Vermont's Independent Voice
Browse News
Browse Arts + Culture
Browse Food + Drink
Browse Cannabis
Browse Music
Browse On Screen
Browse Events
Browse Classifieds
Browse Personals
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Alice Eats Alice Eats: North Country Saloon
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Tue, Mar 31, 2015 at 1:37 PM
How salt-of-the-earth is Milton's newest eatery, North Country Saloon? You actually have to drive through a trailer park to get to the parking lot. The ambience is something like this:
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Farmers Market Kitchen Farmers Market Kitchen: Seared Radicchio With Chevre and Egg
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Tue, Mar 24, 2015 at 2:38 PM
Lately I've been fairly obsessed with Willow Moon Farm's Ginger-Lemon Chevre; I just can't get enough of its bright, sunny flavor. Creamy and rich, it's a light, spreadable cheese that's as good on a cracker as it is in a salad. And it's a perfect foil against the intense bitterness of radicchio in a warm, not-so-springy salad. If radicchio is too bitter for your palate, use endive instead.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Alice Eats Alice Eats: El Gato Cantina, Essex
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 1:32 PM
Seven Days' restaurant listings tell no lies. Of the 234 restaurants outside Burlington listed in our Chittenden County section, only two are Mexican. Add in the Queen City and you've got five. That qualifies as a serious dearth. Things appeared to be looking up back in 2011, when Corin Hirsch and I published a survey of four new south-of-the-border eateries.
Three-and-a-half years later, only one is left standing, Burlington's El Gato Cantina. Its second location opened in the former Belted Cow Bistro space in Essex Junction last October. Since then its margaritas, ranging from the $7 house version to the $37 Don Julio's 1942 Dream, have attracted crowds eager for something more authentic than quesadillas and nachos. El Gato has those Americano classics, but also more traditional options. Do they pass Mexican muster?
Three-and-a-half years later, only one is left standing, Burlington's El Gato Cantina. Its second location opened in the former Belted Cow Bistro space in Essex Junction last October. Since then its margaritas, ranging from the $7 house version to the $37 Don Julio's 1942 Dream, have attracted crowds eager for something more authentic than quesadillas and nachos. El Gato has those Americano classics, but also more traditional options. Do they pass Mexican muster?
Farmers Market Kitchen Farmers Market Kitchen: Lamb and Stout Shepherd's Pie
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 11:04 AM
For St. Patrick's Day, I like to prepare something that honors my husband's Irish heritage. Last year around this time, I had a conversation with D.C. Irish chef Cathal Armstrong about St. Patrick's day cooking, which coincided with the release of his 2014 cookbook, My Irish Table.
Armstrong's shepherd's pie lodged itself in my mind, with its hearty hunks of lamb and vegetables — it's not the ground-beef and potato thing you used to get for lunch in elementary school. On Sunday, I was driving through Shelburne and stopped at Green Pasture Meats, which happened to be selling local lamb stew meat, and a holiday dinner was born. I didn't use Armstrong's recipe, but I owe the inspiration to him.
Armstrong's shepherd's pie lodged itself in my mind, with its hearty hunks of lamb and vegetables — it's not the ground-beef and potato thing you used to get for lunch in elementary school. On Sunday, I was driving through Shelburne and stopped at Green Pasture Meats, which happened to be selling local lamb stew meat, and a holiday dinner was born. I didn't use Armstrong's recipe, but I owe the inspiration to him.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Farmers Market Kitchen Farmers Market Kitchen: Smashed Purple Potatoes
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Tue, Mar 10, 2015 at 2:28 PM
Happy Tuesday! Here's a quick and easy recipe/non-recipe.
I often wonder why people don't eat more purple potatoes: They're loaded with antioxidants, while other potatoes aren't, and they have this nice nutty nuance that other varieties lack. Also, they're just so pretty! Don't people like eating pretty food?
Several Vermont farmers grow purple varieties, and earlier this week I grabbed a bunch of itty-bitty ones from Johnson's Foote Brook Farm and Starksboro's Lewis Creek Farm at Burlington's City Market. Today, I smashed them for lunch. It was fun, and tasty.
