Cara Chigazola Tobin, chef-owner of Honey Road restaurant in Burlington, is a James Beard Award semifinalist for best chef in the Northeast. It's the second year in a row that Chigazola Tobin has received that nomination. 

Nominations for the award, which is given in a number of categories and is considered the most prominent culinary, beverage and restaurant honor, were announced Wednesday by the James Beard Foundation. 

“It’s super exciting,” Chigazola Tobin told Seven Days on Wednesday afternoon in the bar of her restaurant. “Opening a restaurant was such a dream, and it was hard — and there were times when I was like, ‘What am I doing?’ ‘’

On road trips that start by heading south on the highway from Burlington, our custom is to stop at Red Hen Baking Co. in Middlesex for a baguette and hummus.

Many people know about the bakery’s excellent baguette: crusty outside, chewy within, wholesome through and through.  But I’m guessing fewer people who make a Red Hen pit stop forego croissants, cookies, pastries or brownies in favor of hummus. The house-made chickpea spread is a  favorite of ours: not too smooth, seasoned with garlic, lemon juice, salt and toasted sesame oil — and just right for baguette-dunking on the road.

When I ate lunch at the café a few days ago,  I turned to my  old crush: hummus and bread. The in-house chickpea sandwich is dressed up with olives, pickled red onion, feta cheese and spinach. I opted for half a sandwich on Mad River Grain bread and paired it with a cup of black bean chili topped with a spoonful of crème fraiche. Throw in a chocolate chip cookie and I had a three-course meal for $12.11.


I carried my food to a counter seat with a view of the production bakery, where half a dozen people were making bread.  One baker welcomed me to this viewing zone with a wave, and I watched him work at the mixer by the window.

After lunch, I noticed a blackboard in the café that illustrates Red Hen’s trajectory since it opened in Duxbury almost 20 years ago. In a recent 10-year stretch, Red Hen baked an estimated 9,360,000 pounds of bread, the sign says. The business has grown from one employee to 45. In 2017, Red Hen used 511,990 pounds of organic flour “that came from farms within 150 miles of the bakery."

No word on the amount of hummus produced, but a good share of it was consumed by us.

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.

Two culinary pros served lunch to Burlington kids on Tuesday to highlight the important role school meals play in the community.

At Integrated Arts Academy in Burlington's Old North End, Butch + Babe's chef Jaclyn Major  spooned turkey meatballs smothered in Bove's marinara sauce onto students' trays. A few miles away, Jordan Ware, chef at Hen of the Wood and a 2017 James Beard Award semifinalist, stir-fried meat and veggies for teens at Burlington High School.

Major and Ware didn't create the dishes they were serving. But they will do just that in a few weeks. On Wednesday, February 27, they'll team up in the Butch + Babe's kitchen to host Love School Lunch, a cafeteria-inspired meal for both kids and adults. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Burlington School Food Project, a farm-to-school program that provides breakfast, lunch and supper to students in the Burlington School District.

Both Butch + Babe's and Hen of the Wood have ties to the  Burlington School Food Project. Kortnee Bush, owner of Butch + Babe's, worked in the cafeteria at Burlington's Hunt Middle School before opening her restaurant. And Ware's sister works in food service at Burlington High School.

It's raining cats and ... cactus?

Last week, Burlington's El Gato Cantina took an unexpected bath when a sprinkler upstairs from the restaurant  broke, sending water pouring through the lower floors at 169 Church Street.  "It was literally raining inside the restaurant," El Gato owner Theresa "Tree" Bertram  told Seven Days, recalling the surprise Tuesday afternoon shower.

Since the deluge occurred during the afternoon lull between lunch and dinner, few customers or employees were on the premises.  "We’re lucky it’s the slow season, and that this didn’t happen during a Friday night rush," Bertram said.

The sandwiches were good. But financially, they weren't cutting the mustard.  After fleshing out its  culinary offerings in October 2018, Brian's  North End Store & Deli will close on March 1. "The owner [Brian Moegelin] needed to expand his auto business," store manager Tammy Lacroix-Hopkins told Seven Days on Thursday.