Best Bites: Sadie Katz Delicatessen

189 Bank Street, Burlington 864-5308

There's nothing more satisfying than a thick pile of hot meat between two slices of bread. I'm not trying to be pornographic, but when talking about a great sandwich, sometimes it's inevitable. Maybe it's the New York Jew in me, but I find that a perfect pastrami sandwich has effects akin to that of plasmapheresis. I am purified. Add a bowl of matzoh ball soup (pictured) and I am reborn.

That's why, when I head to Sadie Katz's, I go for the half sandwich and small soup ($7.25). Part of me wants to gorge on the New York Huge sandwich ($17.00) instead, but the soup makes my decision. The ideally salted poultry and veggie-rich broth bathes a single,tender matzoh ball. I add al dente egg noodles at no extra charge. The only thing that could make my standard meal more of a shot in the arm is an egg cream. For the uninitiated, the drink contains neither egg nor cream. Basically, it's chocolate milk, carbonated with seltzer. Weird, but fantastic.

Hannah Teter's Maple Blondie — Better Than a Box of Wheaties

About a week and a half ago, Ben & Jerry's announced its most recent ice cream flavor. No, it wasn't the "Lauren Ober's Chocolate River of Salaciousness and Sin," which is where I thought they were going. The newest flavor in the B&J family — Maple Blondie — is actually named after Hannah Teter, Olympic Gold Medalist and all around swell shredder. I suppose grabbing some Olympic bling on the halfpipe in Torino '06  is somewhat more impressive than winning third place in the 2005 New York Newspaper Publishers Association feature writing contest (circulation 25,000 or less). But I better be next on the list.

Photo at right — Teter going big at Mt. Snow last season. Courtesy of Burton Snowboards.

In having a flavor named after her, the 22-year-old snowboarder joins the ranks of Phish, Dave Matthews and Jerry Garcia, all of whom have had their essences rendered in pints of Ben & Jerry's deliciousness. But Teter has one-upped them all. Not only is she the first athlete ever to have a flavor named after her, but she is the first woman and first native Vermonter. Belmont, Vermont's most famous daughter now has another thing to brag about — being immortalized in ice cream.

Maple Blondie, which is only available now in scoop shops, but will soon be available in pints, is the type of flavor I always dreamed of. Maple ice cream, laced with ribbons of maple caramel and studded with blonde brownie bits. The overall effect is somewhere between orgasm and nirvana.

Because maple syrup — or liquid gold, as I like to think of it — is absurdly expensive, Maple Blondie is being made in limited batches. That's the bad news. But here's the good news: part of the proceeds from Teter's signature flavor will go to benefit Hannah's Gold, a charity Teter started to help the village of Kirindon, Kenya, secure clean drinking water.

I chatted with our girl Tetes last week over the phone about Africa, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and how I was on her mind when she developed Maple Blondie. 

Seven Days: Hey Hannah! How are you?
Hannah Teter: Great! Just driving to the gym.

SD: Where are you now?
HT: In Tahoe right now.

SD: What are you doing at the gym?
HT: I am going to get my workout on!

SD: I was just having a conversation yesterday about whether world-class snowboarders go to the gym or whether you just, like, ride all day long.
HT: Some workout, some just ride. But I feel like there’s a big transition going on right now where a lot of the riders are starting to taking working out more seriously to be super strong.

Best Bites: The Bearded Frog

5247 Shelburne Road, Shelburne 985-9877

I bet you're thinking I've gone crazy. "Alice," you're saying. "Are you making such huge Seven Days bucks that you think a special occasion spot such as the Bearded Frog is a great deal?"

Yes and no. Most of the time, The Bearded Frog and its sister, The Black Sheep Bistro, rest squarely on my list of requests when someone else is paying. But like many fine restaurants in big cities, The Frog cuts people like me a break in the form of a kick-ass bar menu.

If you're hungry enough for an appetizer, don't you dare pass up the Venison Cigar Rolls. They're a menu staple for a reason – addictively spiced lean meat encased in salty, flaky pastry. Dip it in the syrupy maple dipping sauce (there's also creamy horseradish) and I'm in heaven.

Burgers can be made with beef or venison. Either way, you win (see photo). Cooked to my ideal medium rare-verging-on-rare, the juices from my beautifully seasoned venison patty soaked into the kaiser roll without making it one bit soggy. Executive Chef Michel Mahe's trademark cone of frites makes the meal, which also includes a bistro-style side salad. Basil mayo and the best straight-up garlic aioli I've ever had accentuate the perfection of the crisp fries.

