Posted By Julia Clancy on Thu, Nov 3, 2016 at 3:25 PM

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Beana Bern for Sterling College

Pies for People

Over coffee at the Swift House Inn in Middlebury recently, noted food activist and writer  Frances Moore Lappé made a comment about Vermont:

“What turns me on to Vermont is not just the beauty but something about the culture,” she said. “There’s an expectation of mutual connectedness here … there is a sense that we’re creating a shared ‘Vermont experience.’”

Lappé is not exactly an outside observer — she lived in Brattleboro for half a decade during the mid-’90s, and her stepmother is a fifth-generation Vermonter. But 16 years after relocating to Boston, where she and her daughter cofounded the Small Planet Institute in Cambridge, Lappé said Vermont’s inherent sense of communal accountability became especially visible. It’s why farm stands and maple shacks can operate under “the honor system,” for instance.

And it’s why, this month, Sterling College will helm an event called Pies for People, which turns excess food — both donated and destined for compost heaps — into seasonal pies for locals in need during the holiday season.

Tags: Sterling College , Pies for People , holiday , pies , squash , baking , Craftsbury , seasonal , Image , Web Only

Posted By Julia Clancy on Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 3:57 PM

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Julia Clancy

The Trinidad Sour at Waterworks Food + Drink

Nine times out of 10, I’m ordering gin or whiskey — especially if there are Angostura bitters somewhere in the mix. Angostura bitters have been nestled behind bar tops since the 19th century; a Berlin-born army doctor named Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert developed the herby, botanical bitter in 1824 while based in the Venezuelan town currently called Ciudad Bolívar, formerly known as Angostura.

Angostura bitters take a temperate hand; the stuff is strong and easily overdone. But the cocktail dubbed the Trinidad Sour at Waterworks Food + Drink is a case of pristine balance: Old Overholt rye, housemade almond orgeat, fresh lemon and an aromatic backdrop of Angostura (both the “sour” and the “Trinidad” component of the drink; the noted House of Angostura is located on a 20-acre complex in Trinidad and Tobago).

Tags: Waterworks Food + Drink , Stonecutter Spirits , cocktails , bitters , whiskey , gin , rye , spirits , distillery , Image , Image , Web Only

Posted By Suzanne Podhaizer on Mon, Oct 17, 2016 at 1:30 PM

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Courtesy of Oliver Parini

Black River Produce founders Steve Birge and Mark Curran with President Sean Buchanan

 In the words of company president Sean Buchanan, Springfield's Black River Produce "started with a handful of cash and a dream." The food distributor was founded  38 years ago by Steve Birge and Mark Curran, who described themselves as "ski bums." 

Since then, BRP has operated as an independent entity — until now. On October 24, the company will be purchased by Illinois- and Wisconsin-based Reinhart Foodservice, the fourth largest food-service distributor in the country. Staff was informed of the change on Friday. 

Tags: Black River Produce , Reinhart , distribution , food , Image , Web Only

Posted By Julia Clancy on Thu, Oct 13, 2016 at 10:00 AM

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Julia Clancy

Draft of cider and herbed popcorn at Shacksbury Cider's tasting room

Last Friday, the duo behind Shacksbury Cider, Colin Davis and David Dolginow, opened the doors to their new Vergennes tasting room in the Kennedy Brothers building at 11 Main Street.

Well, kind of. Although the full tasting room is still under construction, the cider guys began hosting a pop-up version dubbed the Loading Dock Lounge. On Fridays and Saturdays from 2 to 6 p.m., the bar is open for specialty drafts, flights and cans of Shacksbury Dry and Semi-Dry. Bowls of salty, herbed popcorn are available for snacking at the wide hardwood bar top.

Tags: Shacksbury Cider , cider , tasting room , Vergennes , apples , fall , drink up , drafts , drinking , Image , Web Only

Posted By Hannah Palmer Egan on Tue, Sep 13, 2016 at 5:42 PM

Slideshow

Inside the von Trapps' Brand New Bierhall

Click to View 5 slides

Ten years ago, the Trapp Family Lodge was a stodgy resort for tourists seeking an Alpine escape. In 2010, the family started brewing lager on the premises; by 2014, that operation had expanded its capacity from 2,000 to 50,000 barrels per year. And two years ago, executive vice president Sam von Trapp told Seven Days that workers had broken ground on a new Austrian-style bierhall, which would welcome mountain revelers for steins and sausages, hopefully by summer, 2015.

As with most construction projects, things didn't go according to plan. But after nearly two years of building and preparation, the bierhall opens tomorrow with an all-star team.

