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Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Farmers Market Kitchen Farmers Market Kitchen: Classic Ricotta Lasagne
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Tue, Feb 27, 2018 at 1:21 PM
One of my earliest food memories is making lasagne with my mom. She worked at Bradford's Colatina Exit as a prep cook when I was little, and I'm pretty sure her method came mostly from that kitchen. Over the years, she made the recipe her own, and now I've worked it into the regular rotation at my house, using my home-canned tomatoes, local meats (usually from PT Farm, in Haverhill, N.H., but most pig farmers sell it at market), cheese (Mountain Home Farm makes beautiful ricotta) and whatever spinach I can get my hands on — frozen is cheap and works really well.
The result is a totally classic, midcentury-style Italian casserole: savory and rich — I cook the raw sausage right in with the tomatoes, so all that fat goes straight into the sauce, not down the drain. It's pretty easy to prepare and nearly impossible to mess up. Prep can take half an hour if you're efficient about it, and it bakes for about an hour.
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Restaurant News Like Meat, But Not: Sampling the Impossible Burger
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Sun, Feb 25, 2018 at 2:09 PM
A few weeks ago, a friend posted in my Facebook messages that Mule Bar had begun selling the Impossible Burger — "the vegan burger that bleeds," she wrote. Would I be interested in checking it out?
Yes, and I did. The burger is quite the feat of food science — five years in the making, according to the website of its parent company Impossible Foods. The ingredients indicate that the burgers are an amalgamation of plant-based proteins, fats and flavorings formulated to replicate meat.
"We recreated the precise flavors, textures, aromas and nutrition of ground beef — using only plants," company literature reads. "By understanding meat at the molecular level, we made a juicy, delicious burger that's better for the planet."
Yes, and I did. The burger is quite the feat of food science — five years in the making, according to the website of its parent company Impossible Foods. The ingredients indicate that the burgers are an amalgamation of plant-based proteins, fats and flavorings formulated to replicate meat.
"We recreated the precise flavors, textures, aromas and nutrition of ground beef — using only plants," company literature reads. "By understanding meat at the molecular level, we made a juicy, delicious burger that's better for the planet."
Friday, February 23, 2018
Dining on a Dime / Restaurant News Dining on a Dime: Berda's Restaurant
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Fri, Feb 23, 2018 at 8:13 AM
I like to pooh-pooh comfort food. "It's overdone," I'll often say. Or, "If I have to find a way to write about another plate of poutine or mac and cheese, I'm going to vomit all over my keyboard." Yes, poor me, I know.
Food-writer fatigue notwithstanding, comfort food is comforting for a reason. And since I'm a good, flag-waving American, I do keep a special place in my heart for well-done burgers and mac.
Case in point: Co-owners and cooks Shaun Trepanier and Cory Charles opened Berda's Restaurant in a storefront at the Essex Shoppes & Cinema in late December. The spot is an outgrowth of Berda's Roadside Eatery, where Charles slung local-beef burgers, dogs and duck-fat fries from a food truck in Essex Junction for the past three summers.
Last fall, Trepanier and Charles — both Essex Junction natives — found a hungry audience at the Champlain Valley Exposition. Using the fair proceeds as seed money, they decided to establish a permanent kitchen. Though the outlet shops, which have seen flagging revenues in recent years, might seem like an unlikely site, Trepanier said changes in the area made moving there a no-brainer.
"It's a really exciting place to be right now," he said via phone on Thursday.
Trepanier couldn't offer details on the upcoming developments. Last August, according to media reports, Essex Shoppes owner Peter Edelman had floated a proposal to redevelop the site with a mix of residential and commercial spaces. However, word has been mostly mum since then.
Regardless of what the future holds, Berda's owners plan to stick around for the long run. Much of their menu is burgers (from the grass-fed cows at local farms). Fried snacks include golf-ball-size mac-and-cheese croquettes; hand-cut and battered onion rings; steak-and-cheese sandwiches, with cheddar, caramelized onions and housemade barbecue sauce; and "boats" of fries loaded with maple-glazed bacon, cheddar and eggs, or steak-and-cheese fixings.
Oh, and two salads are on offer: shaved-steak Caesar (bonus points for noting the cut of meat: top round), and a "Farmhouse" option with romaine, walnuts and dried cranberries.
Beer and wine are coming soon, Trepanier said, once a liquor license is approved.
About those burgers: Each specialty sandwich is built around a four-ounce patty, and a lot of them reflect a "more is more" ethos in the kitchen. For example, the mac-and-cheese burger is topped with seared, cheesy mac and bacon. That's not to be confused with the mac burger, shrouded in cheese sauce, or the queso burger, awash in molten Tex-Mex slurry.
Then there's the 10-ounce Berda burger, with cream cheese, bacon, maple caramelized jalapeños and barbecue sauce. When it comes to calorie accumulation, the place pulls no punches.
For me, a bacon cheeseburger seemed like plenty. The "Sticky Icky" burger ($8.49), with bacon "dunked in maple syrup and piled high"and cheddar, was seared just right — a little pink in the middle, very juicy — and slapped into a soft, griddled sesame-seed bun. And the duck-fat fries ($4) are pretty much the Platonic ideal of what a French fry should be: skins on, hand cut, crackly and salted just enough.
The mac-and-cheese croquettes ($9 for eight) cracked open to reveal melty strands of mild cheddar binding elbow macaroni in a gooey matrix. The accompanying tomato bisque was an added perk; I might have ordered a full bowl had it been available.
With rain beating down outside on Wednesday afternoon, jugs of sunflower oil propped open the restaurant doors, sending a cool breeze through the restaurant. A few families and workers from nearby businesses tucked into lunch. Despite the nondescript surroundings, success seemed all but inevitable. If Sukho Thai and Sweet Clover Market can make it here, this writer can see no reason why Berda's shouldn't.
Food-writer fatigue notwithstanding, comfort food is comforting for a reason. And since I'm a good, flag-waving American, I do keep a special place in my heart for well-done burgers and mac.
Case in point: Co-owners and cooks Shaun Trepanier and Cory Charles opened Berda's Restaurant in a storefront at the Essex Shoppes & Cinema in late December. The spot is an outgrowth of Berda's Roadside Eatery, where Charles slung local-beef burgers, dogs and duck-fat fries from a food truck in Essex Junction for the past three summers.
Last fall, Trepanier and Charles — both Essex Junction natives — found a hungry audience at the Champlain Valley Exposition. Using the fair proceeds as seed money, they decided to establish a permanent kitchen. Though the outlet shops, which have seen flagging revenues in recent years, might seem like an unlikely site, Trepanier said changes in the area made moving there a no-brainer.
"It's a really exciting place to be right now," he said via phone on Thursday.
Trepanier couldn't offer details on the upcoming developments. Last August, according to media reports, Essex Shoppes owner Peter Edelman had floated a proposal to redevelop the site with a mix of residential and commercial spaces. However, word has been mostly mum since then.
Regardless of what the future holds, Berda's owners plan to stick around for the long run. Much of their menu is burgers (from the grass-fed cows at local farms). Fried snacks include golf-ball-size mac-and-cheese croquettes; hand-cut and battered onion rings; steak-and-cheese sandwiches, with cheddar, caramelized onions and housemade barbecue sauce; and "boats" of fries loaded with maple-glazed bacon, cheddar and eggs, or steak-and-cheese fixings.
Oh, and two salads are on offer: shaved-steak Caesar (bonus points for noting the cut of meat: top round), and a "Farmhouse" option with romaine, walnuts and dried cranberries.
Beer and wine are coming soon, Trepanier said, once a liquor license is approved.
About those burgers: Each specialty sandwich is built around a four-ounce patty, and a lot of them reflect a "more is more" ethos in the kitchen. For example, the mac-and-cheese burger is topped with seared, cheesy mac and bacon. That's not to be confused with the mac burger, shrouded in cheese sauce, or the queso burger, awash in molten Tex-Mex slurry.
Then there's the 10-ounce Berda burger, with cream cheese, bacon, maple caramelized jalapeños and barbecue sauce. When it comes to calorie accumulation, the place pulls no punches.
For me, a bacon cheeseburger seemed like plenty. The "Sticky Icky" burger ($8.49), with bacon "dunked in maple syrup and piled high"and cheddar, was seared just right — a little pink in the middle, very juicy — and slapped into a soft, griddled sesame-seed bun. And the duck-fat fries ($4) are pretty much the Platonic ideal of what a French fry should be: skins on, hand cut, crackly and salted just enough.
The mac-and-cheese croquettes ($9 for eight) cracked open to reveal melty strands of mild cheddar binding elbow macaroni in a gooey matrix. The accompanying tomato bisque was an added perk; I might have ordered a full bowl had it been available.
With rain beating down outside on Wednesday afternoon, jugs of sunflower oil propped open the restaurant doors, sending a cool breeze through the restaurant. A few families and workers from nearby businesses tucked into lunch. Despite the nondescript surroundings, success seemed all but inevitable. If Sukho Thai and Sweet Clover Market can make it here, this writer can see no reason why Berda's shouldn't.
Dining on a Dime is a weekly series featuring well-made, filling bites (something substantial enough to qualify as a small meal or better) for $12 or less. Know of a tasty dish we should feature? Drop us a line: food@sevendaysvt.com.
Monday, February 19, 2018
Restaurant News Burlington's Honey Road Restaurant and Chef Get James Beard Nod
Posted
By Sally Pollak
on Mon, Feb 19, 2018 at 8:20 AM
Honey Road restaurant in Burlington is a semifinalist for a James Beard Award for best new restaurant, the James Beard Foundation announced February 15. Its chef-owner Cara Chigazola-Tobin is also in the running for best chef in the Northeast.
Chigaloza-Tobin, a former chef de cuisine at Oleana in Cambridge, Mass., owns Honey Road with Allison Gibson, formerly of Hen of the Wood and the Inn at Shelburne Farms. Honey Road opened on the corner of Church and Main streets last summer. It specializes in Mediterranean food and features a menu that encourages diners to share plates.
Honey Road is one of 28 restaurants — including two in New England — that are semifinalists for best new restaurant. Chigazola-Tobin belongs to a group of 20 chefs in the Northeast who could win best chef in the region.
"It’s a pretty crazy feeling," Chigazola-Tobin wrote in an email to Seven Days. "I’m stoked to even get this far. "
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Burlington / Dining on a Dime Dining on a Dime: Four Corners of the Earth
Posted
By Sally Pollak
on Sat, Feb 17, 2018 at 5:23 PM
Ladislav Pancisin said he's made about 395,000 sandwiches at Four Corners of the Earth, his restaurant on Pine Street in Burlington.
"I was going to make one sandwich for every Vermonter and then be done with it," he said the other day. "But then the population keeps growing."
The population of Vermont has risen by about 14,000 people since Pancisin opened his small, subterranean sandwich shop in 2000. He'd be roasting salmon, chopping cabbage and mixing spice blends — all sandwich ingredients — until eternity if he kept pace with the people. I recommend getting to Four Corners in the here and now, and adding a sandwich or two to Pancisin's tally.
The challenge at Four Corners of the Earth is choosing from 40 or so sandwich varieties, plus another set stored in the owner's head and available to mind readers.
"My ideas come from the great spirit," Pancisin said. "I'm just the medium."
I discussed a couple of possibilities with him on my recent visit — Sicilian eggplant and Hungarian chalamada. "You hit two good notes," he said. "Try a third."
We settled on Greek artichoke, which consists of artichoke hearts seasoned in a 12-spice blend, tomatoes, lettuce (Bibb and romaine), provolone cheese, basil (if available), olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Pancisin piled the ingredients between thick slices of white bread, then grilled the sandwich in a panini press long enough to toast the bread. The inside ingredients remained unheated, the cheese unmelted.
"It's an interesting experience: toasted, but cold within," he said. "That's what the great spirit wanted me to do. So that's what I do."
Pancisin said his sandwiches follow a basic guideline: For every dollar you spend, you consume about 100 calories. By that measure, my $11.99 Greek artichoke sandwich was roughly 1,200 calories. That seemed high to me, so I checked with Pancisin. He amended the formula slightly to apply mainly to meat sandwiches.
