Last night, we headed to Waterbury for the Vermont Specialty Food Association's summer mixer at Cold Hollow Cider Mill…one of those events where you spend a couple of hours running into people you know and meeting a few new ones doing interesting things. At this particular event, that was someone making gluten-free crackers, another making koozies out of sustainable wood, and one whose face I recognized because I’ve been seeing her Instagram videos pop up all week.

Afterward, we needed dinner, and that's where Waterbury always gets so interesting. For a town its size, the restaurant options are absurd. There's the obvious pull of Hen of the Wood, but there’s also Prohibition Pig, The Reservoir, Gallus, Salt & Rind, Blackback Pub, Zenbarn and some I’m sure we don’t even know about. We won't spoil where we wound up, because you'll almost certainly be reading about it in a future issue.

It's also good practice, in a way, because we'll soon be back there: our next Champlain Dinner Club is Tuesday, August 18, and we're taking the tour to the magnificent mecca of Waterbury. If you've never spent an evening eating your way through this little town, you're in for a treat. If you have...well, you already know why we're going back.

If you’d like to join us, click here to learn more about how it works, and to register.

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The awards just continue to roll in each week for Vermont food producers. Fresh off 15 awards (including three golds) at the American Cheese Society awards earlier this month, Cabot Creamery has picked up some new national hardware…its Seriously Sharp Cheddar Snack Sticks and Pepper Jack Snack Sticks were named 2026 Snack Award winners by Good Housekeeping. It's fabulous recognition for a company that's still farmer-owned, with profits going back to the same New England and New York farm families that produce the milk. The winning snack sticks are sold nationwide, not just here at home.

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Sneakers, the longtime breakfast-and-lunch favorite in Winooski, soft-opened something new upstairs this past week: Sneakeasy, an evening cocktail lounge. Looking at their Instagram, the drink list is playful, featuring selections like a Salted Maple Espresso Martini, a “Breakfast for Dinner” bloody mary, and an Olive Oil Sour (an interesting-sounding combination of bourbon, brandy, sherry, banana, marsala, olive oil, honey and egg white), alongside a beer and cider list and a number of wines by the glass. There's a short but creative food menu, too, including a fried chicken sandwich called the Un"Belizable" Fry Jack, “Sticky Rib Jenga” with corn cob bites, and a coconut rice and tofu stack with Asian slaw. We'll have more to report once we've made it upstairs ourselves…

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And, there's a new food operation cooking at Zenbarn in Waterbury Center. Chef Josue Chanduvi, previously the executive chef at the Trapp Family Lodge, has opened Campo, an outdoor snack-shack-style menu built around a custom 10-foot Argentinean grill called a parrilla. The menu includes seafood paella, ceviche and a Peruvian half chicken. According to Seven Days, by the end of summer he'll be adding breakfast, a bakery, and indoor seating; for now, they’re open Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 9 p.m.

Read the full interview, including what it’s like to run a restaurant as a family, what Church Street looked like in 1973, and why the same flour taco has stayed on the menu since day one…