It's Wheatgrass Wednesday on Bank Street, and despite the off-putting prospect of juice squeezed from grass, a steady trickle of sippers sidle up to the Juice Bar for a hit. A wiry, khaki-clad guy (and wheatgrass virgin) knocks back his very first shot at the stand. "I'm going to have this every morning instead of Starbucks," he enthuses as he sets down the empty glass.

With every fresh order, Steph Steeves — for two years the juice-bar supervisor at Healthy Living — turns and grabs a handful of freshly cut grass from a Ziploc bag and stuffs it into the funnel-like top of her press. Then she hand cranks out the frothy, forest-green juice, which she decants into a beveled apéritif glass.

It's been a few weeks since Steeves and her partner, Mike Winters, built a solar-powered stand from repurposed bicycle frames and set it up as a juice bar along Bank Street, against the parking garage. "It's a ball. We get to hang out and chat," says the buoyant Winters, who left a Middlebury law firm to start peddling juice (and health, as they like to say) to unsuspecting Burlingtonians.

142 Hegeman Avenue, Colchester, 655-7370.

A hot dog cart is a hot dog cart, right?

In the "dirty water" milieu of big cities, the options tend to be limited to Sabrett or Hebrew National. But we're not in a big city.

Thanks to Cloud 9 Catering, the folks behind the Noble Pig, my summer is looking up — cured meat product by cured meat product.

Since the cart debuted in Colchester at the end of May, I've been making as many trips as I can. Last week my trip got easier when the cart began spending Thursdays parked at the Burton Snowboards lot, at 80 Industrial Parkway in Burlington.

Hot, it is hot, as Yoda might say. Take a drink I shall, yes, hmmm.

This week in Seven Days I wrote about mead, and the bees that make it. And though I developed an affection for Artesano's Essence Mead along the way, I also stumbled across a bottle of Honey Gardens Apiaries' Melissa Sparkling Mead, made with raw honey.

It looks like Champagne, it pours like Champagne, but it's really not much like Champagne. Though I bet meadmakers would love to capture more of the wedding market, modern palates might still need some getting used to these flavors — subtly sweet, earthy and herbaceous, unlike most wine or beer. But those who brave mead — or have grown to adore it — have discovered its very beguiling otherness, and flavors that seem to be from another planet but are actually ancient.

For an easy entry to the style, marry some sparkling mead to a little Vermont-made Sumptuous Black Currant Syrup and some Artesano Blueberry Mead, and you'll conjure an all-local twist on the Kir Royale, that perfect-for-summer classic blend of Champagne and crème de cassis or Chambord.

Fortunately for Vermont Kir lovers, Grand View Winery makes its own cassis. With 12 percent alcohol, you could sip it as a dessert wine on its own; pour some into sparkling mead, though, et voila! A berry-hued refresher with a honeyed undercarriage, a wisp of fruitiness and some yummy medicinal notes. 

To make a local Kir Royale, take your average Champagne flute, and add a generous splash of Grand View's Cassis (and optionally, one glug of blueberry mead, too.) Top with sparkling mead (or wine), and drink up! Or rather, your Kir drink, mmmm.

Each week, Grazing highlights tasty, sometimes under-the-radar dishes and drinks that reflect the season. If you know of a local edible (or libation) worth making a fuss over, let me know: corin@sevendaysvt.com.

Burlington Farmers Market, Saturdays, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at City Hall Park. Info, 310-5172.

My affection for this year's new-and-improved Burlington Farmers Market is no secret. With 90 vendors this year, the lunch selection is almost overwhelming. Still, there's been a break-out hit for me.

It doesn't have a sign yet. The vendors are incorporated as MPT, but they'll soon be advertising themselves as Peace & Love Catering. The motives for the name aren't as hippy-dippy as they sound — Mayllet Paz and Wilfredo Amor run the stand. Their last names translate to peace and love, respectively.

Paz and Amor are both Panama natives, but they didn't meet until immigrating to the United States. Each is from a different region so their native flavors differ from one another.

The couple's wide selection of dishes changes each week. I was particularly impressed a few weeks ago by Amor's spice-rubbed, smoked-then-fried chicken thighs. Each week, a Mexican friend prepares tamales for the stand — their flavorful pork and creamy masa filling is steamed in banana leaves, giving the packages a slightly tea-like flavor. Last week, that same friend also made a braised chicken dish using guajillo chiles. Amor worked at Souza's Brazilian Steakhouse, which introduced flavors from South America's largest country into his repertoire.

