Where There’s Smokejacks: The cuisine scene heats up in northwestern Vermont
You can work up quite an appetite these days reporting restaurant news in Vermont. Tired of waiting for a table at Sarducci’s? There are two more places to eat in Montpelier. Yet another French chef has selected Vergennes — the food mecca of Addison County — to set up shop. And in the past week,…
ComPost Modern: In Chittenden County, Steve Wisbaum finds a growing market for muck
Steve Wisbaum lends truth to the proverb, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” He gushes about a throwaway commodity ultimately responsible for making our gardens grow bigger and better. A wizard of waste, he suggests, “The magic of this process is taking smelly, raw shit, if you will, and transforming it into something people…
Granola Warfare: A cereal mom pours over the “healthy” options
My son is addicted to Froot Loops, and I am his enabler. When Sam was little, we scrupulously monitored his diet, restricting his breakfast sugar intake to the single gram in a recommended serving of Cheerios. But as he grew older, Sam began experimenting with the harder stuff he found at friends’ homes. Pretty soon,…
A Fuller Plate: Managing multiple menus keeps one restaurateur on the run
Anyone thinking of opening a restaurant ought to study Robert Fuller’s customer comment cards. Nearly all his secrets to success are right there in plain language — a postcard-sized business philosophy — and you don’t even have to read between the lines. Queries about the greeting, the service, the food and the overall experience are…
Supper Club: A couple of eating evangelists share their devotion to church chow
Ireland is better known for Guinness than gourmet food, but that didn’t stop the masses from coming out for corned beef and cabbage at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Richmond. Actually, a pint would have gone a long way to wash down the salty gray meat and boiled potatoes. But a new priest…
Market Driven: Friendly farmers are not the only reason to get your groceries outside
Some people are addicted to antique stores. Others go for yard sales or kitchen equipment catalogs. Me, I’ve got a thing for farmers’ markets. Hypnotized by the sight of all that fresh produce, helpless under the gaze of friendly, hard-working farmers, I buy stuff that would never find its way into my basket at the…
Even Cowboy Junkies Get the Blues
For more than 15 years, the Cowboy Junkies — those singing siblings of sorrow — have been pioneering a bluesy-country-rock hybrid that addresses life’s tougher moments with unique clarity. Their songs are often filled with sad, introspective lyrics that stare into an emotional abyss. Yet, the group’s chief songwriter, Michael Timmins, doesn’t fall into the…
Truth Be Told
Former Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese led what was billed as a “truth squad” to Vermont Monday to condemn U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy as an “obstructionist,” a “hijacker of the Constitution” and a “religious bigot.” Meese came to Vermont — his first visit, he told us — to put the wood to St. Patrick for…
Breaking the Hinesburg Hex
The guy who appeared at the window of my cab was grinning, eating a hot dog and looking glassy-eyed. It was approaching last call — a.k.a. taxi rush hour — and I was idling at a downtown taxi stand. “Hey, man,” he said between bites. “You free? How much for a ride to Hinesburg?” Out-of-town…
Work: Koga Toki, sushi chef
Shoppers at the Price Chopper in South Burlington are just as likely to be wheeling carts filled with boxes of unagi and tai as with Huggies, Spagetti-os and Pepsi. The Shelburne Road supermarket features a sushi bar where four Japanese “chefs” prepare such eel and red snapper snacks-to-go. One of these men, Koga Toki, is…
Flick Chick
Talk about bad timing. As the current pedophilia scandal rocks America, a film like Our Lady of the Assassins is difficult to digest. This cinematic celebration of man-boy love would be unsettling enough even without today’s troubles in the Catholic Church. But don’t expect pornographic trash at this Saturday’s screening at the Hopkins Center. Director…