"It's all made with love," he said. "That's all I can say."
Pancisin, a self-described "hillbilly from Slovakia," carved out his space on Pine Street before Great Harvest, ArtRiots, Citizen Cider, et al., appeared in the neighborhood. He built the kitchen counter out of an old bowling lane.
The walls of his restaurant are filled with original artwork made by local artists. Pancisin is especially pleased with his recent acquisition of works by Burlington painter Tony Shull.
"That's what I make sandwiches for," Pancisin said. "I don't have kids. I don't have dogs. I don't have cats. A man's got to spend his money on something."
"I was going to make one sandwich for every Vermonter and then be done with it," he said the other day. "But then the population keeps growing."
The population of Vermont has risen by about 14,000 people since Pancisin opened his small, subterranean sandwich shop in 2000. He'd be roasting salmon, chopping cabbage and mixing spice blends — all sandwich ingredients — until eternity if he kept pace with the people. I recommend getting to Four Corners in the here and now, and adding a sandwich or two to Pancisin's tally.
The challenge at Four Corners of the Earth is choosing from 40 or so sandwich varieties, plus another set stored in the owner's head and available to mind readers.
"My ideas come from the great spirit," Pancisin said. "I'm just the medium."
I discussed a couple of possibilities with him on my recent visit — Sicilian eggplant and Hungarian chalamada. "You hit two good notes," he said. "Try a third."
We settled on Greek artichoke, which consists of artichoke hearts seasoned in a 12-spice blend, tomatoes, lettuce (Bibb and romaine), provolone cheese, basil (if available), olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Pancisin piled the ingredients between thick slices of white bread, then grilled the sandwich in a panini press long enough to toast the bread. The inside ingredients remained unheated, the cheese unmelted.
"It's an interesting experience: toasted, but cold within," he said. "That's what the great spirit wanted me to do. So that's what I do."
Pancisin said his sandwiches follow a basic guideline: For every dollar you spend, you consume about 100 calories. By that measure, my $11.99 Greek artichoke sandwich was roughly 1,200 calories. That seemed high to me, so I checked with Pancisin. He amended the formula slightly to apply mainly to meat sandwiches.
"It's all made with love," he said. "That's all I can say."
Pancisin, a self-described "hillbilly from Slovakia," carved out his space on Pine Street before Great Harvest, ArtRiots, Citizen Cider, et al., appeared in the neighborhood. He built the kitchen counter out of an old bowling lane.
The walls of his restaurant are filled with original artwork made by local artists. Pancisin is especially pleased with his recent acquisition of works by Burlington painter Tony Shull.
"That's what I make sandwiches for," Pancisin said. "I don't have kids. I don't have dogs. I don't have cats. A man's got to spend his money on something."
Dining on a Dime is a weekly series featuring well-made, filling bites (something substantial enough to qualify as a small meal or better) for $12 or less. Know of a tasty dish we should feature? Drop us a line: food@sevendaysvt.com.
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Coffee/Tea Coffee Education Series Debuts at Onyx Tonics
Posted
By Suzanne Podhaizer
on Tue, Feb 13, 2018 at 12:56 PM
Last year, Jason Gonzalez of Burlington's Onyx Tonics Specialty Coffee offered a one-time coffee tasting, with the goal of sharing information about the differences between beans from different parts of the world. The class was a hit, and this year, he's offering a whole series. The sessions will occur on the second Tuesday of each month.
Friday, February 9, 2018
Burlington / Dining on a Dime Dining on a Dime: American Flatbread
Posted
By Sally Pollak
on Fri, Feb 9, 2018 at 9:30 AM
We've been regulars at American Flatbread Burlington Hearth since it opened almost 14 years ago on St. Paul Street. The restaurant arrived in Burlington with an enviable pedigree: offspring of the mother ship at a farm in Waitsfield, where we ate before Flatbread hit the city.
Many things draw us to American Flatbread: the pizza, of course; a table by the wood-fired oven where a meal can pass in silence as we gaze at the flames; the beer and the salad dressing; the warm brownie sundae.