Last week, my boyfriend and I both ordered the $10 lunch deal, which includes rice and beans, two meats, two sides and a chilled bottle of water.

Neither of us could resist the lime corn. Its buttery kernels tasted only slightly citrusy, but it was still a refreshing foil to the meats. Fried plantains were somewhat greasy, but in a pleasant way, popping with hot fat as I bit into them.

The lime flavor I was looking for was more prominent in a braised chicken thigh that Amor called "lime chicken." Herbaceous and tangy, the tender meat paired beautifully with the spiced, nutty-tasting rice and beans.

Marinated steak also had a refreshing hint of citrus to counter its earthy spice rub. I got two pieces of the beef. One was tough and difficult to eat, the other was tender enough to eat straight from the fork, lollipop-style.

I was fascinated by the chicken leg at top left, which Paz told me was the invention of a Brazilian friend. It's hard to see in the photo, but the meat was covered in cheese, wrapped in bacon and inlaid with peas, corn and carrots. It could have been a fat bomb. Instead, the cook's deft hand with spices made this a smoky, cheesey delight. Similarly, it took just a hint of spice and a squeeze of lime to make the conventional-looking pasta salad sing.

But last week's greatest discovery may have been the ham. Sweet and clove-scented, the flavor profile wasn't drastically different from a slab from Harrington's of Vermont. The wonders were in the preparation.

The meat was braised, not baked, resulting in a full-on assault of ham flavor. It was so good, I didn't mind missing the other braised pork dish Paz and Amor were proffering that day. Well, not too much. And chances are, if they're not serving it this weekend, I'll still be able to try it soon.

2403 Shelburne Rd., Shelburne, 497-3288

Remember Bangkok Bistro Thai Steakhouse? I do. Following Amigo's, Little Saigon and Pattaya, the quirky steakhouse was the next short-lived restaurant to hit 2403 Shelburne Road back in 2006. I loved its marinated steaks, vegetables stir-fried in ginger, and bizarre domes of bright-blue sticky rice.

Why the trip down Memory Lane? Bangkok Minute Thai Café is the Chompupong family's return to the same address.

But where Champ Chompupong turned his restaurant into a dark, zebra-print-bedecked speakeasy, his son Bobby now brings a youthful, casual air to the restaurant.

Part of that is enviably low prices. Few dishes are much more than $10, though some ambitious cocktails are nearly that. Indeed, the sign at Bangkok Minute promises pad Thai and martinis, so it seemed only right that we try a sip or two.

On a hot evening out on the restaurant's pleasant front deck, just far enough away from the road, I couldn't resist a milkshake-like Thai iced tea. We also leaned toward tea on the boozy side, with a cocktail called the Bruce Lee. Composed of green tea, lemon and vodka, it wasn't as serious as a martini, but was an ideal refresher on a sticky Sunday evening.

When a fellow outdoor diner lit up a series of cigarettes, we decided to move inside, as close to a fan as we could. Soon after, dinner arrived. When I saw my chicken-noodle bowl, I was a bit concerned. Raw lettuce and tomatoes mixed with hot curried noodles?

Though it seemed ill-advised, the thick slices of iceberg barely cooked despite their steamy surroundings. Flavorwise, the tomatoes proved to be a delightfully acidic foil to the creamy, mildly spicy ginger-lemon curry sauce.

The sauce was delicious and complex, but a tad heavy on a hot day. The slices of chicken were grill-marked on one side, lending a nice charred taste. But I was particularly fond of the chewy rice noodles. Rather than the wide, flat pasta or vermicelli I usually see, these strands were round, like medium-thick spaghetti. The mouthfeel was surprising and highly enjoyable.

The same noodles appeared in the ultra-sweet pad Thai. Though heavy on the tamarind, a liberal dose of ginger mitigated its syrupy qualities.There was plenty of peanut, too, giving the dish a savory flavor that blended well with the scrambled eggs, chicken and puffy tofu.

Bean sprouts and a few raw carrots added a nice crunch. A big slice of lemon also helped to balance the flavors, though less-astringent lime would have been a better contrast.

We were full after our big noodle bowls and my milky, caloric iced tea, but I can never say no to mango sticky rice.

In this case, I wished I had. Though it was a huge portion — big enough for two or three people — the dish fell flat.

The mangoes, which hadn't quite achieved ripeness, were hard and not quite sweet. The rice was also under-sweetened and not as glutinous as it should be. The dessert is usually bathed in coconut sauce and sesame seeds, but this one was dry and bland.