Alice Eats Alice Eats: Pro Pig Brewery
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Tue, Mar 10, 2015 at 1:49 PM
Tacos are a good thing. So is beer. The two made scintillating music together in Waterbury with the marriage of Blackback Pub and the Mad Taco. But when the businesses divorced last year, the beer-destination city became a whole lot less taco-tastic.
Friday, March 6, 2015
Where Am I Eating? Where Am I Eating? No. 4
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Fri, Mar 6, 2015 at 10:43 AM
Do you like free food? If not, you're probably dead, which is sad.
If you are alive, you can win a gift certificate from one of dozens of Vermont restaurants simply by identifying the provenance of the photo above. Post the name of the restaurant where I ate this gooey brownie sundae in the comment section below. If you're the first to correctly identify it, you win.
Ready? Go!
If you are alive, you can win a gift certificate from one of dozens of Vermont restaurants simply by identifying the provenance of the photo above. Post the name of the restaurant where I ate this gooey brownie sundae in the comment section below. If you're the first to correctly identify it, you win.
Ready? Go!
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Farmers Market Kitchen Farmers Market Kitchen: Waning Winter Salad
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Tue, Mar 3, 2015 at 1:57 PM
Here's to the woes of a complicated little salad. This dish breaks all of my Farmers Market Kitchen rules — it has several components, each with its own long list of ingredients and set of preparations.
It starts with my own home-cured guanciale, which hung for 60 days in my pantry. For people who don't make charcuterie for fun, any thick-cut bacon will do. But the beans — from Morningstar Meadow Farm in Glover — first soaked, then boiled, then baked — take at least an overnight, plus two hours to prepare. The mushrooms (also grown locally, at AH Mushroom in Colchester) are marinated, then pan-fried. The bulgur is scented with no fewer than three different spices. Finally, the greens are warmed and dressed — but that's the easy part!
If it seems like a lot of fuss for a bit of salad, it is. But I have to say that it's one of the finest salads I've ever created. If I had to review it at a restaurant, I'd give it a true rave.
What's more, all but the greens can be made in advance and repurposed for other dishes. I've been using the beans as a side dish for days, and the mushrooms are stellar on pretty much anything. But all together on a plate, the flavors just marry so beautifully: a little salty, a little sweet, hints of bitter and spice. Served warm, it's a greeny winter dish that will comfort until, at long last, the cold gives way to spring.
It starts with my own home-cured guanciale, which hung for 60 days in my pantry. For people who don't make charcuterie for fun, any thick-cut bacon will do. But the beans — from Morningstar Meadow Farm in Glover — first soaked, then boiled, then baked — take at least an overnight, plus two hours to prepare. The mushrooms (also grown locally, at AH Mushroom in Colchester) are marinated, then pan-fried. The bulgur is scented with no fewer than three different spices. Finally, the greens are warmed and dressed — but that's the easy part!
If it seems like a lot of fuss for a bit of salad, it is. But I have to say that it's one of the finest salads I've ever created. If I had to review it at a restaurant, I'd give it a true rave.
What's more, all but the greens can be made in advance and repurposed for other dishes. I've been using the beans as a side dish for days, and the mushrooms are stellar on pretty much anything. But all together on a plate, the flavors just marry so beautifully: a little salty, a little sweet, hints of bitter and spice. Served warm, it's a greeny winter dish that will comfort until, at long last, the cold gives way to spring.
Alice Eats Alice Eats: Benedict Brunch at Bleu
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Tue, Mar 3, 2015 at 12:20 PM
For many women, the last few months have been all about that Benedict. Personally, I have trouble looking past Mr. Cumberbatch's vocal fry. If I'm sampling something sizzling, I'd prefer that it be hash browns. Lucky for me, Doug Paine of Bleu Northeast Seafood in Burlington's Courtyard Marriott has another Benedict in mind. Nine of them, in fact. At weekend brunch, the breakfast menu is available until 1 p.m., but the brunch bill of fare itself is composed entirely of original variations on eggs Benedict.
find, follow, fan us: