With new spring produce coming in, including asparagus and leeks, Reiman decided to take advantage by updating his offerings, taking out heavy beef braciole and replacing it with crab cakes, for example. Click here to see what's now available for the $9 lunch special and on the $25 dinner menu from tomorrow through May 5.
April 18, 2013
Prepping for Vermont Restaurant Week — With a Smoothie
As I write this, I'm supping on a blueberry-kale smoothie — because, about a week from now, Vermont Restaurant Week will swing into gear and I'll need some space, as it were. This year, the gargantuan event, which we begin planning in January, is longer than ever — 10 days. That's a lot of calories, especially considering there are 104 restaurants taking part, from Burlington to the Upper Valley — even a restaurant in Lyme, N.H. is joining in!
You may have noticed that Seven Days is extra bulky this week; nestled inside is the VRW menu guide, packed with delectable-sounding dishes such as broiled oysters with garlic-bread crumbs (at Rí Rá's Whiskey Room) and a grilled Ayer Farm lamb burger (at Antidote in Vergennes). Personally, I needed to tackle the guide in increments, as there's so much to pore over and so many decisions to be made.
Even for those not hell-bent on total indulgence, though, it's possible to stay (relatively) healthy over the course of this event. Fields Restaurant in Jericho is dishing up a chopped kale salad with pickled shallots and feta; Cornerstone Pub & Kitchen in Barre is stuffing quinoa ravioli with spring vegetables and serving them in a pool of tomato-soy broth.
In other words, there's something for every palate — vegan, carnivore or in between. Just be sure to make your reservations before everyone else does.
The photo above is courtesy of Red Clover Inn in Mendon.
April 2, 2013
Three Penny, Mad Taco Owners Team Up to Open Craft Beer Bar in Winooski
The corner of Main and Union streets in Winooski is returning to its barroom roots on May 1, when Scott Kerner and Wes Hamilton of Montpelier's Three Penny Taproom and Joey Nagy of the Mad Taco open a new craft beer spot, Mule Bar, in the former Pho Pasteur space.
Yes, Pho Pasteur closed this morning, and Mule Bar will take its place in about four weeks. "We've been waiting to get into Winooski for a long time," says Kerner. "This feels like a city with a great vibe." Kerner told Seven Days a few weeks ago that he's "freaking pumped" about the new spot at 38 Main Street.
Mule Bar will have 49 seats — including 16 outside — with a long bar along one wall and a few high-tops along another. The room will be airy, like the dining room at Three Penny — or what contractor Eyrich Stauffer of Stauffer Woodworking calls "Danish modern saloon." Mule Bar will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, with brunch on Sunday (more on the food below).
Many Winooski-ites had already heard rumors about Mule Bar, but Kerner and Nagy were reticent to reveal their plans to the media until their proverbial ducks were in a row: a liquor license and a signed lease.
Two weeks ago, Guy Page of the Winooski Bridge was at the Winooski City Council meeting in which Kerner applied (and was approved) for a city liquor license, and Page reported it in his newsletter.
This morning at 11, Kerner and Nagy finally signed their lease in a deal that was brokered by Peter Yee of Yellow Sign Commercial. By 12:30 p.m., they were in the space with Stauffer and their new chef — Jean-Luc Matecat, former chef at Amuse at the Essex.
Matecat says that Mule Bar will have a "local, ever-changing" menu to complement the tap list. He's already started seedlings in his living room for the restaurant's future garden, which will be up the street in the Landry Community Garden.
Sue Bette has a serious claim. The new Bluebird Coffee Stop at the Innovation Center begins its soft opening at 128 Lakeside Avenue next week, and Bette says its chocolate-chip cookies are good enough to fill the void left when the South End's Fresh Market closed. Chocolate-chip-cookie lovers have been pining ever since.
With Bluebird Tavern, Bluebird Barbecue and the original Bluebird Coffee Stop downtown, this will be Bette's fourth eatery opened in as many years. Why add another?
"We’re
taking the Bluebird Coffee Stop concept and expanding it a little bit," says Bette. "We absolutely love the Church Street location, but we're limited in what we
can do because of the space constraints. This allows us to be a little more of a café."
The LEED-certified Innovation Center was a natural fit with a recently redone café space and a built-in population of hundreds of workers. But the 30-seat resto is also open to the public. To begin, hours will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Bette says she'll also use the space for private parties and special events, such as her popular oyster nights and beer and wine events.
What about the food? The menu showcases a wide range of breakfast and lunch dishes, aimed at everyone from the hungry worker to the gourmet looking for a palate tickling.
Homemade breakfast sandwiches and bagels from Myer's Bagel Bakery (with Bluebird-made cream cheeses) are available for breakfast, along with muffins in flavors including candied-bacon-and-peanut-butter and chocolate-espresso.
