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Friday, April 27, 2012
Grazing: Mussels, Pesto, Bacon, Frites & Aioli... For Lunch? It's Restaurant Week.
Posted
By Corin Hirsch
on Fri, Apr 27, 2012 at 3:50 PM
After Sweet Start Smackdown last night, I craved a light lunch — a seaweed salad, maybe, or a kale smoothie. But with the kickoff of Vermont Restaurant Week today, it'd be sacrilege not to dig into some delicious plate or another. This is how I ended up in a booth at Shepard's Pie in Quechee, one of the handful of Upper Valley restaurants that stuck its neck out to participate in this Burlington-centric event.
To those just getting the memo, Vermont Restaurant Week is an eight-day-long dining bacchanalia during which 80+ restaurants around the state offer prix-fixe menus, often including seasonal dishes with morsels such as rhubarb, ramps, lamb and asparagus. Many offer $10 lunch specials, too.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Alice Eats: Bove's Restaurant
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 12:57 PM
68 Pearl St., Burlington 864-6651
The building at 68 Pearl Street looks much as it did in 1941. Bove's Venetian cityscape mural brings diners back to WWII-era ideas of what makes a restaurant worth visiting. It extends to the menu, the drinks — and the prices.
Few things still exist in the world quite like the time capsule that is the Bove's cocktail menu. Like a Brandy Alexander? Meet Greg Alexander, her gin-flavored dad. There is also a John Collins, a rum-and-vodka drink to keep Tom company. And they all cost $3.75.
The portions are small, but the liquor is strong. My choice, the relatively safe-sounding Stinger, is composed of brandy and white crème de menthe, and it packed a fire along with a refreshing minty flavor.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Opinion Grazing: 'Sup, Montcalm La Crescent?
Posted
By Corin Hirsch
on Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 4:06 PM
As the weather tries on spring for size, white wine is appearing in my glass more often than red. Specifically, that racy little white grape that's helping to put Vermont wines on the map.
A few weeks ago at the Woodstock Farmers Market, I saw a bottle of La Crescent I hadn't tried before, from Montcalm Vineyards in Benson. I don't know where I've been, as many others have been sipping on this while I've imbibed beloved versions from Lincoln Peak and Shelburne Vineyard. At $14.99, it's comparable in price, so I took home one of the tall, slender bottles.
Once I realized the man behind it is Ray Knutsen, the bottle gained some backstory. Knutsen is an elder of the Vermont wine scene, planting the first vines at his Champlain Valley Vineyards in 1978 when cold-hardy La Crescent was just a glimmer in some oenologist's eye.
I didn't wait for a spicy dish to pop open his La Crescent — the only excuse it took was a sunny weekend afternoon, and a friend to join me. This wine was juicy and alive. Pale gold in the glass, it has intense and heady aromas, reminiscent of lying underneath blooming honeysuckle bushes and apple trees.
On the first sip, all of that flowery promise turned to summer fruit, with off-dry, juicy waves of ripe peaches, pineapples and melons floating on that floral undercurrent, and a crisp acidity keeping the entire thing lively. At a lowish 10.5 percent alcohol, it could be called a sessionable wine, if such a term existed. (Thanks to the beer drinkers for that.)
The wine's sweetness marks it as an able escort to Pla Goong from Tiny Thai or any other spicy fish or poultry dish — it's a fine subsitute for Riesling. Me, I just drink it on its own.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Alice Eats: Brunch at Rusty Nail Bar & Grille
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Tue, Apr 17, 2012 at 12:55 PM
1190 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-6245
There's nothing like a lovely spring day to stir brunch cravings. I'm ready for a Benedict at any time of year, but when I headed to the Rusty Nail Bar & Grille on Sunday, I was met by a brunch rush that could only have been kindled by the 70-degree weather and plenty of outdoor seating.
Having an obsessive fear of sun damage, I was happy to stay inside. Our hostess had some difficulty processing that idea, but, hey, it got me a table right away.
A table filled with local ingredients for Bloody Marys sat beside the bar, and general manager Kate Wise told us that she was making excellent Irish coffees that day. But even at 2 p.m., I just wasn't in the head (or body) space for cocktails.
