Cover Story
7 Nights: The ‘Seven Days’ Guide to Vermont Restaurants and Bars (2011-12)
Vermont’s food scene has exploded in the last decade, and the annual 7 Nights guide has grown right along with it. The 2011 edition is the biggest yet, with more restaurants and expanded spotlights that are sure to entice readers to try a new dining spot or two. Driving around Vermont? This comprehensive restaurant guide…
In Montpelier, Three Penny Taproom Spreads Cheer With Craft Beer
Three Penny Taproom has a got a good, global thing going in downtown Montpelier. The 24-tap bar offers a selection of brews from around the world — none of which is Budweiser. And the in-house entertainment is football — the sport Americans call soccer. Patrons who get out of line are reprimanded with red cards, and during…
Dinner and a Movie? Find Both at Waitsfield’s Big Picture Theater and Café
Dinner and a movie? You can get ’em both — under one roof — at Waitsfield’s Big Picture Theater and Café. Five years ago, owner Claudia Becker purchased the ailing cinema at the northern edge of the Mad River ski town and transformed it into a local-food mecca and community center. Chef Amanda Astheimer, a…
Hot Dog! The Chili at Fat Franks in Bellows Falls Isn’t for Weenies
There are folks who take their hot dogs seriously, and then there’s the staff at Fat Franks. At “the wurst place in Bellows Falls,” each table is equipped with a primer on “hot dog etiquette” — 12 rules for eating “America’s sacred food.” For example: Applying ketchup to a hot dog is strictly verboten to…
Dig Into Lobster Mac and Other Twisted Comforts at Our House in Winooski
Men with Burt Reynolds mustaches. Ladies with blue eye shadow and big hair. Grandparents who have long since left this mortal coil. These portraits from the past adorn the walls of Our House. While the décor engenders a family feeling, it only hints at the satisfactions of the food served in the cozy Winooski restaurant.…
In Burlington, Souza’s Brazilian Steakhouse Serves All-You-Can-Eat Skewered Meats
A man with a sword usually signals danger. But at Souza’s Brazilian Steakhouse, it’s the equivalent of a dinner bell. There, young men dressed in wide-legged gaucho pants bring rock-salted meat to your table — on a giant skewer. Sound exotic? It is; Souza’s is Vermont’s only Brazilian restaurant. Service at the steakhouse is rodizio-style.…
Head to St. Albans’ Thai House for Tom Yum and Other Yummy Eats
The northern reaches of Vermont seem an unlikely setting for authentic Thai food. Yet, in a strip mall just north of St. Albans village, the Thai House cooks up complex dishes that layer together the four flavors of Thai cuisine — salty, sweet, creamy and sour — using contrasting textures, temperatures and hues. The eatery…
Carpenter & Main Dishes Out Burgers and Bistro Delights in Norwich
Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., may be on the “wrong” side of the Connecticut River, but the prestigious school — with its nearly 6000 students and nearby teaching hospital — has a serious impact on Vermont’s Upper Valley restaurant scene. Doctors, faculty and visiting parents seeking fine fare find it in Woodstock, Quechee, Hartford — and…
Global Comfort Food Meets American Classics at Rutland’s Table 24
Off the fast-food strip in downtown Rutland, the incongruous Table 24 is a multicultural oasis. With its wide-plank floors, beamed ceilings and sunset-red walls, the welcoming eatery looks like a mashup of Provençal bistro, Mexican cantina and Texas roadhouse. The fare is similarly inspired: global comfort food. Table 24’s signature appetizer, for instance, is Jerk…
From Chorizo to Ceviche, Santos Cocina Latina Spices Up Stowe
There’s nothing New England about Santos Cocina Latina — except that it’s located on the main ski-town strip in Stowe. Inside is a different world: one more sexy than serene, more spicy than sweet. On the walls, images reminiscent of Latin American street art are mixed in with icons of Catholic saints and the Virgin Mary.…
In New Haven, Tuck Into Tourterelle’s Gallic Gourmet Eats
You could say there’s a “French spot” along Route 7 between Middlebury and Ferrisburgh. For years, Christophe Lissarrague served up spectacular French fare in Vergennes. To the south, Roland Gaujac used to cook at the 1796 House, a longtime landmark along Vermont’s western corridor. Roland’s Place is now Tourterelle — French for “turtledove” — where…
Timbuktu’s Bar & Grill Brings a Rock-and-Roll Vibe to Lyndonville
Timbuktu, a city in the West African country of Mali, is renowned for its remoteness. In fact, it’s an important stop on two major trade routes and boasts one of the world’s first universities. None of which has anything to do with Timbuktu’s in Lyndonville, a bar and grill that doesn’t have a lick of…
