325 N. Main St., Barre, 479-9862

I've always been curious about certain out-of-town restaurants that I still haven't patronized. Until last week, Soup N Greens was one of those restaurants.

I felt like I was penetrating a secret society as I finally made my way inside the old-school Barre favorite. And, expecting little more than a lunch counter, I was immediately surprised by the size of the place: Tables spilled back the length of three rooms.

I sat at a booth near the front window right around 8 p.m. on Friday. In another misconception, I thought the family restaurant would be slowing down by then, but the joint was still jumping.

Making a choice was difficult. I asked our waitress what on the menu was homemade or a specialty. "Like, everything," she said, sounding annoyed. She recommended the chicken Cordon Bleu and I took her advice.

It's a sunny Saturday morning and I’m sipping a drink so showstoppingly purple that a woman at the table next to me leans in to ask, “What is that?” When I tell her, she squints back at the menu board as if considering it in a new light.

We’re at separate tables inside the Green Goddess Café, just south of Stowe village, and that menu is deceptively simple. You can order standard café fare — a breakfast burrito, muffin or a tuna melt on rye — but you can also get fresh vegetable juices or smoothies that require a minimum of decision making. You choose from five fruits (strawberry, raspberry, peach, banana and blueberry) and either milk or juice. That’s it. There’s no protein powder, spirulina or other nouveau ingredients along the back counter.

I acquired a smoothie habit during years spent out west, and have fueled hundreds of mornings with a blend of strawberries, bananas and yogurt, my own version of a lassi. I've tried most of the blends at Smoothie King (usually too sweet) and Jamba Juice (too icy). Whenever in Austin, I hit up the Daily Juice for a Sublimator, a lip-smacking smoothie of fruit, flax and a generous helping of peanut butter.

But I've only had them occasionally of late, so when I arrive at the Green Goddess for brunch, I order a blueberry and peach smoothie almost as an afterthought. Five minutes later, the waitress delivers a pint glass stuffed with violet-colored swirls of ice, cream and fruit that draws glances as it makes its way through the room. It has exactly four ingredients: blueberries, peaches, soy milk and ice.

43 Shelburne Shopping Park, Shelburne, 985-1117

It was one of those restaurant spaces that always seemed to have something good. Remember Fibonacci's with its pizzas topped according to the mathematical principle? Somehow, though, I still hadn't made it to Cucina Antica in its more than half-decade of life.

I liked it immediately, right down to the tablecloths decorated with turn-of-last-century ads. Remember the table tops at Wendy's in the '80s? This was a similar blast from the past, but this time I was old enough to read and appreciate the promised wonders of the "Princess Bust Developer."

Things got even better when a wood bowl filled with warm, crusty bread arrived. The oil that waited on the table to be poured for dipping was beautifully muddled  with Italian herbs and garlic.

My first impression of the menu: This place is lobster central. There were salads, sandwiches, pastas and pizza all filled with knuckles and claws. Since I was trying to keep things thrifty, none of them made it to my table, but I was impressed.

Another summer, another chapter in my never-ending story of barbecue highs and lows. Saturday, July 2, I made the trek to Lake Placid for its annual I Love Barbecue Festival.

I wasn't the only Vermonter there. John Delpha of the Belted Cow Bistro was representing his team, I Que. Chittenden County teams Green Mountain Smokeshack and Sweet Breathe BBQ were also competing. Unfortunately, the guys were all taking it easy before competition heated up that evening and none were vending their wares to the public.

Substantially smaller than the Harpoon Championships of New England Barbecue that takes place in Windsor each year at the end of July, only a few teams were selling food in Lake Placid.

1127 North Avenue, Burlington, 862-4300

New North End residents have long had high hopes for a neighborhood restaurant in the space at 1127 North Avenue that's worth opening their wallets for. Cannon's fit the bill for a while, with its fried, pecan-coated chicken. When that went downhill, nothing seemed to please the locals.

