Posted By Sally Pollak on Tue, Dec 17, 2019 at 3:10 PM

Courtesy of Uncommon Grounds Coffee and Tea

House-roasted coffee beans at Uncommon Grounds Coffee and Tea

Coffee will be free on Monday, Dec. 23, at Uncommon Grounds Coffee and Tea, when the well-loved Church Street Marketplace coffee shop serves customers for a final day after 25 years in business.

Owner Brenda Nadeau is retiring and closing the café and roastery that was founded by her parents, Skip and Beverly Blakely, in May 1994. Drip coffee will be free on Monday as a thank-you to her regulars, she said.

“We’re doing heavy discounts on everything, and giving away drip coffee,” Nadeau said. “We’re just trying to give back to our people.”

Tags: Uncommon Grounds , Burlington , coffee shop , regulars , Seven Daysies , roastery , Brenda Nadeau , Maya Crowley , Uncommon Coffee , Web Only , Image

Posted By Sally Pollak on Mon, Dec 16, 2019 at 8:00 AM

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Courtesy of the Skinny Pancake

Apple caramel crêpe

The Skinny Pancake will open its 11th branch in the spring of 2020, when the crêperie that was founded as a food cart opens a restaurant in Stowe, co-owner Benjy Adler told Seven Days.

The newest Skinny will be at 454 Mountain Road, site of the former McCarthy’s Restaurant, which closed in the fall after 45 years in business.

"It's pretty cool," Adler said. "They're passing the torch."

Tags: Skinny Pancake , Stowe , Burlington , local food , crepes , Web Only , Image

Posted By Sally Pollak on Sun, Dec 15, 2019 at 8:00 AM

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Sally Pollak

Eggnog at Monarch & the Milkweed

Stevie Wonder was singing "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" when I arrived at Monarch & the Milkweed on a recent evening. If I'd been worrying, Stevie's Latin-funk groove and inspired intro ("Paris, Beirut, Iraq, Iran ... I speak very very, um, fluent Spanish"), would've chilled me out and lifted me up.

I wasn't worried about the parking meter: It's free holiday parking season in Burlington, even if some shoppers are at their computers. And after an eggnog hunt conducted mostly by phone, I was no longer worried about finding the seasonal cocktail that delivers spirits as a liquid dessert. 

Tags: eggnog , rum , Monarch & the Milkweed , Stevie Wonder , holidays , Irish whiskey , hot toddy , Web Only , Image

Posted By Jordan Barry on Tue, Dec 3, 2019 at 4:33 PM

File: James Buck

Sivan Cotel and Sas Stewart, cofounders of Stonecutter Spirits

Stonecutter Spirits has announced the closure of the company's Burlington bar Highball Social and its Middlebury tasting room. Both locations will close at the end of 2019.

“We are so grateful for the strong support that our community has shown us since we opened our doors in 2015," the company’s president and cofounder Sas Stewart said in a press release. "We’re proud to be a part of the Vermont ecosystem, and are excited to host fundraisers, collaborations and holiday parties to close out this year. While we’re sad to end this chapter, it’s only fitting to spend this time celebrating the people and products that make Vermont outstanding."

Tags: Stonecutter Spirits , Highball Social , distillery , spirits , gin , whiskey , Sas Stewart , Sivan Cotel , Web Only , Image