Monday, August 15, 2016
Tags: Burlington , Restaurants , Andrew LeStourgeon , Diners , Image , Web Only
Friday, August 12, 2016
Neither Beowulf nor Grendel were in sight as we pulled up at Colchester's Mead Hall, located inside of the Groennfell and Havoc meaderies, fairly close to Costco.
The interior is all working meadery, with floor-to-ceiling vats, stacks of cans and a bar at which to order libations and snacks.
After trying free samples of a variety of dry, clean-tasting honey wines — including one flavored with apple and vanilla and another with cranberries — we settled down at a high table, mugs in hand, and awaited our food.
In order to "dine on a dime," we shared the $20 Viking Feast platter, and it turned out to be plenty: herring three ways (my favorite was the variation with mustard, but the sour cream and wine versions were also fishy and delicious), a trio of Scandinavian cheeses (Gjetost, Jarlsberg and Danablu), dark bread, a pair of bratwurst, and Danish beets, which were cooked for a long time and tasted of the sea. All of the food items are available singly, too.
Sometimes it's hard to ride the line between authenticity and caricature. Colchester's Mead Hall strikes the perfect balance of good cheer and serious attention to the quality of its products. I will definitely return.
P.S. Luckily, it was nothing like this:
...Then was this mead-house at morning tide
dyed with gore, when the daylight broke,
all the boards of the benches blood-besprinkled,
gory the hall: I had heroes the less,
doughty dear-ones that death had reft.
— But sit to the banquet, unbind thy words,
hardy hero, as heart shall prompt thee.”
Gathered together, the Geatish men
in the banquet-hall on bench assigned,
sturdy-spirited, sat them down,
hardy-hearted. A henchman attended,
carried the carven cup in hand,
served the clear mead.
—From "Beowulf," translated by Francis B. Gummere
Dining on a Dime is a weekly series featuring well-made, filling bites (something substantial enough to qualify as a small meal or better) for $12 or less. Know of a tasty dish we should feature? Drop us a line: food@sevendaysvt.com.
Tags: Mead , herring , Scandinavian , sausage , cheap eats , meadery , Groennfell Meadery , Image , Web Only
Thursday, August 11, 2016
The salsa's simplicity makes it an unfussy last-minute addition to a meal, but the modest preparation is hardly a reflection of the taste. Gremolata adds a wallop of flavor that enhances the profile of a dish without throwing it off balance; it's bright parsley, a bite of lemon rind and the mellow sweetness that comes from crushing garlic to a paste under the heel of your knife.
Tags: vegetarian , vegan , parsley , condiment , recipe , herb , image , recipes , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Tags: Coffee , Tea , Newport , Northeast Kingdom Tasting Center , Image , Web Only
Monday, August 8, 2016
Before Foam, I’ll admit I wasn't into fruit-forward brews. My avoidance was probably sparked from a room-temperature cup of Pêche Mel' Bush sipped sometime during college, when the resident Belgian beer devotee popped a bottle of the strong, syrupy ale sent from a brother living abroad. It was poured in a red plastic cup, and subsequently followed by an equally tepid glug of a framboise lambic that tasted a bit like an opened bottle of Manischewitz. Did I mention it was warm?
Those dual sips left me believing that fruit beers were too cloyingly sweet for my taste. The sentiment held true until Dani Casey gave me a taste of the Purple One while helming the bar at Foam.
Tags: beer , brewery , microbrewery , Foam Brewers , Burlington , drink , saison , black currant , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
I'm a fan of the classic Italian blend of basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts and Parmesan. But taking that recipe as a basic equation — green leaves + (garlic) + oil + nuts + (something creamy) + (a splash of citrus) + salt — opens up endless combinations of deliciousness.
So ask yourself: What green leaves do I have on hand, and what would they combine well with?
Tags: Thai basil , pesto , recipes , vegan , cashews , pesto , Image , Web Only
Lately, my favorite way to dress a slice is with a few spoons of tender, homemade ricotta curds. I learned how to make ricotta from a friend’s Sicilian grandma, and it’s dead simple. There are just four factors: whole-fat milk, salt, acid and heat. After that, you need a saucepan, a cheesecloth and 20 minutes.
If you have ever tasted supple, just-made ricotta curds still warm in their cloth basket, you most likely understand their power to propel you out of bed faster than the promise of dark roast.
Tags: breakfast club , breakfast , toast , ricotta , homemade , recipe , Image , vegetarian , Image , Web Only
Friday, July 29, 2016
Tags: Adirondack Issue , Breakfast , Diners , Image , Web Only
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Serpentine strips of shiitake mushrooms are fried beyond recognition and shellacked with ginger-scallion soy sauce that’s both addictively salty and cloyingly sweet. It’s fat, sugar and salinity, and it’s good with a beer. Yet it’s not the best thing on the menu. And at $11 per plate, the dish is a bit steep.
I ordered the mock eel to see what all the fuss was about, but the deep-fried strands of shiitake were forgotten when the cha shao buns landed at the table.
At $8, the two softball-size steamed wheat buns are an ethereal contradiction in flavor and texture. The cushiony dough is delicate but substantial, its insides bloated with minced onions, pork and coarsely chopped mushrooms and plush with savory honey sauce. An acidic bite of raw scallions fringes the top, and two shallow dishes of dipping sauces — one salty-sweet peanut, the other a spiced, starchy hoisin — flank the plate for an added punch of flavor.
The buns come with a pair of tongs and a knife for slicing, but I couldn’t think of splitting. Instead, I went in a less demure direction and lifted a warm, steamed wheat bun in one hand, finishing my first cha shao bun in five hefty bites.
If there’s a bit more bulk in your wallet, you can also go for chef Chiuho Duval’s tasting menu, which changes daily. It features a parade of courses chosen on whim by the kitchen. But for a hearty meal on a budget, two cha shao buns certainly fit the bill.
Dining on a Dime is a weekly series featuring well-made, filling bites (something substantial enough to qualify as a small meal or better) for $12 or less. Know of a tasty dish we should feature? Drop us a line: food@sevendaysvt.com.
Tags: cheap eats , A Single Pebble , pork buns , restaurant , Burlington , Image , Image , Web Only
Saturday, July 23, 2016
I didn’t want to steam or roast these gems, fearing they would lose their color. Instead, I took inspiration from a dish I worked one night at Zuni Café in San Francisco. That evening, one of the chefs, Joe, created a gorgeous spread of slivered beets layered with circles of grapefruit and navel orange, the plate garnished with nothing more than a pinch of flaked salt and a thin float of Prosecco. It was striking. Those colors had come straight from the ground — no dyes or droplets, just a hit of red, orange and gold on a white café plate.
Tags: Vegetarian , beets , summer , Elmer Farm , Middlebury , recipes , Image , Web Only