the road | the food | a new direction
Brian Gazda became the Executive Chef at the restaurant at Simon Pearce Glass in Quechee, Vermont in June 2013. The local newspaper Valley News spends time with Chef Gazda as he works with the restaurant’s staff to prepare for a day’s service. Continue reading
The remnants of Hurricane Irene passed through Vermont, along the Connecticut River valley, on August 28th, 2011. The storm dumped massive amounts of rain on the region, swelling creeks and streams to powerful torrents which washed away bridges and businesses that were unlucky enough to lie in their paths. One such business was the White Cottage Snack Bar, a Woodstock summer tradition since 1957. We’d seen pictures of the damage to the White Cottage and, five weeks after Irene, we had a first-hand look at the devastation. It was clear to us that the White Cottage’s days were over forever. What do we know? It was back in business for summer 2012! Continue reading
We’re pretty confident in saying that no one is going to travel to the picture-perfect village of Woodstock, Vermont to eat a sandwich in a 24-hour gas station convenience store. No matter what we say here. And that’s probably as it should be. Still, our first experience with an Amato’s Italian sandwich was better than we expected. Quite good, in fact. First, the backstory: Continue reading
Let’s deal with first things first. As soon as you are seated comfortably in the Rochester Cafe, whether you’re there for breakfast or lunch, ask for a slice of Vermont Maple Cream Pie. And ask them to bring it right away. The graham-crusted smooth cream flavored with local syrup (and, yes, extract, but added with a light hand) comes topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of maple sugar. It’s fantastic! Share with your tablemates, if you must. You won’t regret this one bit of self-indulgence. Continue reading
The Smith House in Dahlonega, Georgia is an inn with a history. The house was built atop a vein of gold that remained unmined because the 19th-century town fathers did not want the noise and disturbance to the town that mining would bring. Today, The Smith House is famous for the generous feasts they put out daily. You might want to give some thought to spending your Thanksgiving here, when The Smith House pulls out all the stops. Here’s what will be on this year’s Thanksgiving menu: Continue reading
The Vermont State Fair’s origins go way back to 1846, when it was known as the Rutland State Fair. Thirteen years later the fair moved to Rutland County Park, where it’s been held ever since. It didn’t become known as the Vermont State Fair until 1972, 126 years after that first fair! The owner of the fair property deeded it to the fair under the condition that an agricultural fair be held every year on the grounds. Otherwise, the property reverts to the heirs of the original owner. But the Vermont State Fair has been in trouble lately. Continue reading
What’s happening to the Vermont general store? It’s actually quite simple. They are becoming unnecessary, made obsolete by highways and easy access to the big boxes. It’s amazing that they’ve lasted as long as they have. And yet… there are large constituencies that mourn their continued disappearance. There are the old-time Vermonters who have grown up with general stores, the Vermont newcomers who came here, to some degree, precisely because this was a region that had clung to the old ways, and the tourists (fueling a large part of the local economy), who want to experience the Vermont of legend and lore. Continue reading
If you are predisposed to steer clear of hipster restaurants try to get past that bias in the instance of Worthy Burger. Yes, it can be insanely crowded, but the provenance-tagged, locally sourced ingredients are impeccable, the local brews are eminently quaffable, and the prices are downright low by big-city standards, which South Royalton, Vermont most assuredly is not. It may not seem like a town as small as South Royalton can have a wrong side of the tracks, but here it is. The location may be improbable but the 20- and 30-somethings have found Worthy Burger and made it theirs. Continue reading
Do you love side-of-the-road eateries from the early days of motor touring? They are really quite scarce now, most having been razed for chain restaurants, shopping malls, and housing developments. That’s why we were especially delighted to find Tozier’s, very much as we imagine it must have looked in 1946 when Rip and Gwen Tozier purchased Rood’s Ice Cream Stand and cabin court. It was the Toziers who initiated the tradition of seafood at this restaurant in a New England state without a coastline. Today’s Tozier’s (motto: Tastes of the Ocean) still serves the fresh Ipswich clams and scallops, clam chowder, and lobster rolls that the 1940s Tozier’s was famous for. Continue reading
It’s interesting how maple syrup is treated, for the most part, like a commodity. There isn’t a lot of talk in maple-producing regions about the differences in flavor between one producer’s, or region’s, product, and another, the way wines or cheeses are discussed. Oh, the New York industry, for instance, surely will claim that their syrup, as a whole, is superior to any other maple syrup produced in the world, but they never go beyond such boilerplate to explain the subtle differences that make their syrup so good. And, it’s very rare to see, say, one Vermont sugar producer detail exactly what makes their syrup better than others or, if not better, even distinctive. The message we, as consumers, get is that it’s all good, and all pretty much the same. Continue reading
Eaton’s is a tourist restaurant. Let’s state that right up front. Yes, almost anywhere in Vermont that specializes in things maple receives plenty of tourists but (and maybe we’re wrong here) we can’t imagine the local who would walk through Eaton’s doors. That doesn’t have to imply that there’s nothing good to eat under Eaton’s roof. In fact, there is, but you’ll have to choose carefully. Continue reading
Summer along the New England shore means seafood, but what about inland New England? What’s the great roadside food to be found at summer only stands in the Green Mountains of Vermont? How about seafood? Yes, improbable as it may seem, locals flock to Onion Flats in the Bethel countryside for belly clams, haddock, scallops, and lobster rolls. Continue reading
What is it about great pizza and family feuds? Here’s the latest complicated story, Zuppardi edition. Zuppardi’s Apizza was founded in 1947 in West Haven, CT by Anthony Zuppardi. Son Robert later took sole ownership of the restaurant. Eventually, Robert’s sisters, Lori and Cheryl, became co-owners, with Robert, of the business. In 2005, Robert’s son Tony began his own pizzeria, with dad Robert’s assistance, in Wilmington, VT and called it Tony Zuppardi’s Apizza. Continue reading
We’d been to Harpoon Brewery in Vermont before, and have certainly enjoyed their bottled beer many times over the years. On the way to our Vermont rental we thought we’d stop by the brewery for a couple of growlers for the house. The day was gorgeous, people were cavorting about as if it was the grassy commons on the first spring day at college, and Harpoon offers plenty of outdoor seating at picnic tables and Adirondack chairs set around a fire pit. Continue reading
We were a little surprised by the Green Mountain Smokehouse. We’d read about it elsewhere and were expecting something more than what we found. The smokehouse has a small retail room, but they’re really geared towards their wholesale business. Oddly, we found very little selection among the smoked sausages. Most of what they offered were fresh, and frozen at that. The aroma was truly intoxicating, however. The kid manning the retail area told us he couldn’t even smell it anymore! Continue reading
Boiled cider. Not cider syrup, or essence of apple, or apple nectar. Boiled cider. Why boiled cider? Because, with true New England logic, it starts with cider. And then it’s boiled. What remains after the volume is reduced about 85% is dark and opaque. It’s sold not in the kind of sleek and sexy bottle indicative of a rare and prized delicacy found in expensive urban food emporiums, but in a utilitarian jar that might hold generic white distilled vinegar, basic square black and white label, with red inverted triangle in the middle, glued front and center. Continue reading
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