The hitch in our ritual appeared several years ago, when my daughter ditched our mutual devotion to favorites — Revolution flatbread with pepperoni, or olive and onion flatbread — in favor of Power to the People (chicken, Buffalo sauce, red onions, carrots, blue cheese, etc). We worked around this wrinkle in various ways but only recently discovered the solution: lunch.
The $10 lunch deal at Flatbread buys a personal pizza and a house salad. My daughter — who can wolf down a large Power to the People — makes do with a small version. I order an old favorite or the veggie special, like the one with eggplant, feta, mushrooms and basil I ate not long ago.
We sat at a table near the oven and ended our meal with a brownie sundae. This one came with peppermint ice cream, a revelation in taste and presentation — it wasn't pink!
At $10, our dessert was a Dining-on-a-Dime fling, but one of these days, it could be lunch.
Dining on a Dime is a weekly series featuring well-made, filling bites (something substantial enough to qualify as a small meal or better) for $12 or less. Know of a tasty dish we should feature? Drop us a line: food@sevendaysvt.com.
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Farmers Market Kitchen Farmers Market Kitchen: Delicata Flaugnarde
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Thu, Feb 8, 2018 at 6:30 AM
It's kind of like a cute joke: A custard and a fruit pie walk into a bar. Sparks fly, yada yada, and — voilà! — a new dessert with characteristics of both magically emerges from the oven.
That dessert would be flaugnarde: French for sweet, custardy pancake with fruit. It's quite similar to clafoutis, which is traditionally made with cherries only, but which I sometimes make with blueberries. And it's a great means to do away with a couple of the squash that may or may not be languishing in your larder right now. In deep winter, I sometimes get the feeling that my delicatas — harvested in late August, before the first frost — are silently taunting me to eat them. Because by now, I'm pretty over eating squash. Am I the only person who feels this way?
Thankfully, I love a good bouncy custard, so today I made one with squash and added just a touch of pumpkin-spice spices, with wholly delightful results. Take that, snickering squash!
That dessert would be flaugnarde: French for sweet, custardy pancake with fruit. It's quite similar to clafoutis, which is traditionally made with cherries only, but which I sometimes make with blueberries. And it's a great means to do away with a couple of the squash that may or may not be languishing in your larder right now. In deep winter, I sometimes get the feeling that my delicatas — harvested in late August, before the first frost — are silently taunting me to eat them. Because by now, I'm pretty over eating squash. Am I the only person who feels this way?
Thankfully, I love a good bouncy custard, so today I made one with squash and added just a touch of pumpkin-spice spices, with wholly delightful results. Take that, snickering squash!
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Spirits / Burlington / Restaurant News Bartenders Petition to Change Rules on House-Infused Spirits
Posted
By Sally Pollak
on Wed, Feb 7, 2018 at 6:12 PM
A petition circulated by local bartenders that seeks to amend a state liquor regulation has gained more than 400 signatures in 24 hours.
The petition is an effort to change a Vermont Department of Liquor Control regulation that prohibits adulterating or tampering with alcohol after its manufacture. In practical terms, this means a bartender cannot infuse spirits with ingredients, flavors, herbs or spices — a common practice that is part of mixing a craft cocktail.
"Cocktails are cuisine," said Stewart Dunoskovic, a bartender at
Leunig's Bistro & Cafe who signed the petition. "A bartender is similar to a chef in what they do. And anything that restricts what we can do with those products, restricts what you get to drink at the end of the day."
The change called for by the petition would "update a regulation to the practice, to what's going on," Dunoskovic said. "We're not doing anything in the shadows. We're not doing anything new. These are common practices: Customers love it; bartenders love it."
The petition is an effort to change a Vermont Department of Liquor Control regulation that prohibits adulterating or tampering with alcohol after its manufacture. In practical terms, this means a bartender cannot infuse spirits with ingredients, flavors, herbs or spices — a common practice that is part of mixing a craft cocktail.
"Cocktails are cuisine," said Stewart Dunoskovic, a bartender at
Leunig's Bistro & Cafe who signed the petition. "A bartender is similar to a chef in what they do. And anything that restricts what we can do with those products, restricts what you get to drink at the end of the day."