Lunch focuses on sandwiches and salads. Pressed sandwiches come in flavors such as chicken liver with grilled onion and lady apple or Maine crab with artichoke and lemon-cured tomato. Salads include field greens with red-wine-prunes, goat cheese and a pine nut vinaigrette, as well as a classic chopped iceberg version with ranch dressing, smoked ham and boiled egg.
Along with espresso and coffee, Bette says she and chef Michael Clauss also designed a number of new desserts. They'll serve slices of whole cakes, including red velvet and cheesecake. Milk chocolate or honey-vanilla puddings will also be a sweet way to end a workday meal.
But no creemees. Bette says she'll leave those for Church Street. And they, too, roll out for the season next week.
After sitting empty for years, the former Chittenden Bank building on Montpelier's State Street is back in business — as a sushi restaurant. Asiana House opened on Tuesday night.
Chef Gary Ma opened the restaurant with his wife, Sandra, and he was busy behind the sushi bar last night turning out nigiri sushi and maki rolls for what looked like an almost-full house on the eatery's second night in operation.
A gleaming bank safe door in the foyer is a reminder of what was here before, and building owner Jesse Jacobs' renovation, which took place before the Mas signed on as tenants, retains a vintage look.
Though Ma eventually wants to roll out new dishes, Asiana House's menu and prices are practically identical to those of its sister restaurant in Burlington — sushi, a long list of vegetarian and specialty maki rolls, even fried oysters and bibimbap — but the Scott 2 Hottie Maki roll, a torched roll with with salmon and belly salmon, avocado, spicy mayo and spicy teriyaki sauce, looks like an addition.
A row of martini glasses hangs upside-down in a rack behind the sushi counter, but they can't be used yet; a liquor license is still pending. In this weather, tea is satisfying, anyway.
Asiana House in Montpelier is open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner.
February 14, 2013
L'Amante's Owners to Open Wine Bar and Retail Store
Grape things are again afoot in Burlington (sorry). This April, L'Amante owners Kevin and Kathi Cleary will open a wine bar, store and event and education space steps away from their College Street restaurant.
"It will be completely different than anything else in Burlington, or Vermont. It will be all things wine," says Kevin Cleary, who is in the thick of renovations at 126 College Street to create a retail wine and cheese shop, a 36-seat wine bar and a glassed-in event and classroom area where he'll hold classes as part of Vermont Wine School.
The 3000-square-foot space will be called Uva — Italian for grape — and though Cleary is mum on the décor, the couple's trips to Italy have left their mark. "We love going to the small wine bars in Venice, Florence and Rome where it's a really laid-back and casual atmosphere, and you don't feel pressured to eat a whole meal," says Cleary.
A full menu would be difficult at Uva, as it will lack a kitchen; prepared food will be carried a few steps from L'Amante. The bar — where guests can order from a selection of 20 wines by the glass — will not be without sustenance, though. A hand-cranked slicer will dole out imported and local meats and cheeses alongside a menu of small plates and charcuterie.
Uva has been a long time coming. "It's one of those things. We've been here for 10 years, and after five years we had the itch to create something again," says Cleary, who has studied wine seriously for decades. Two years ago, he founded the Vermont Wine School, an outpost of the Wine & Spirits Education Trust and the only formal wine education center in Vermont. (Disclosure: I earned my Level 3 WSET certificate there.)
The new spot also solves at least two frustrations: For years, the Clearys have had to turn away scores of private functions; the glassed-in event space will enable them to cater those events, as well as hold more wine classes.
Another frustration was not being able to sell guests a wine they might be sipping at L'Amante. "People are constantly asking us, where can I buy this wine? And we would tell them who the importer is. Now, If you're drinking a glass of Barolo you like and you're walking out at 10 p.m., you can go over to the store and bring it home with you," says Cleary. (Vermont law calls for a strict demarcation between the retail space and the bar, so shopping with glass in hand is a no-no).
Maple season is fast approaching, but in St. Albans it will arrive at 7 a.m. on Thursday, February 21.
That's when Maple City Diner opens at 17 Swanton Road, the home of Athena's Diner since 2011.
The owners of the new eatery are familiar faces in the Maple City itself — Marcus and Erika Hamblett, the owners of One Federal.
Erika Hamblett says that she and her husband will take over the space tomorrow and close for minor cosmetic changes, then reopen for seven-days-a-week service on Tuesday.
Those changes include vintage photos of local sugar houses. Soon, wood booths will replace the conventional diner booths for more of a sugar-shack feel, says Marcus Hamblett.
The menu, prepared by chef de cuisine and One Federal alum Stephen Young, also takes a cue from sugaring time. Breakfast includes a bacon waffle topped with maple butter; brown-sugar-pecan French toast; and skillets such as "the Vermonter," with apple, caramelized onion, bacon and cheddar over home fries and eggs.
