Grazing: Waitin' On A Plane at the BTV Skinny Pancake

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This post probably appears just above one from earlier this week announcing that the Skinny Pancake on Burlington's Lake Street will double in size by July. Does that mean that the third Skinny Pancake — the much-anticipated one at Burlington Airport, which opened just over two months ago — is already old hat?

Not for me. Without plans to fly anywhere, this rustic-looking kiosk remained off limits from behind a wall of TSA glass. With some local craft brews on tap, a cocktail menu that draws heavily on local spirits, and a section of the menu devoted to crêpe-less dishes — panini, a Vermont Salumi sandwich, even a burger — I was curious about what I couldn't have.

Until this Wednesday, when I was booked on a flight to DC. I arrived at the airport early to get my Skinny Pancake on.

Burlington's Downtown Skinny Pancake To Double In Size

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It's been a few short months since the crew behind The Skinny Pancake opened a third location (as well as another Chubby Muffin) at Burlington Airport. So are owners Benjy and Jonathan Adler taking a breather? Decidedly not.

They've leased the space next door to their Lake Street location in Burlington and plan to double the Skinny Pancake's current size — adding a bar, expanding the kitchen and dining room, and tripling the size of their porch by early July.

"We're already very busy behind the walls," says Benjy Adler, who hopes the expansion will ease congestion and lines at the door and allow the kitchen to "get more creative." 

Inside, the dining room will grow from 63 to 90 seats, with "a jewel box on display front and center so that people can watch crêpe artists work their magic," says Adler. They'll also build a full bar with nine seats, "a pretty substantial liquor menu" and eight taps, three more than they have now.

An expanded kitchen will give rise to an expanded menu, with both panini and a burger making debuts — as well as "a few more things for people who don't necessarily want a crêpe," says Adler.

Out front, the patio will grow from 500 to 1500 square feet, with a larger stage in the corner that will allow for "more complex acts and a full sound booth," says Adler. The Skinny Pancake hosts live music at least four nights a week during the summer.

The downside: The main dining room will be closed during the month of June, when the bulk of construction will be going on — but they'll continue to serve food on the patio. "It's going to be a long four weeks for us," says Adler. We hope they follow it up with a day or two of rest.

Grazing: Sautéed Nettles With Butter and Garlic

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I live in a 1790s farmhouse that's been converted into condos, and my neighbors and I are surrounded by the verdant remnants of a working farm. Around this time of year, the disturbed patches in our fields and around the barn burst into a riot of weeds, with stinging nettles among the first to rear their deep-green leaves.

For years, I cursed and spat as I accidentally brushed my legs against these invisibly prickly shrubs or absentmindedly tried to pull one out with my bare hands. During a party a few years ago, the host handed me a bowl of wilted, spindly greens. "Nettles. Try them," he said. Dubious, I picked one up with my fingers and studied it before taking a nibble. Sautéed with garlic and olive oil, these enemies of countless gardening sessions had been transformed into something velvety and almost luscious, their sting magically gone. 

The fields looked different after that. If you've never hunted nettles before (actually, they're not hard to find), these clusters of deep-green leaves have serrated edges and veiny tops, and grow from calf-high shrubs. They're best when they're young and tender, still less than an inch long. You can either don garden gloves to pick them or (as I eventually learned) pluck them directly from above; something about that angle prevents their leaves from gittin' ya with their stinging hairs.

Haters of Large Quantities of Beer, Unite

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A lot of people and organizations leave posts on the Seven Days Facebook wall, and most of them are crap that no one wants to read. But every now and then there's a weird little gem. Last week we spotted this post, which, WTF:

A little background: In most parts of America, you can get a nice big jug of beer that can fill many pint glasses with beer, thus fostering a communal atmosphere around your pub table filled with merriment, joy, German drinking songs and maybe a few drops of brew spilled.

But you're out of luck here in the Green Mountains — the buzzkills that control liquor sales here prohibit bars from serving you beer in anything that holds more than 32 ounces, aka two pints. From item #37 of the Department of Liquor Control's General Regulations:

Vermont's Judiciary Committee Passes GMO Labeling Bill

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This morning, Vermont's House Judiciary Committee approved the GMO labeling bill, H.112, by a vote of 7-4. The bill will now pass to the House floor, but that vote faces a race against time, as this legislative session is due to wrap up by Friday.

"If we can get this through to the floor, Vermont will have taken the ball further than any other state so far," says Rural Vermont director Andrea Stander, adding that a handful of states are simultaneously considering other measures. She sounds hopeful. "I think this will make it to the floor Thursday or Friday," she says.

Late last week, a widely circulated Associated Press article reported that Sen. David Zuckerman (P/D-Chittenden) thought "there was no chance his panel would be able to review the GMO labeling bill and bring it to the full Senate for debate before the end of the 2013 session."

While the bill is likely to pass the House — a third of state legislators are co-sponsors — it isn't likely to make it to the Senate, though that body can chose to take up the bill upon their return next year.

Penny Cluse Owners to Open New Café Next Door; Mule Bar Opens Thursday

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This week brings happy news for lovers of the drink, both hot and cold. Penny Cluse Café co-owner Charles Reeves has announced that he and his wife, Holly Reeves, are purchasing the building next door, at 163 Cherry St., to build out a new 25-seat café devoted to "espresso, smoothies, beer and wine, with limited food service," writes Reeves.

The new spot will be called Lucky Next Door and should be open by September, adds Reeves. Though plans are still taking shape, "It seems like word has started to spread," he says — which is why he let the cat out of the bag. It's the first expansion in Penny Cluse's 15-year history. 