The change called for by the petition would "update a regulation to the practice, to what's going on," Dunoskovic said. "We're not doing anything in the shadows. We're not doing anything new. These are common practices: Customers love it; bartenders love it."
Thursday, February 1, 2018
Dining on a Dime Dining on a Dime: Free Crepe Day at the Skinny Pancake
Posted
By Sally Pollak
on Thu, Feb 1, 2018 at 10:41 AM
Wednesday was a slow night at the Skinny Pancake on the waterfront, where outside the wind dominated the action. By the time I arrived, at around 6:30 p.m., the restaurant was offering a limited menu.
I chose the cheesy-pesto crepe, $7.95, and ate a quick supper — sorry that a few of my favorite things, including salad with goat cheese and apples, spinach-artichoke dip, and the Jonny crepe, were off-limits. (I still haven't recovered from the loss, years ago, of cheese fondue from the menu.)
Although it was a quiet night at the restaurant, the crew was anticipating big things. General manager Mike Kennedy was busy at a chalkboard, teasing new menu items (due March 1) in fuchsia block letters. Kitchen manager Curtis Garrow was looking ahead, too. To today — Thursday, February 1.
February 1 is Free Crepe Day at the Skinny Pancake, which is offering two sweet crepes at no cost. Garrow spent much of Wednesday filling squeeze bottles to prep for today's giveaway.
"We're getting ready for when it gets crazy," he said.
The Skinny expects to give away 1,500 crepes at its Lake Street location, according to Garrow, where free crepes are available from open to close. At the restaurant's University of Vermont outpost, where the giveaway starts at 2 p.m., Garrow plans to serve about 2,500 free crepes. College kids sometimes eat a freebie and get back in line for seconds, he said. Free crepes are also available at the Skinny's Montpelier and Hanover, N.H., locations.
The free desserts crepes are the Sugar Shack — which is filled with maple sugar and butter — and a new creation called, at least for now, Choco-Nutty. The latter features a hazelnut-chocolate spread, Nutkao, that Skinny Pancake recently started to use. The restaurant dropped Nutella in favor of a similar product that contains no palm oil. This makes the new spread more sustainable, according to the restaurant.
As part free crepe day, the Skinny is hosting a naming contest for its Choco-Nutty crepe. In case I don't make it back for a sweet freebie, I'm casting an absentee ballot for Not Nutella, or n².
I chose the cheesy-pesto crepe, $7.95, and ate a quick supper — sorry that a few of my favorite things, including salad with goat cheese and apples, spinach-artichoke dip, and the Jonny crepe, were off-limits. (I still haven't recovered from the loss, years ago, of cheese fondue from the menu.)
Although it was a quiet night at the restaurant, the crew was anticipating big things. General manager Mike Kennedy was busy at a chalkboard, teasing new menu items (due March 1) in fuchsia block letters. Kitchen manager Curtis Garrow was looking ahead, too. To today — Thursday, February 1.
February 1 is Free Crepe Day at the Skinny Pancake, which is offering two sweet crepes at no cost. Garrow spent much of Wednesday filling squeeze bottles to prep for today's giveaway.
"We're getting ready for when it gets crazy," he said.
The Skinny expects to give away 1,500 crepes at its Lake Street location, according to Garrow, where free crepes are available from open to close. At the restaurant's University of Vermont outpost, where the giveaway starts at 2 p.m., Garrow plans to serve about 2,500 free crepes. College kids sometimes eat a freebie and get back in line for seconds, he said. Free crepes are also available at the Skinny's Montpelier and Hanover, N.H., locations.
The free desserts crepes are the Sugar Shack — which is filled with maple sugar and butter — and a new creation called, at least for now, Choco-Nutty. The latter features a hazelnut-chocolate spread, Nutkao, that Skinny Pancake recently started to use. The restaurant dropped Nutella in favor of a similar product that contains no palm oil. This makes the new spread more sustainable, according to the restaurant.
As part free crepe day, the Skinny is hosting a naming contest for its Choco-Nutty crepe. In case I don't make it back for a sweet freebie, I'm casting an absentee ballot for Not Nutella, or n².
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