The Double Truck Driver Challenge

I've been preoccupied for years with competitive eating. My favorite rapper is Badlands Booker, the world's Hamentaschen eating champion. I am just about to add an IFOCE (International Federation of Competitive Eating) sticker to my car.

All these years, though, I was just a spectator. On November 1st, that all changed when Jordan Ware – the grill cook at Hen of the Wood – and I went head to head in the first-ever Double Truck Driver challenge at Waterbury's The Reservoir. Picture a crusty boule — usually used as a bread bowl for soups — topped with a two pound beef patty, filled with four ounces of bleu cheese and swathed in six pieces of bacon, two eggs and a salad's worth of veggies. Then try eating the whole thing.

Did Jordan and I prevail? Watch the video and see. Then try not to crave a huge, juicy burger.

Best Bites: Betty's Beef and Seafood

133 North Main Street, in the JC Penney Shopping Center, St. Albans 752-4949

When I travel, I envision what might lie inside all the mom-and-pop eateries I pass. It makes me sad that I will never try most of them, because I fear they might be something like Betty's.

A tiny diner sandwiched between a dollar store and a video rental place, Betty's doesn't appear to be any more than a greasy spoon. Inside, though, you'll find an assortment of specialties wacky enough to match the restaurant's name. There's a board trumpeting the names of eaters who have braved the Nine Alarm Chili Challenge, a cup of tangy beef and beans with the bite of a vindaloo. Order a cup and saltines will help mitigate the heat.

Then there's the titular beef – juicy top sirloin sliced thin and piled high on a kaiser roll. Owner Betty Lambesis says the sandwich – available as Junior Beef, Regular Beef or Big Beef – is based on a regional Massachusetts specialty popularized by a small chain called Bob's Roast Beef. Betty's and Bob's sandwiches also share a recipe for a vinegar and tomato-based barbecue sauce which takes the pile of meat from homemade Arby's to something far grander.

Best Bites: Wayside Restaurant & Bakery

1873 Route 302, Berlin

Back in 2006, before I worked for Seven Days, I wrote a comment for the Wayside on the 7 Nights website entitled, "Calvin Coolidge's Ghost Eats Here." I stand by the statement. If the shade of the former president were looking to satisfy an earthly hunger, he would find the food, prices and company most agreeable – and changed little since the Wayside opened in 1917.

Where else in Vermont is honeycomb tripe always on the menu and salt pork with milk gravy a regular special? On my last visit, I think I finally cemented my battle plan: It's cheap, so order a lot. For two of us, we ordered three entrées, all from the specials menu. With that, we got six sides. Cheddar Goldfish was among them (pictured) and the first to arrive, along with the fluffy, doughnut-sweet rolls.

All three entrées, which are relatively small, but very cheap, arrived at once with the remaining five sides. The meatloaf was sweetened with a generous layer of ketchup and smothered in rich gravy. Even when soaked in sauce, the fries on the side remained crisp.

Grand Isle Slaughterhouse Closed Following Charges of Inhumane Treatment

A worker shocked this infant calf in an attempt to get him to stand. The HSUS

Some unfortunate news (or fortunate, depending on how you look at it) in animal welfare in Vermont — the Vermont Agency of Agriculture announced today that they and the USDA would be suspending the respective licenses of the Bushway Packing, Inc., in Grand Isle, the only abattoir in the state that slaughters infant veal, or "bob" calves, because of alleged animal abuse. 

The charges were leveled by the Humane Society of the United States after a lengthy investigation of the facility's practices. HSUS provided the state and federal agencies with undercover footage of apparent abuse, which led to the license suspension. The allegations against Bushway are pretty grotesque — shocking infant calves who couldn't stand with electric prods, kicking, slapping and throwing calves and "failure to ensure that stunned calves had been rendered insensible to pain." You can read more about that last allegation in the HSUS report below.

Noted animal behavior specialist Dr. Temple Grandin from Colorado State University apparently reviewed the undercover video shot inside the Bushway facility and called the practices "unacceptable." To read Grandin's letter in PDF form, click this: Download 10-17-09-grandin-vogel-letter-on-bushway

The links to the two undercover videos are here and here. Warning: it's graphic and disturbing.

Bushway is one of a dwindling number of slaughterhouses in Vermont. In 1984, there were 20 slaughterhouses in the state. At present, there are only eight facilities that kill animals for meat. Many of Vermont's meat animals get shipped to New York or Massachusetts for processing.