Still, I hope to return, particularly for the restaurant's inexpensive lunch deal. Fingers crossed this new place lasts more than a Bangkok minute.

Alice Eats is a weekly blog feature devoted to reviewing restaurants where diners can get a meal for two for less than $35. Got a restaurant you'd love to see featured? Send it to alice@sevendaysvt.com.

Early June brings a heady explosion at the farm stand — baby salad greens, stalks of rhubarb, floppy bunches of basil, a few early hothouse tomatoes, and... impossibly red, sweet-tart strawberries. A few perfect specimens have made their debut at Killdeer Farm Stand in Norwich, and it's hard not to eat them at every breakfast, slice them into every salad and even smash them into every cocktail.

Reading about this scrumptious salad from Warren's Common Man Restaurant had me thinkin' about my own, more pedestrian version, dormant since last summer and ripe for resurrection. Peppery arugula is a natural bedfellow for fruit, watermelon especially, but since melons are still just swellings on the vine (at least around here), strawberries toe the line in seductive fashion. If you dress the greens simply with a lemon-and-white-balsamic-vinegar dressing, then load on a handful of toasted almonds, some sliced strawberries and crumbles of soft, salty feta, you'll steer your culinary magic carpet straight to heaven.

25 Winooski Falls Way, Winooski, 654-7069

There are numerous reasons to go to Cupp's in Winooski: sticky buns that taste like drinking butter and honey; cute cake pops; coffee that's flavored to taste like s'mores. But there are two words more enticing than any of those: cupcake bar.

Recently, baker Gretel-Ann Fischer struck on the brilliant idea of making DIY cupcakes sans the mess. Each week, she posts a new list of cake flavors, buttercreams, fillings and toppings. Tell her staff what you want, et voilá, you've got precisely the cupcake you crave.

But that's just dessert. On Saturday afternoon, I was hungry for a real meal, not just the sweet stuff. So I ventured where I never had before on the Cupp's menu — to the savory side.

The How 'Bout Them Apples salad, with fresh Macs, smoked gouda and bacon, sounded appealing, but I'd had a similar salad for dinner the night before. The Slick Chick wrap with Asian slaw sounded great, too, but on this rainy, chilly day, panini felt like the appropriate choice.

And the Forgetaboutit was exactly what I needed. Lightly toasted, homemade white bread was filled with bouncy, saline fresh mozzarella and tender slices of chicken. Herb-crusted, oven-roasted tomatoes were the dominant flavor, but fresh basil and creamy, herbaceous pesto aioli did great work, too. It was like a complex, flavorful chicken Parmigiana deconstructed and stacked onto a sandwich.

I appreciated the bagel chips on top of the salad, but the greens themselves were past their prime. I had to push nearly half of my salad's blackened baby lettuces to the side of my plate. What was edible was dressed in homemade maple vinaigrette that was definitely more maple than vinegar. It was a tad sweet for my taste, but my dining partner adored it.

He was also enthralled by his Hawg Wild panini. There aren't many bakeries serving house-smoked pulled pork. The layer of smoke on this moist meat was just enough and it complimented the sweet, lightly spicy barbecue sauce that dressed it. I would have preferred the caramelized onions on top to be cut thinner and caramelized more, but thankfully, they stayed in place within the sandwich with the help of a layer of Cabot cheddar.

Finally, it was cupcake time. I started with a vanilla one, filled with coconut-white-chocolate ganache. It was like a dense punch of coconut inside the airy pastry. On top, the peanut butter buttercream was also full of flavor, but sweet enough so as not to suggest satay in combination with the coconut. To that end, toffee chunks on top also helped enormously.

Round two, vanilla cake with peach ganache filling. I didn't know how one would make a peach ganache. It turned out, it was by adding peach flavor to chocolate ganache. The deep, rich chocolate was delicious and luxuriously soft, almost melty. However, the big flavor obscured the peach. That wasn't exactly a problem. With decadently buttery vanilla buttercream on top, the cupcake was still a hit.

As was a chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate buttercream. Though the moist cake crumbled when I tried to cut it in half to share, the messy treat was still delectable. The cherry ganache within was strong enough to acheive the flavor of a chocolate-covered cherry.

The best thing about the cupcake bar is that it changes every week. I've seen flavors as diverse as wasabi and different flowers. All the more reason to keep on hitting the bar...

Alice Eats is a weekly blog feature devoted to reviewing restaurants where diners can get a meal for two for less than $35. Got a restaurant you'd love to see featured? Send it to alice@sevendaysvt.com.