118 Pearl Street, Essex Junction, 871-5647

If judging solely on dessert picked up at the counter, I already knew I liked Upper Crust. Since it opened in December, I'd picked up home-baked treats at the pizzeria's counter a few times. The cinnamon roll was soft, buttery and appropriately rich in spice. The chocolate chip cookies retained something similar to a melted-chip, fresh-from-the-oven texture even when fully cooled.

Despite my high marks for the sweets, I didn't try the other food until this weekend.

While perusing the menu, I grabbed a tiny plastic cup of chili from the self-serve soup station. The sample cups are free — a tool to assist in choosing a full-size portion. The chili was mildly spiced, and full of tomato and earthy chile powder and cumin. But I had to save room.

To be fair, it seemed that we should order both a pizza and a sandwich, the two major food items at Upper Crust. But first, a salad.

As you can see in the photo, the vegetables' colors are bright. The friendly waitress admitted that dressings at Upper Crust are not made from scratch, even though the dough, sauce and baked goods are.

2 North Winooski Avenue, Burlington, 802-951-1652

Yesterday, my longtime favorite sandwich shop, PK Café in Colchester, closed. Though the owners are looking for a new space, there's a chance I'll never savor my beloved turkey, cheddar, apples and cranberry mayo on homemade focaccia again. I'll miss you, Vermonster.

That's why I have to seriously cross my fingers for the Vermont Sandwich Company. Three locations have closed in recent years, leaving only the stores in Burlington and Williston.

Where would I be if I could no longer sup on "The Pilgrim?"

55 Main Street, Burlington, 864-5513

When Big Fatty's BBQ first opened on Main Street in Burlington, I was excited. Good barbecue in Vermont is extraordinarily hard to come by. I can rely on the Belted Cow on Tuesday barbecue nights or make the trek to one of Curtis' locations in southern Vermont, but the rib landscape in the Burlington area is barren at best.

After my first trip to Big Fatty's in 2007, I didn't even consider it among my options. I found the selections overpriced and underflavored. However, after four years, the craving grew overwhelming. It was time to give Big Fatty another chance...

A weekend of hopping Restaurant Week events had left me ravenous by Sunday evening, but without a reservation anywhere. Tantalizingly close to the Palace 9 (where Big Night was screened) was Shelburne's The Bearded Frog, so I snuck out during the film to reserve a table.

The place had a buzzy ambience at 8 p.m. on a Sunday. Though I'm not a vegetarian, I was drawn to the panko-crusted, crispy tofu cakes, one of the appetizers on the $25 menu. They came atop a tuft of arugula and drizzled with a pale-yellow lemon-caper emulsion. In the right hands, tofu can achieve a deeply satisfying creaminess, as did these — each crunch was followed by a mouthful herbed cream.

My entreé, an oversized, buttermilk-marinated pork shank, came coated in a sweet maple-bourbon demi-glace. A confetti of roasted, shredded Brussels sprouts and cabbage clung to its sides as well, so that each forkful was a melange of moist meat, papery, charred vegetables, and soft sweet potato mash. Despite the warn spring weather, it was an autumnal experience.

We were well sated by the time the dessert's arrival stunned us into silence. I looked around the room and saw others, like me, staring at the jangle of triangles and drizzles on their plates, as if they didn't want to disturb the composition. In my case, a trio of finger-sized churros were drizzled with melted-chocolate ganache, topped with white mezcal-infused ice cream and anointed with chorizo powder. The bitterness of the chocolate wended its way around the churro's crunchy edges like a skintight dress, each bite chased by faint cinnamon and chile. 

21 Lower Main Street, Johnson, 635-7626

The sign always made me curious. In tiny Johnson, the Hub's metalwork planets certainly stand out. When I saw the latest menu, featuring 50 different specialty pizzas (the largest selection of pizzas in the Northeast, according to the menu), I hightailed it to Lamoille County to see if the pies were as cool as the sign.

The walls were covered in paintings, large and small, some colorful and faux-tribal; a spooky, black-and-white face filled one wall.

The menu is huge, both physically and in scope. Whatever the toppings, specialty pizzas are a set price. A 14-inch medium was plenty for two and only $16.99, so we had money left over to try a pair of starters.

370 Shelburne Road, South Burlington 802-865-8383

Ten restaurants in the Burlington area are now serving Vietnamese food. My regular stops include Pho Pasteur for the eponymous noodle soup, 99 Asian Market Eatery for banh mi and groceries, and Saigon Bistro for salted lime juice and the best bun bar-none.

It had been a couple of years since I'd last been to M-Saigon for more than one of their delectable lemongrass chicken banh mi, and last night I learned there were some big changes.

The hip-looking black-background, flame-themed menu had pages full of not only Vietnamese but also Thai dishes. For good measure, it had the excellent typo at right. Personally, when I look for crapmeat, I want nothing but the real thing, but to each his own.

4000 Mountain Road, Stowe, 253-6445

After a stressful week finishing up the new 7 Nights magazine (on stands April 20) and working on the upcoming Vermont Restaurant Week, all I wanted to do on Friday night was lounge around and eat fondue.

Despite our Alp-like environs, fondue is hard to find in the Green Mountains. I wasn't about to melt bricks of cheese myself, so off to Stowe I went.

I'd been wanting to try the Buttertub Bistro since I reviewed Norma's at Topnotch last month. The staff there told me that the relaxed bar had burgers, housemade charcuterie — and fondue.

260 North Street, Burlington, 658-8800

I liked the old O.N.E. Pepper Grill. Previous owner Sam Lai clearly put his soul into creating the Chinese/Mexican fusion menu, and even built his own tables and chairs.

Others didn't feel the same way I did, apparently, and now the folks from T.J.'s Dawg House in Williston have taken over the space, though they retained the name. The new owners replaced the fusion menu with something hard to find in Vermont: a varied bill of fare based around sausages, mostly Vienna Beef hot dogs.

The breezy, beach feel created by the indoor wooden deck that spans one side of the restaurant is now matched by the presence of a gigantic Vienna Beef umbrella over one of the tables. This is where I chose to sit.

97 Blakely Road, Suite 5, Colchester, 802-652-2444

There's a new restaurant in Colchester, though you might not have noticed. The new owners of the former Café Window, have renamed the airy waterfront eatery the Café Window.

For better or worse, you can't get pho and eggrolls there anymore. You also can't get ice cream from the take out window — yet. A chalkboard entices that "The countdown to ice cream has begun!" Even on a somewhat gray March day, the wall-sized windows overlooking the lake made it feel like summer.

Though the place is all deli inside, diners are invited to sit down wherever they like and enjoy table service. Our server/counter girl brought the menus to our table and filled us in on specials.

1859 Mountain Road, Stowe, 802-253-4765

Everyone knows that the Shed Restaurant and Brewery in Stowe is the place to go for a growler or a flight of house-brewed beer. What I wanted to know is if it's still worth the trip if you don't drink. Does the food stand up to the famous brews?

When I arrived at the Shed, I was surprised at how enormous the place is — it includes a pub, along with three large themed rooms. We were led past the dark "Vermont" room to a bright, plant filled "greenhouse."

We were under a skylight which lit the antler chandelier and tree near our table. Even at nearly six, the room felt like, well, a garden party.

I sat in a mighty wicker throne, like the queen lady-who-lunches. Though the seat was comfortable inside, protruding nails on the outside of the chair cut my finger and pulled a loop out of my sweater before the meal was over.

The first order of business was to order the "Shed sampler." It seemed a logical way to judge appetizers.