidance was probably sparked from a room-temperature cup of Pêche Mel' Bush sipped sometime during college, when the resident Belgian beer devotee popped a bottle of the strong, syrupy ale sent from a brother living abroad. It was poured in a red plastic cup, and subsequently followed by an equally tepid glug of a framboise lambic that tasted a bit like an opened bottle of Manischewitz. Did I mention it was warm? 

Those dual sips left me believing that fruit beers were too cloyingly sweet for my taste. The sentiment held true until Dani Casey gave me a taste of the Purple One while helming the bar at Foam.

Tags: beer , brewery , microbrewery , Foam Brewers , Burlington , drink , saison , black currant , Image , Web Only

Posted By Julia Clancy on Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 5:00 AM

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Julia Clancy

The Barr Hill Gin Gimlet at American Flatbread, Middlebury Hearth

I live exactly 0.3 miles from American Flatbread in Middlebury. It's a five-minute stroll past Frog Hollow Alley to the creaky bridge over Otter Creek, a pathway lit by gas lamps after dark. I often find myself retreating to Flatbread's shaded back patio to share a bottle of cider, or bellied up to the wraparound wooden bar for a couple of drafts and a "Pepperoni and Peppers" to split.

I usually go to the beer list, but Middlebury Hearth's recently released summer cocktail menu has swayed my habits. Created specifically for the location by Steve Boyce, a former bartender and current Flatbread co-owner, the list of carefully crafted drinks extends the restaurant's ethos for local, sustainable, and made-in-house fare. 

Tags: Cocktails , spirits , American Flatbread , Middlebury , drinks , Image , Web Only

Posted By Julia Clancy on Fri, Jul 1, 2016 at 6:24 AM

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Courtesy of the Alchemist

Heady Topper

You've heard of Heady Topper? Focal Banger? The coveted cans from that brewery in Waterbury?

Those who brave the hour-long beverage-store queues to get cases and four-packs of the Alchemist's famed ales now have another option. Yesterday at 2 p.m., the Alchemist cut the ribbon on a brand-new brewery and visitors center at 100 Cottage Club Road in Stowe. Here, beer aficionados can enjoy a tasting section, retail shop and educational area with full views of the brewing process.

“John and I look forward to being open to the public again,” said Jen Kimmich, who opened the Alchemist with her husband, John, in 2003. “We missed the daily interaction with our community.”

Tags: beer , the alchemist , heady topper , focal banger , stowe , brewery , Image , Web Only

Posted By Suzanne Podhaizer on Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 11:06 AM

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Suzanne Podhaizer

Sas Stewart making a cocktail

The Stonecutter Spirits headquarters in Middlebury is an impressive place: cool and modern, with plenty of poured concrete and brushed metal.  But in the aging room, the casks and the hush more resemble a medieval monastery. 

I was there last Friday for a whiskey-release party. Stonecutter has been experimenting with blending booze-making techniques from different traditions, and its Heritage Cask Whiskey is the most recent result.

As co-owner Sas Stewart put it, the spirit is distilled like a bourbon, aged like an Irish whiskey, and finished in wine barrels like a Scotch.

Tags: Whiskey , Stonecutter Spirits , cocktails , barbecue , Image , Web Only

Posted By Julia Clancy on Thu, Jun 16, 2016 at 12:27 PM

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Oliver Parini

Middlebury Chocolates

I’ve hit my fair share of creemee stands. Vermont Cookie Love on Route 7 sees me regularly for a cappuccino creemee. At Goodies Snack Bar, I count the days until the multitiered maple creemee is back in rotation. Sama's Cafe is right around the corner from my house, so it's all too easy to appear at its walk-up window for a chocolate-vanilla twist.

But, as much as I love a creemee in a wafer cone, sometimes I want to savor a different summer symbol: the milkshake.

Tags: ice cream , creemee , milkshake , Middlebury Chocolates , summer , drink , image , Image , Web Only