The last spot, Norm's Grill, opened and closed in little more than a year. The latest, Smitty's Pub, is the baby of Norm's bartender, Ed Smith. That's his silhouette on the sign. Or Alfred Hitchcock's. Either way, I couldn't help but hear "Funeral March of a Marionette" in my head as I entered the building.

Could Smitty do better than Norm? On first look through the restaurant, it appeared unchanged. The signed photos of athletes are the same. So is the set-up of separate entrances for the bar and restaurant. The menu, with its burgers named for everyone from Big Papi to Danica Patrick, was similar, too.

A new four-minute online film featuring Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is taking aim at a powerful pair of billionaire brothers who the senator claims are bankrolling think tanks and politicians to spread misinformation about Social Security.

In a fast-moving online film titled "Echo Chamber" (embedded below), in which Sanders is the narrator, the independent senator offers a litany of examples in which he claims David and Charles Koch have spent tens of millions of dollars to dupe the American people into believing that Social Security is going bankrupt and needs major changes to survive.

A group of think tanks have received more than $28.4 million in Koch funding and produced more than 300 position papers distorting the purpose and effectiveness of Social Security, according to filmmaker Brave New Foundation.

The film reveals a cottage industry comprised of Koch brothers’ spokespeople, front groups, think tanks, academics and elected officials, which have built a perpetual echo chamber that Sanders argues is transforming what were once "fringe" ideas into popular mainstream public policy arguments.

Those fringe ideas? That the retirement age for Social Security needs to be increased to 70; that Social Security is already bankrupt; and that Social Security, or portions of it, should be privatized and invested in the stock market.

360 Dorset Street, South Burlington, 864-5222

Smell is often the first indicator of what to expect when trying a new restaurant. When I reviewed bevo a few weeks ago, the odor of smoking pork and French fries was a good indicator. Given that, I was a little worried about take-out and delivery-only Uncle Tony's Pizza.

When I picked up my dinner from its South Burlington location, my car took on an unmistakable, and very familiar, smell. When we were first together, my boyfriend worked at Domino's, suddenly, the car once again took on the doughy, slightly sweet aroma that continued to fill his car for months after he left the pizza biz.

Was I in for something like the chain pizza? Fortunately not, I learned as soon as I got home and actually saw the food. The irregular shape of my pie betrayed that it was hand-tossed. The sauce was homemade, too, and full of oregano.

10805 Main St., Hinesburg, 482-4444

When updating the 7 Nights guide each year, I've always felt an aura of mystery surrounding Good Times Café. Passing it while driving through Hinesburg, the feeling is the same. What's the deal with the little café that serves Italian, Cajun and American cuisine and homemade ravioli?

I finally found out this weekend. Entering from the back parking lot, the first glimpse of inside was a case filled with ready-made pizza crusts. I ordered at the counter and grabbed an Adirondack grape soda from the beverage fridge. The bright front area reminded me of a deli.

The dimly lit dining room, decorated with eclectic portraits, including Russian novelists and horses, had nothing deli about it.

147 North Winooski Avenue, Burlington, 540-3093

This is a very special Alice Eats. Special because, rather than the review of a one-time, anonymous visit to an eatery, this is my paean to a favorite.

A favorite? regular readers may ask, but didn't Farah's Place open just a month ago? You're right. The place still doesn't even have a sign. But I've already dined there four times. And, I  wrote a story and did a video about chef-owner Farah Oberlender in her previous location in Johnson.

Since Farah's Place opened, quietly and signlessly in Burlington, I just haven't been able to stay away. And it's not just me. One of my Seven Days colleagues put the menu on the office fridge while I was on vacation.

1557 Route 7, Middlebury, 388-2876

When 7 Nights comments come in, we here at Seven Days read them carefully. Over the last couple of years, we've noticed a downturn in star ratings for A&W Drive-In in Middlebury. A recent negative comment was the final straw that made one of my editors ask me to go check out one of New England's last car-hop drive-ins, once considered so great.

Guess what? It's still great.

Great enough that I drove an hour in torrential rain and thought it was unquestionably worth it.

There has been talk of a change in ownership, which is not correct. Tony Neri has owned the snack shack for years.