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.