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Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Restaurant News / Business Farmhouse Group to Add Three Restaurants Next Year
Posted
By Sally Pollak
on Tue, Nov 27, 2018 at 7:15 PM
The Farmhouse Group, owner of four restaurants in the Burlington area, is planning to open three new restaurants in 2019, according to owner Jed Davis.
Two of the restaurants, called Bliss Bee, will represent a new concept for the Farmhouse Group. The third restaurant will be another El Cortijo; the new one, a taqueria and margarita bar similar to its downtown Burlington namesake, will be in Winooski.
Two of the restaurants, called Bliss Bee, will represent a new concept for the Farmhouse Group. The third restaurant will be another El Cortijo; the new one, a taqueria and margarita bar similar to its downtown Burlington namesake, will be in Winooski.
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Restaurant News / Web/Tech To Tip or Not to Tip, to Post or Not to Post? Monarch & the Milkweed Stirs Controversy
Posted
By Sally Pollak
on Sun, Nov 25, 2018 at 5:14 PM
Updated, November 27, 2018: The post about the tip was removed from Monarch & the Milkweed's social media sites on Monday.
On Small Business Saturday, a small business owner in Burlington publicly defied the long-standing adage," the customer is always right," and posted on social media the restaurant receipt of a customer who left no tip. On a bill for $48.94, in the line reserved for a tip, the patron wrote 0.00.
But it wasn’t the lack of tip that compelled Andrew LeStourgeon, owner of Monarch & the Milkweed, to post a photo of the receipt on Instagram and Facebook. It was the comment the customer left for the server that prompted his action, he said.
In capital letters, the customer printed: “YOU LOOKED @ MY ID AND DID NOT SAY HAPPY B-DAY.”
On Small Business Saturday, a small business owner in Burlington publicly defied the long-standing adage," the customer is always right," and posted on social media the restaurant receipt of a customer who left no tip. On a bill for $48.94, in the line reserved for a tip, the patron wrote 0.00.
But it wasn’t the lack of tip that compelled Andrew LeStourgeon, owner of Monarch & the Milkweed, to post a photo of the receipt on Instagram and Facebook. It was the comment the customer left for the server that prompted his action, he said.
In capital letters, the customer printed: “YOU LOOKED @ MY ID AND DID NOT SAY HAPPY B-DAY.”
Friday, November 16, 2018
Dining on a Dime Dining on a Dime: Vergennes Laundry by CK
Posted
By Sally Pollak
on Fri, Nov 16, 2018 at 12:46 PM
The choice was between three cider donuts dusted with cinnamon sugar and a rice bowl. I eyed the former and picked the latter.
These brunch options at Vergennes Laundry by CK are $12 each, tax and gratuity included. The donuts, $4 apiece, were mighty tempting, but I thought I should start my Sunday with a little nutritional balance. As it turned out, I was rewarded with a creatively delicious meal built in a bowl.
A fried egg, garnished with microgreens, topped a bowl of rice and kidney beans. The rice was sautéed with achiote paste, coloring it a pale orange and flavoring it with a touch of nuttiness. Tomato wedges, cucumber slices and kimchi were set around the bowl's perimeter, lit up by a scoop of lusciousness: avocado pureed with onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. The spoonful of avocado, thick and smooth, served as a paste to be apportioned with each bite. The rice bowl is here to stay, said Christian Kruse, 34, chef-owner of the restaurant.
“I’ve taken it off the menu one time,” Kruse said. “And I was told [by customers] not to ever again.”
Kruse grew up in Westford and graduated from Rice Memorial High School. He became interested in cooking when he lived on Church Street and watched the action in the open kitchen at the New England Culinary Institute restaurant that was on the Marketplace. He then enrolled at NECI.
Kruse purchased Vergennes Laundry in the fall of 2017 from Julianne and Didier Murat, who ran the bakery and café for seven years. He spent a month renovating the space before opening his restaurant last December. He changed the name slightly — from Vergennes Laundry to Vergennes Laundry by CK — and the offerings more than that.
Though the café still serves baked goods, coffee and espresso drinks in the morning, as well as more substantial meals, Kruse added dinner service five nights a week. Like the breakfast/brunch menu, dinner prices include tax and tip; a three-course dinner is $39, dishes are available a la carte, too.
The former executive chef at Basin Harbor Club, Kruse is cooking at both ends of the day. He arrives at Vergennes Laundry by CK at 5 a.m. and is typically there until 10 or 11 at night.