Apparently, the slaughterhouse is certified by Northeast Organic Farming Association-VT to process organic meat. It also does custom meat processing. Bushway has only been open for about a year, started by John McCracken and Terry Rooney in an effort to stanch the flow of calves out of state.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture is currently investigating the facility.

To read the HSUS report, click here.

To read the Vermont Agency of Agriculture report, click here. 

To read more about the veal industry in Vermont from 7D's Suzanne Podhaizer, click here.

Vermont Brownie Company Gets Flayed

At least according to Facebook. Shawna Lidsky, co-owner of Vermont Brownie Co. with Katherine Hayward, has signed a confidentiality agreement with the Food Network that prevents her from even sharing the name of the show on which she and Hayward appeared. However, given the circumstances of her experience, she admits, "you can pretty much guess what show it is."

As reported previously in Seven Days, Vermont Brownie Co. got a request from the cable channel to send an audition tape in August. "It was so quick," remembers Lidsky. "They called us on Wednesday and wanted the tape to them by the following Tuesday." The network told them they had never seen "anything quite like" the video and told the pair, whose company is based in South Hero, that they had been chosen to appear on a show. They would not, however, disclose which one. "They tell you something, but I certainly wasn't buying it," says Lidsky.

As viewers of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" know, this is the very scenario that leads to the grilling guru trying to match his skills with specialists like the Vermont Brownie Co. or Bove's, who appeared on the show a couple of years back. Further evidence —Facebook posts by parties present at the October 28 competition itself. One audience member, who, also signed an agreement with Food Network reports that "the judges were torn."

Lidsky is thankful for the supportive crew working on the show, but hopes her episode doesn't air until after the holidays. Corporate orders are already piling up, she says, and hopes not to be overwhelmed with work spawned by their impending national stardom.

Best Bites: Tibet Festival

It's not every day you can enjoy Tibetan food in Burlington. In fact, unless you have a Tibetan mother cooking for you, there's only one day. This year, it was October 24. Next year, you will have to go, whatever the date.

I had been meaning to head over for the last five years and am thrilled that I finally made it. With a backdrop of "The Spectacular Yak Dance" and other Tibetan performances, I had a killer meal.
Food was available a la carte or as a combo. Wanting to try it all, I went for the latter.

Two varieties of Tibetan dumplings, (known as momos) were piled on my plate: beef and vegetarian. The vegetarian were filled with potatoes and a refreshing smattering of cilantro. Though my new Tibetan friend Tsering said she thought the potatoes, with their samosa-like filling, had more personality, I flipped for the beef. The finely ground meat fairly sparkled with ginger flavor. The juicy bites were slightly sweetened by the presence of microscopic onions. The dough of both varieties was thick and delightfully chewy.

Also included in the $8 combo plate was a choice of beef or veggie fried rice and beef, veggie or chicken chow mein. Don't worry, the Chinese-influenced dishes bore little resemblance to your usual take-out.The fried rice was buttery and rife with the bracing taste of fresh cilantro. A little bit of cinnamon made it even more unique. The chow mein, filled with carrots and yellow peppers, benefited from the addition of some homemade hot sauce — a thick tomato-based concoction with a sprinkling of herbs. The filling meal was the perfect antidote to Saturday's chilly rain. All I can say is I can't wait for mo' momos next year. Sorry.

Best Bites: Two Brothers Tavern

86 Main Street, Middlebury 388-0002

As many readers already know, I don't drink alcohol. In fact, it's a very rare delicacy that can woo me away from my all-day, every day pounding of tap water. But the Italian sodas at Two Brothers Tavern provide one such siren song — on my last trip, I ordered the hazelnut flavor. Like the idea of carbonated Nutella? Give it a try.

And that's not the only reason I drive 40 minutes out of my way to Middlebury. The real draw is exquisite pub food, which I can enjoy without actually being in a pub. If you want to get wild, go downstairs to the Two Brothers Lounge and Stage. I prefer to entrench myself with a bread basket (with pesto oil for dipping) in the white tablecloth dining room.

I like to order from the tapas or small plates menus, so I can test a variety of offerings. All tapas are $1.50 or three for $4. I recommend the Roasted Garlic Meatball, a moist wad of aromatic Wood Creek beef drenched in tangy tomato sauce.

The "Small Plates" wouldn't get such a title at most restaurants. The Mac n' Cheese ($7.95, pictured) I tried on my last visit was enough for two. The extremely satisfying blend of cheeses with a sharp hit of cheddar was the perfect dish for a cold autumn night. The filling tureen of Shepard's Pie was unique, with subtle notes of sage mixed with the creamy mashed potatoes.