9 Park Street, Essex Junction, 878-6699

The old house on the corner of Park Street, just across the street from the Lincoln Inn, has seen its share of Asian restaurants. For years, it was home to Ming's, a Chinese eatery remembered more for its abuse of workers than its food.

Then, there was the excellent Thai restaurant, Drunken Noodle House, which closed with little fanfare early this summer. Pho Vietnam quickly filled the spot, but I didn't have time to try it until this stormy Sunday.

The interior was clean and bright, much as the Drunken Noodle House folks left it. The first three quarters of the menu was standard Vietnamese — pho, bun, rice plates and eggrolls. A final page of house specials included pad Thai, pad kee mao and a few Vietnamese seafood stir-fries, featuring salmon or swordfish.

Though some wine drinkers publicly enthuse about Vermont wines, in confidence, they'll scrunch their face when they recall a few wayward bottles: weird-tasting, they'll say, or just plain foul. 

Happily, the days of grin-and-bear-it quaffing, of believing — hoping — that our local wines would improve, are rapidly fading.  As growers get more familiar with the cold-hardy varietals they grow, press and ferment — grapes with unfamiliar names such as La Crescent, Louise Swenson, St. Croix and Marquette — their wines have gotten better and better. This year, though, those baby steps became a giant leap, and Marquette is a huge reason why.

5 Market Street, South Burlington, 658-3626

It's fair season. One of my favorite dining destinations of the year, the Champlain Valley Fair, starts this Saturday. Last week, I got a head start on some classic fair foods at the latest Chinese buffet on the block, Hong Kong Jade Restaurant, which occupies the South Burlington space until recently filled by the Orchid.

Dining out is always fun, but rarely have I been anywhere with quite the carnival atmosphere of Hong Kong Jade. For $7.99 each (the slightly higher weekend price), we were treated to a Saturday lunch that included everything one would expect from a Chinese buffet, plus make-your-own noodle soup, fried dough and all the cotton candy we wanted.

The only downside, of course, was that this was a Chinese buffet. The food was not exactly memorable. Sweet and sour pork was wincingly sweet. So was the honey chicken. Oily but otherwise nondescript veggie lo mein was nothing to write home about, nor was the pork fried rice. However, a few elements helped Hong Kong Jade rise above its gimmicks.

700 Trapp Hill Road, Stowe, 253-5705

When I first dined at the Trapp Family Lodge a decade ago, there was more than a measure of kitsch. As soon as I got out of the car, I saw a pair of elderly woman spinning around on a hill, arms outstretched, à la Julie Andrews. The hills were alive, and so was the twee Austrian Tea Room.

In recent years, however, the resort has had a major makeover. Sought-after artisan beer has replaced tea cozies. In the place of the Austrian Tea Room, there's the bright and modern DeliBakery. When I tried it this weekend, I found that it was the perfect balance of old and new.

You enter the counter area past a bakery case stocked with practically every rich Euro-style dessert imaginable, as well as tea trays stacked with dark, crackly looking croissants. The menu is one page, front and back, but includes plenty of choices. Choose a side salad, order at the counter and sit down. In about 20 minutes lunch will be brought to your table.

I had a bratwurst, which came with a sliced length of house-baked baguette, perfect for assembling a hearty sandwich. Even better: a slick of three-peppercorn Dijon mustard on each side of the bread. Not as spicy as many Germanic mustards, this sauce was creamy and sharp with just a hint of heat.

The one and only time I vacationed in the Bahamas, I had to do a double take as I checked out of my hotel: At the bar was the balding, tan, Hawaiian-shirt-clad Jimmy Buffet, nursing the drink synonymous with his name. It was barely 11 a.m.

Unlike Mr. Buffet, I don't order (or make) margaritas when it's hot and sunny; rather, due to synaptic miswiring or an off-kilter sense of time, I crave them when the first autumn chill shows itself in late summer. When a few rogue leaves begin changing on the trees, I feel like sipping something with a little sourness, something that looks and feels cheerful to order but portends sharper times to come. And sour mixes and triple sec and frozen versions be damned -- they should never be too sweet, or too easy a drink to make.

Even though this very American drink is usually constructed on a holy trinity of tequila, lime juice and orange liqueur, margaritas are a blank canvas on which you can impose any triad of flavors, provided you maintain the sweet-sour aspect and tequila base.

1880 Mountain Rd. at the Gale Farm Shopping Center, Stowe, 253-7785

You'll see plenty of dogs eating outdoors on Church Street in Burlington, but to enjoy air conditioning with your pup, there's only one eatery that I know of. I don't have a dog, but when I hit Stowe Dogs this weekend, I befriended several, and got a tasty lunch out of the deal.

As indicated at right, nearly every surface at Stowe Dogs, including walls and tables, is loaded with photos of pups who have visited from as far away as Chile and the Netherlands. I looked at them all and have a favorite, but I'll never tell...

The one bit of wall not dog-eared is the white-board menu. Naturally, dogs are the focus there, too.

I'm a sucker for food with a story, and Le 1608 has one that stretches back three generations. In a way, that's not uncommon for a cheese made in Québec, where each comes with a passionate tale from its creator. 

1608 is the year that colonists began importing cattle from Normandy to New France. The inky-brown bovines eventually became the only breed developed in North America, hearty animals that adapted to Québec's harsh climate and topography, and whose milk is rich in butter fat and protein. "Vaches Canadiennes" numbered a half-million by 1850 but fell into a long decline as other breeds (with higher yields) rose to the fore. Now, only 600 or so still exist, about 150 of them in the Charlevoix region north of Québec City.

1130 North Avenue, Burlington, 658-4148

I rarely review a place in its first weeks of life. Usually, it's only fair to give it a month or two to let it get its footing. In the case of Bamboo Hut, no such courtesies are necessary.

I ate there for the first time last Monday, just days after its opening, it was clear the place had sprung into being fully formed. I returned Sunday, and feel ready to share the love.

The North Avenue space might look familiar. I've reviewed two other restaurants there, Phuong's Kitchen and more recently, Wild Bill's Western BBQ. From the start, the building has belonged to Phuong Lam, who opened Bamboo Hut with her boyfriend Nguyen Vo.

A caveat: Unless you're me and don't mind slightly sticky tablecloths and an owner who only remembers to bring chopsticks for one of a party of two, this is not a date night destination. I, however, am me and like the ambiance. Lots of other folks seemed to prefer takeout, evidenced by a steady stream of customers picking up throughout our meal. Their loss. They missed Vo's delicious homemade iced tea.

As much as I loved the food at Phuong's Kitchen, I think it may be even better at Bamboo Hut. The menu includes a similar emphasis on egg rolls, with four different varieties, available in orders from four rolls to 36.

I tried the combo, which included crab-rangoon-like "tiger rolls," herbaceous ground chicken, lemongrass-marinated whole shrimp and classic Vietnamese cha gio. The latter was the most exciting of the bunch, with a strong flavor of ginger and a hint of cilantro.