“The labor pool of cooks is tough in this area,” Kruse said. “There are a lot of restaurants, and we’re all fighting for the small amount of cooks that are available.”
There’s another reason Kruse spends so much time in the kitchen: “I love what I do," he said.
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, November 13, 2018
Dining on a Dime Dining on a Dime: Kerry's Kwik Stop
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Tue, Nov 13, 2018 at 2:53 PM
If you're looking for a fast and hearty midday meal, follow a contractor to their lunch spot. The fare may not be the healthiest — odds are, it won't be. But it'll fill you up, usually with something tasty, and almost always at a reasonable price.
Knowing this, I was relieved when I filed into line at Kerry's Kwik Stop, on St. Paul Street in Burlington during the lunch rush a couple weeks back. In front of me were an array of men in dusty steel-toed boots; some of them wore the neon yellow vests often donned by road crews. Excellent, I thought, starving.
Above the ordering counter, a chalkboard menu offers hot and cold sandwiches stuffed with McKenzie Natural Artisan Deli meats, along with burgers, hotdogs, corndogs, chicken tenders and fries loaded with chili or cheese and gravy. In the summer, there's outdoor seating and a full menu of ice cream and other frozen treats.
For lunch on a cold late-fall day, I went with one of the weekly specials: a pressed roast beef sandwich on ciabatta with horseradish mayo and provolone ($8.99). This usually comes with chips, but since it was blustery and overcast outside, I added a pint of hand-cut fries ($2.49) and a 99-cent cup of coffee because hey, why not. (All coffees, regardless of size, are 99 cents at Kerry's)
It's worth noting that coffee at Kerry's is the real deal. The store offers two organic roasts from Vermont Coffee Company, along with several additional options, flavored or otherwise, from other local roasters. And it's brewed strong enough so you can really taste it, but not so strong that it gives you the shakes. Just right — and hot, hot, hot.
So about the food: It was good — the sandwich had lots of meat, the horsey mayo added nice zing, and the red onions gave a touch of sweetness. I wasn't impressed by the bread, but it did what it needed to do. And the fries were crunchy and scattered with just the right amount of salt. I stuffed a few in my sandwich — just like my contractor husband taught me to do many years ago — sipped my coffee, and gave thanks for the sustaining pleasure of a simple, working-class lunch.
Knowing this, I was relieved when I filed into line at Kerry's Kwik Stop, on St. Paul Street in Burlington during the lunch rush a couple weeks back. In front of me were an array of men in dusty steel-toed boots; some of them wore the neon yellow vests often donned by road crews. Excellent, I thought, starving.
Above the ordering counter, a chalkboard menu offers hot and cold sandwiches stuffed with McKenzie Natural Artisan Deli meats, along with burgers, hotdogs, corndogs, chicken tenders and fries loaded with chili or cheese and gravy. In the summer, there's outdoor seating and a full menu of ice cream and other frozen treats.
For lunch on a cold late-fall day, I went with one of the weekly specials: a pressed roast beef sandwich on ciabatta with horseradish mayo and provolone ($8.99). This usually comes with chips, but since it was blustery and overcast outside, I added a pint of hand-cut fries ($2.49) and a 99-cent cup of coffee because hey, why not. (All coffees, regardless of size, are 99 cents at Kerry's)
It's worth noting that coffee at Kerry's is the real deal. The store offers two organic roasts from Vermont Coffee Company, along with several additional options, flavored or otherwise, from other local roasters. And it's brewed strong enough so you can really taste it, but not so strong that it gives you the shakes. Just right — and hot, hot, hot.
So about the food: It was good — the sandwich had lots of meat, the horsey mayo added nice zing, and the red onions gave a touch of sweetness. I wasn't impressed by the bread, but it did what it needed to do. And the fries were crunchy and scattered with just the right amount of salt. I stuffed a few in my sandwich — just like my contractor husband taught me to do many years ago — sipped my coffee, and gave thanks for the sustaining pleasure of a simple, working-class 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.
Friday, November 2, 2018
Dining on a Dime / Burlington Dining on a Dime: Mirabelles Café
Posted
By Sally Pollak
on Fri, Nov 2, 2018 at 12:28 PM
Amid the deluge of detritus on Facebook, an image of truth and beauty lit up my feed the other day. It was a chocolate cupcake topped with a mound of vanilla frosting and decorated with sparkly numerals: 28.
