Hello, hungry people!
Seven Days announced this year's Daysies winners today, and we're thrilled (again) to see so many friends and colleagues on that list.
As for us…we've been a finalist in Best Food/Drink Event every year since the category existed, and we've lost every single time. At this point it's basically tradition. We've made our peace with being the perpetual bridesmaid (and congratulations again to the annual bride, South End Get Down. We’re taking notes).
Seven Days/Sean Metcalf
But in all seriousness, congratulations to everyone who did win…the restaurants, the chefs, the bartenders, the breweries and wineries, the farms and specialty food shops that keep this state's food scene as amazing as it is. There are simply too many of them to name here, and that's exactly the kind of problem we're very happy to have.
On the Menu…
Starters
Bites & Bottles: Gallus…An Unlikely Table, an Unforgettable Meal
Champlain Dinner Club: Waterbury Edition
Tastemakers: Josh Turka, 5th Quarter Butcher & Provisions
The Long Pour: Beaching, Boating and Beverages!
Starters…
There's been no shortage of headlines this week about downtown Burlington. We're not going to wade into any of it here…that's not our lane, and there are plenty of other outlets covering everything in detail.
What we will say is this…through all of it, the restaurants, shops, and small businesses downtown keep opening their doors every day. And, many of them are even introducing new things. The Harborvale just reopened a rebranded hotel and new restaurant after months of renovation. Burl's Downtown Kitchenette took over the old El Cortijo spot on Bank Street, serving up Southern all-day fare in a building with a ton of history behind it. A Single Pebble is starting to host intimate Tuesday dinners, simply because their owner wants to cook for the joy of it again (more on that below). Kiss the Cook just picked up a Daysies win at the same time it’s going up for sale, which says something about the kind of loyalty this community still has for the businesses that have earned it.
People are still building things here, whether that be new menus, new concepts, or new reasons to come downtown…that's all worth noticing.
If you've been putting off a trip into downtown Burlington, this is as good a week as any to go. Grab a coffee, book a table, walk into a shop you've been meaning to check out. Small businesses run on people coming in their doors, and downtown could use a few more of us doing exactly that this week.
Bites + Bottles
Gallus Handcrafted Pasta sits inside Waterbury's old Grist Mill, a building that many Vermonters still remember as the original home of Hen of the Wood, and before that, The Mist Grill.
Hen of the Wood has since moved to a new spot in town, and Gallus has taken over the mill. It's still part of the same restaurant group behind both Hen locations, along with Prohibition Pig and Doc Ponds, all under chef Eric Warnstedt…
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Another big congratulations this week goes out to Harmony Edosomwan, the owner of Harmony’s Kitchen, who was featured in our Tastemakers column a few weeks back. As we write this, Harmony is also competing as the first Vermont contestant in a decade at the Miss Black USA pageant, and we just got word earlier today that she has won this year’s People's Choice Award. It’s well-deserved recognition for a lovely and inspiring local businesswoman…and this honor also puts her directly into the finals, so here’s hoping there’s more good news from Harmony in DC this week.
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Chef Chiuho, the owner of A Single Pebble, has kicked off a new passion project this week: Tuesday Evening with Chiuho, a family-style dinner for just 20 guests. In her own words, running a restaurant has pulled her away from the thing that made her fall in love with the work in the first place — simply cooking — and this is her way of getting that back. Each dinner builds around whatever she's excited to cook that week…seasonal ingredients, recipes from her upcoming cookbook, longtime favorites, and dishes she's never had the chance to serve. No two nights will be the same. The next one is August 25, with plans to keep it going at least twice a month. It's a single set menu with no substitutions, and reservations are by phone only. Give them a call today to grab a seat.
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Two long-running local kitchen-oriented businesses are looking for new owners. Kiss the Cook, the Church Street mainstay stocked with cookware and gadgets, has been open for 35 years, with current owners Luke and Ashley Wight taking the helm back in 2014. According to Seven Days, Luke has found a second calling teaching business classes and plans to do so full-time. The shop's looking for its next owner while operating as usual…and their annual storewide sale is running this weekend, so pick up a great deal at the same time.
Also on the market: Lady Linens, the online shop bringing fine Polish linens to Vermont tables, is looking for its next generation of owners, as founder Alice Benson looks to pass it on after nine years. The shop built its name importing table linens, towels, and wearables straight from Polish artisans…the kind of specialty sourcing that's hard to replace once it's gone.
Champlain Dinner Club: Waterbury Edition!
On Tuesday, August 18, we're taking a mini road trip to Vermont's favorite little restaurant town. Take a quick personality quiz, get matched with five new dinner companions, and show up not knowing where you're headed…your restaurant destination stays a surprise until the morning of. Reservations are $15.95, and everyone covers their own drinks and dinner.
And, one more surprise…during dinner, you’ll get a text invite to meet with all of the other groups at another venue afterwards. It's a low-key way to meet people who love good food and good conversation as much as you do, without the pressure of showing up solo to a stranger's table.
Intrigued? Click here to take the quiz!
Tastemakers: Josh Turka, 5th Quarter
Each week, we feature three quick questions with someone bringing something creative, thoughtful, or fascinating to the food and wine scene here in Vermont and beyond.
This week, we caught up with Josh Turka, owner of 5th Quarter Butcher & Provisions, a whole-animal butcher shop and specialty grocery in Waitsfield known for house-made sausage and old-school carcass breakdown.
Read the full interview, including the real difference between a butcher shop and a meat market, the story behind 5th Quarter's beloved Nonna's Variety sausage, and the one tool Josh says every home cook is skipping…
Beaching, Boating and Beverages!
by Mike Stolese
As summer in Vermont is fleeting, I thought that some refreshing beverage ideas had better come soon! Beaching and boating are not exclusively meant for beer…on the contrary, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails can fit the bill perfectly on these hot summer days.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, acidity is what makes a wine wake up your palate and quench your thirst. So we’ll start today with some whites and rosés with that refreshing acidity we need to cool things off (and we’ll save the big, barrel-aged whites for the lobster we spoke about last week)…
What’s On…
As has become the standard in our Vermont summers, these weeks ahead have more happening than anyone can reasonably get to. The coming days include the tail end of Vermont Open Farm Week, leading into a crazy August 8th weekend, followed by a huge weekend up in Stowe with two big events running simultaneously.
Click the link below to see how you want to work your plan…
Before we go…
Evidently, KFC and Oreo have decided to take the notion of “sweet and savory” to a whole new level this week, with the introduction of a fried-chicken-flavored Oreo cookie.
Somewhere in a boardroom, someone pitched this idea…and people said yes. Enthusiastically, no doubt.
The good news is that, for now, it’s only being rolled out in China.
For now.
Godspeed to us all.
Have a great week!