Up the road a piece, Winooski's restaurant row will welcome Mule Bar, which opens at 38 Main St., this Thursday at 11 a.m.

Co-owner Joey Nagy says he and his partners are keeping mum on exactly what beers will flow from the bar's 15 taps. “We want to surprise everyone,” he says. However there will be ginger beer from Dave Rooke of Rookie’s Root Beer.

Food TruckStop and New Gallery/Café Coming to Burlington's South End

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They've spread from Austin to LA to Montréal, and now food trucks have reached a critical mass in Burlington. In a few weeks, Pine Street will gain its own semipermanent mobile food lot: the South End Food TruckStop.

Every Friday night beginning May 24, the parking lot behind Speeder & Earl's will morph into a bazaar of trucks and carts peddling barbecue, tacos, ice cream, fresh juices, beer and even maté. Live music and a few late-opening galleries will add to the festivities.

"There's enough food vendors around to constitute a rally, and we said, 'Hey, other places do it and it's a lot of fun,'" says Felix Wai of ArtsRiot, who organized the event with his partner, PJ McHenry. He says they will put out tables and chairs, provide access to bathrooms, and carve out "a little stage for music." 

Nine vendors have signed on so far, says Wai, each with its own niche. There will be tacos from Muchacho Taco; burgers from the Burger Barn; ethnic street food from ¡Duino! (Duende); sandwiches and hot dogs from Cloud 9 Catering ("Either the Hindquarter or the [Local] Grind [will take part]," says Wai); barbecue from Southern Smoke Foods; fresh juices from Tomgirl Juice Co.; maté from Mocean Maté; ice cream from Lake Champlain Chocolates; and beer from Fiddlehead Brewing, which is one of the event's sponsors.

"We're at max capacity now," says Wai. He and McHenry will see how the space shakes out before changing the balance of vendors. 

The event will run from 4 to 9 p.m. every Friday until November 1. ArtsRiot plans to donate a portion of each week's proceeds to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf. "That's what we hope to do," Wai says. "Our mission is to destroy apathy through art, food and music."

Gorging at the Black River Produce Food Show

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The restaurant business is a brutal one. Cripplingly long hours, injuries and physical and emotional stress are just some of the hardships restaurateurs and chefs endure, only to cater to the capricious whims of the dining public.

But one bright spot to the biz, at least in Vermont, is a close-knit community of producers with great food. Today's sixth annual Black River Produce Food Show is a culinary Candyland — without the presence of Gloppy the Molasses Monster or Lord Licorice. Some requisite out-of-state distributors make the trip, but the reason most Vermont industry folk come out each year is to see what's happening on the local scene.

Here are a few of my favorites:

One of my favorite cheeses, finally made in Vermont by one of my favorite producers, Maplebrook Fine Cheese. The semi-soft, nutty fontina that I tried was the first official batch, but Italy had better take note. The Green Mountains can make our own earthy fontina just fine, thanks.

Alice Eats: NECI on Main's Restaurant Week Déjeuner à la Française

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118 Main Street, Montpelier, 223-3188

Back home in Connecticut, my friends and I favored lunch at a now-shuttered French bistro called Le Figaro. Steak frites at 11:30 a.m? Hell, yeah.

Now that my hometown celebrity chef Jean-Louis Gerin is at the helm of the New England Culinary Institute, a wonderful piece of home is here with me in Vermont. And just for Vermont Restaurant Week, he's imported an elegant bistro lunch to NECI on Main that I wish my childhood friends were here to share with me.

For $15, diners choose two of the three listed courses from chef Andre Burnier's bill of fare.

We started with a simple salade verte, dressed in lemon and olive oil and showered with crumbled goat cheese. Walnuts and apple matchsticks lent a dry and wet crunch, respectively.

A different "wholesome, single-vegetable soup" changes each day as the second appetizer option. Tomato was the offering that day and it was simple, comforting and flecked with garlic as well as the requisite basil. A big, grilled crostini lolled in the potage, soaking up the red broth. The flavor of the char on the bread was so enticing that I gobbled it up, despite the fact that I'd already partaken of the bread basket with three different types of home-baked breads, including a satisfyingly sour, sturdy whole-grain loaf.

Grazing: Fried Chicken Sandwich at Tip Top Café (or Hello, Restaurant Week)

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I turned around to look at the clock on the wall behind me — 11:45 a.m. I usually don't eat lunch until 2 or so, but today was different.

It's the kickoff of Vermont Restaurant Week, something we've been waiting for and working toward all year. As the menus have dribbled in, we've salivated and plotted and planned. What makes this one especially sweet for me is that four spots in the Upper Valley are taking part. That may not sound like a lot, but it's twice as many as last year.

At 11:46, I began gathering my things to go for lunch at one of them.

I don't think I've ever been disappointed with a meal at Tip Top Café, which is saying a lot for a place that's been around for seven years. When I first moved to the Upper Valley, I would hit this airy White River Junction bistro weekly for to-go lunches of curries and creative sandwiches.

At night, Tip Top morphs from a sunny café into an atmospheric, candlelit restaurant with martinis and first-rate food (on First Fridays, it's impossible to get a seat here without a long wait). This year, Tip Top is participating in Restaurant Week for the first time. 

And the place is doin' it right. The kitchen is loading it on for the $10, two-course lunch special. The cup of chunky corn-and-ham chowder that kicked it off today was spicy and silky, and dense with sweet corn, minced red peppers, slivers of potato and what looked like bits of kielbasa.