“Happy Birthday to us!” the accompanying text read.
Mirabelles Café & Bakery turned 28 this week. The occasion provided a good reason — though not a necessary one — for lunch at one of Burlington’s best restaurants.
For almost three decades, chef-owners Alison Lane (the sweet stuff), Andrew Silva (the savory side) and their team have produced a beautiful, imaginative and consistently high-quality assortment of cakes, pies, pastries, muffins, cookies, éclairs, soups, sandwiches, salads, omelets, pancakes, panini and lunch specials. To get a sense of the range and delight, think crème brulée cake and ratatouille tartine.
My family has made Mirabelles' chocolate cake with raspberry filling and mocha buttercream icing a birthday tradition for 20 years. This consumption is not even a pinch in the batter of the 300,000 or so cakes that Lane estimates her bakery has made.
But it was lunch that propelled me to a seat at the window counter on the dreary last day of October.
“November is the ugliest month,” the man next to me said. I knew I was going to enjoy the meal.
We each ordered from the blackboard menu that lists soups and lunch specials.
I got the chorizo and black bean chili served with two slices of grilled and buttered corn bread and a mixed green salad ($12). The hearty chili, topped with sour cream, chopped scallions and shredded cheddar, was custom-made for the cusp of the month. Each bite seemed to ward off the chill and dark of November, aka "stick season."
My impromptu lunch mate, Burlington architect Brad Rabinowitz, chose the grilled steak sandwich with blue cheese dressing, lettuce and crispy onion rings on a toasted bun ($10.50).
“You made the right choice,” he said when my meal arrived. “You did, too,” I replied. “Those onions are key,” I observed, eyeing the crispy rings that tumbled from his sandwich.
Rabinowitz, I learned, has been a Mirabelles regular for more than two decades. His architecture firm is above the café and he heads downstairs for lunch about three days a week, he said. Two Rabinowitz family wedding cakes — his and his daughter's — were made at Mirabelles.
“It’s a community,” he said. “That’s the biggest part of it. And obviously the food is good.”
Working upstairs, Rabinowitz said, means “there’s always tomorrow for me” at Mirabelles. The day after his steak sandwich, he had the chili.
“Happy Birthday to us!” the accompanying text read.
Mirabelles Café & Bakery turned 28 this week. The occasion provided a good reason — though not a necessary one — for lunch at one of Burlington’s best restaurants.
For almost three decades, chef-owners Alison Lane (the sweet stuff), Andrew Silva (the savory side) and their team have produced a beautiful, imaginative and consistently high-quality assortment of cakes, pies, pastries, muffins, cookies, éclairs, soups, sandwiches, salads, omelets, pancakes, panini and lunch specials. To get a sense of the range and delight, think crème brulée cake and ratatouille tartine.
My family has made Mirabelles' chocolate cake with raspberry filling and mocha buttercream icing a birthday tradition for 20 years. This consumption is not even a pinch in the batter of the 300,000 or so cakes that Lane estimates her bakery has made.
But it was lunch that propelled me to a seat at the window counter on the dreary last day of October.
“November is the ugliest month,” the man next to me said. I knew I was going to enjoy the meal.
We each ordered from the blackboard menu that lists soups and lunch specials.
I got the chorizo and black bean chili served with two slices of grilled and buttered corn bread and a mixed green salad ($12). The hearty chili, topped with sour cream, chopped scallions and shredded cheddar, was custom-made for the cusp of the month. Each bite seemed to ward off the chill and dark of November, aka "stick season."
My impromptu lunch mate, Burlington architect Brad Rabinowitz, chose the grilled steak sandwich with blue cheese dressing, lettuce and crispy onion rings on a toasted bun ($10.50).
“You made the right choice,” he said when my meal arrived. “You did, too,” I replied. “Those onions are key,” I observed, eyeing the crispy rings that tumbled from his sandwich.
Rabinowitz, I learned, has been a Mirabelles regular for more than two decades. His architecture firm is above the café and he heads downstairs for lunch about three days a week, he said. Two Rabinowitz family wedding cakes — his and his daughter's — were made at Mirabelles.
“It’s a community,” he said. “That’s the biggest part of it. And obviously the food is good.”
Working upstairs, Rabinowitz said, means “there’s always tomorrow for me” at Mirabelles. The day after his steak sandwich, he had the chili.
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