Jack Pickett — whose Phoenix Table and Bar, Frida’s Taqueria and Blue Moon Café fed locals for years — is leading the kitchen. Former Gracie’s Restaurant owner Paul “Archie” Archdeacon will run the front of the house. “It’s been really neat bringing two really popular Stowe restaurateurs together,” Sam von Trapp said,  speaking by phone on Tuesday. 

Posted By Suzanne Podhaizer on Mon, Aug 15, 2016 at 12:19 PM

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File Photo: Matthew Thorsen

Andrew LeStourgeon completes an opera cake at Hen of the Wood

After months of recipe testing, tweaking and perfecting, Burlington’s Monarch & the Milkweed soft-opened Monday, August 15  in the St. Paul Street space formerly occupied by Guild Fine Meats. The “fine diner” will serve breakfast every day this week, and will add lunch and dinner in the next couple weeks.

Tags: Burlington , Restaurants , Andrew LeStourgeon , Diners , Image , Web Only

Posted By Hannah Palmer Egan on Tue, Aug 9, 2016 at 12:58 PM

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Courtesy of Beans By the Border

Espresso machine at Beans By the Border

Last month, Beans By the Border opened inside Newport’s Northeast Kingdom Tasting Center. According to barista Jakob “Royce” Rupp, the new spot offers espresso, cold brew and loose-leaf teas, all made with direct-trade, often organic beans and leaves from A&E Coffee Roastery in Amherst, N.H. Sweets and baked snacks come from Jocelyn & Cinta’s Bake Shop, which is located toward the back of the building.

Tags: Coffee , Tea , Newport , Northeast Kingdom Tasting Center , Image , Web Only

Posted By Julia Clancy on Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 3:00 PM

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Courtesy of Sara Moulton

From Sara Moulton's Home Cooking 101: How to Make Everything Taste Better

You might remember chef Sara Moulton as one of the Food Network’s original celebrities during its first decade of television. Maybe you recognize her from her current show, "Sara's Weeknight Meals," which is set to air its sixth season in January 2017.  Or perhaps you own one of her best-selling cookbooks. Her latest, Sara Moulton’s Home Cooking 101: How to Make Everything Taste Better is an opus of home cooking, relevant to those with and without experience in the restaurant world.

With more than 30 years of culinary experience, Moulton’s other distinctions include being a protégé of Julia Child, executive chef of Gourmet Magazine, cofounder of the New York Women’s Culinary Alliance, and a member of the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage.

On July 9, I had the privilege of meeting the acclaimed chef at the 2016 Grafton Food Festival. Moulton and I settled into two armchairs at the Grafton Inn to talk about Child, culinary media and Vermont's influence on the food world. 

Tags: Sara Moulton , Food Network , cookbook , cooking show , Interview , farm-to-table , Vermont , Grafton Food Festival , Image , Web Only

Posted By Julia Clancy on Thu, Jul 14, 2016 at 3:52 PM

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Julia Clancy

Cave-aged clothbound cheddar at the 2016 Grafton Food Festival

“I don’t mind mist, but please don’t pour,” said Angela Comstock, innkeeper at the Grafton Inn, as she watched slate-colored clouds shift across the skyline. It was Saturday, July 9, and the inn was hosting its fourth annual Grafton Food Festival. For an hour or two, the weather seemed to heed her request. Then the sky cracked open, raining buckets.

For another all-day food festival, a washout could have been a disaster. But, luckily, the inn's field was sheltered by an enormous tent, making a cozy enclave for festival-goers and 25 vendors hanging out within its barriers. Also luckily, the Grafton Inn was filled with stalwart folks who didn’t mind a little water.

Tags: Sara Moulton , Grafton Inn , Grafton Food Festival , food tour , summer , beer , wine , spirits , Image , Web Only

Posted By Suzanne Podhaizer on Tue, Apr 12, 2016 at 9:00 AM

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Suzanne Podhaizer

A coffee drink at Blank Page Cafe

Walk into the farm store at Bread & Butter Farm in Shelburne between Wednesday and Saturday, and you’ll see more than a spread of fresh veggies, pastured meats and handcrafted local products. On those days, the counter is bedecked with baked goods. Behind it, on a burlap-covered table, is a stainless steel brewing apparatus. This is the temporary home of pop-up coffee shop Blank Page Cafe, and it’s the brainchild of Michael Proia, who operates with help from his partner, Katie Horner.

The beans come from Brio Coffeeworks in Burlington, and Blank Page’s basic cup is brewed in a Technivorm Moccamaster, handmade in the Netherlands to create “superior quality drip coffee,” explains Proia. If you prefer, for a bit more scratch, you can get a pour-over, or have yours made with an AeroPress.