Lunch features classic diner fare such as hot open hamburg and turkey sandwiches and a variety of burgers and clubs. Dinner brings seared pork loin and chicken topped with cheddar, apples and bacon. One Federal's popular house maple vinaigrette will top salads.
As at the Hamblett's 4-year-old restaurant, nearly everything will be made from scratch and locally sourced.
Though Maple City Diner will serve a full menu from the beginning, the owners have plans for growth in months to come. New England Culinary Institute grad Marcus Hamblett envisions a grab-and-go counter similar to the one at the defunct Burlington NECI Commons. There, freshly made breads, sandwiches and prepared salads will be available to-go, along with homemade pies, cakes and other pastries, including "big maple cinnamon buns."
Doughnuts will also be a big part of the fun. A doughnut machine will soon be popping out fresh desserts, including a bacon version.
Last night, 120 people gathered at Bluebird Barbecue in Burlington to pay homage to one woman.
Just a few months ago, Gretel-Ann Fischer was considering closing her Winooski bakery, Cupp's. Now, thanks to a spot on TLC's "Next Great Baker," business is booming. Last night, the show revealed that the Vermont baker came in second in the competition.
This morning, I checked in with Fischer. It wasn't easy for her to take the time. She said that a line of people was waiting for the bakery to open at 6:30 this morning, and autograph-seekers and fans are still pouring in.
The crazy day started just two hours after Fischer finally fell asleep. "I was so amped up," she said.
Though Fischer didn't win, in a tearful speech to guests she said that she would be OK either way. That's right, she didn't know the outcome. The TLC crew filmed both her and competitor Ashley Holt winning, but the women didn't know which version would run until the rest of us did.
Ultimately, Fischer said she's pleased with the outcome.
"I don't mind. I'm in a better position," she said. "If I had won, Buddy [Valastro, "Cake Boss" and "Next Great Baker" host] owns me for that year... Now I have free rein to promote my own business."
Fischer believes that the fact that she has her own store and Holt does not may have played into Valastro's ultimate decision.
And things are great in Cupp's land. Fischer has had more cake orders in a single month than ever before, which is especially notable in normally quiet January and February. The extra business will soon necessitate new hires.
Fischer will also need help in the bakery because some of her time is now being spent on two cookbooks, appearances on other national TV shows, and a series of guest videos for a popular website.
"In my wildest dreams, I never would have imagined this," said the baker.
We leave you with something else Fischer said she never could have imagined: the supportive chants of her Vermont friends, family and bakery regulars after she learned she did not win the competition.
February 6, 2013
Vermont Foodbank Lands an Unexpected and 'Worthy' $2200
They may possess wild talents, far-flung followers and occasional swagger, but Vermont's brewers, chefs and restaurateurs are also generous. That's what the Vermont Foodbank found out last week when it got an unexpected email from Dave Brodrick, one of three owners of South Royalton's Worthy Burger: A big check was on the way.
The Night Before the Night Before, a December 23 fête at the eatery, drew together hard-to-find beers, five courses of food, a cadre of local restaurant and brewing persona and some 85 beer fans for a benefit that was actually initiated by an out-of-stater: Sam Calagione, the founder of Delaware's Dogfish Head.
,The Worthy crew, along with peeps from Hen of the Wood, Prohibition Pig, Three Penny Taproom and American Flatbread, drew in beers from Lawson's Finest Liquids, the Alchemist, Hill Farmstead Brewery, Zero Gravity and the Bobcat Café and Brewery, as well as finger food from HOTW and sliders and oysters from Worthy's kitchen.
Calagione himself appeared with what Brodrick calls "four super-special kegs," including Birra Etrusca Bronze, an "ancient ale" planned partly according to analysis of 2800-year-old Etruscan drinking vessels (for realz).
The organizers had little problem selling $75 tickets, which probably made some beer geeks very, very happy — and also pulled in $2200 in proceeds.
It was many moons ago that Crop Bistro & Brewery ordered an 8.5-barrel brewing system from Caspary, a Bavarian brewhouse and manufacturer that produces compact, nimble systems with multiple vessels. Then the staff waited, and a corner of the pub sat empty in expectation.
Crop's head brewer, Will Gilson, who joined the staff in September, has had months to ruminate on what he might do with the copper-clad system — the first of its kind (at this size) in Vermont. Gilson is already known for German-style beers, Weiss beers in particular, to which he has devoted himself during his 20 years of brewing in Utah, Vermont and at New Hampshire's Moat Mountain Smokehouse & Brewing Co. (Gilson attributes his love of German styles in part to studying abroad in Germany during college.)
In December, the equipment finally arrived, accompanied by Caspary founder Rudolf Caspary, who traveled from Germany to Stowe to help install it. In early January, Gilson brewed two batches of Münich-style Helles lager while Caspary assisted.
This evening, Gilson will tap that Helles for the first time, as well as his hallmark style: a Bavarian-style Weiss beer.
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