I was feeling more like a bacon, egg and cheeseburger between two duck-fat doughnuts. Unfortunately, the "Donaught" had just sold out. A burger served on doughnuts had sold out? This brunch crowd was serious, and apparently had learned nothing from Paula Deen's diabetes. My kind of crew.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Burlington Grazing: The Disneyland of Olive Oil
Posted
By Corin Hirsch
on Fri, Apr 13, 2012 at 4:46 PM
The first time I saw a specialty olive-oil store — on Long Island — I thought it was kind of gimmicky. I'm not much for infused oils (unless I do it myself), and the concept seemed to take "artisanal" to a nutty level. Yet I formed this judgment without ever stepping through the door, and held fast to it even after I was given an olive-oil-store gift basket for Christmas and became hooked on chocolate balsamic vinegar. It was tasty, but would I ever buy some for myself? Nah.
So when I walked out of the Saratoga Olive Oil Co. store this week with three bottles under my arm, including an olive oil pressed with blood-orange peel, I had to admit I'd been turned. Seduced? I'm not sure. It probably doesn't matter, but like a favorite shoe store, I need to pace my visits.
The shop opened about a month ago at 86 Church Street, the second branch in what might be a slowly growing empire owned and run by the Braidwood family of Saratoga. The interior is spare, and both sides lined by stainless-steel urns filled with single-varietal and infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars. In their midst is a table filled with jars of specialty salts in tricked-out flavors such as Hawaiian Black Lava and French Garden.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Alice Eats: Aviation Deli and Fine Foods
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Tue, Apr 10, 2012 at 2:31 PM
1223 Airport Drive, South Burlington, 399-2206
I keep so busy eating around the state that my neighborhood spots often end up neglected. When I moved to South Burlington last summer, my neighboring coworkers told me it was important to try the Aviation Deli, just across the street from the airport. I finally made it there last night.
As you can see from the photo at right, it's not much to look at. Not so different from your average gas station convenience store. But there's no gas pump out front and most of the food is homemade — and delicious.
Last night wasn't one of the homestyle specialty nights — there's braised beef on Tuesdays and prime rib every Thursday — but I did grab a beef stroganoff from the hot case. An in-depth review wouldn't be fair, because it's ill advised to eat anything from a hot case, especially something in a cream sauce, and I take full responsibility. Suffice it to say, I liked the crispness of the noodles and, though the sauce dried up unappealingly, it remained flavorful and dotted with still-vibrant mushrooms.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Books Grazing: Vodka From Dawn Till Dusk
Posted
By Corin Hirsch
on Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 3:20 PM
A few days ago, I jumpstarted a chilly spring morning with a shot of vodka. Black tea and peach bitters were blended in, too, but the warm feeling that spread through my shoulders still felt kind of illicit at 10 a.m.
The excuse was solid: a drop-in to the new Vermont Spirits tasting room in Quechee, which opened about a month ago. Last summer, Vermont Spirits had their steel headquarters painstakingly dissembled and moved from Barnet — where they'd distilled for 13 years — to this complex along Route 4.
The place took longer than expected to assemble, but the care shows in the details: an elegant slate floor, modern industrial lights, a bar made from salvaged barn beams, and shelves stocked with bottles of vodka and Fee Brothers Bitters, as well as books and videos from the American Distilling Institute.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Alice Eats: Pho Dang Vietnamese Cafe — Essex Junction
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Tue, Apr 3, 2012 at 12:59 PM
9 Park St., Essex Junction, 878-6699
In 2007, Pho Dang in Winooski was one of the first eateries to start the trend that has led to nine Vietnamese restaurants in Chittenden County. The ninth is another Pho Dang. It replaces the short-lived Pho Vietnam in the old Ming's space in downtown Essex Junction.
Just seven months after I reviewed Pho Vietnam, I was back at the same table trying Pho Dang. The single server ran up and down the stairs between two floors of packed dining rooms. My hopes were high and apparently, so were those of the locals.
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