Vermont specialities

[Stigand]

I'll be spending some time in Vermont this fall - later this October.

Is there anything distinctively local I should look out for, either in terms of dishes or ingredients? I've found the VT restaurant recommendations here very useful, but what I'm looking for now is particular don't-miss recipes or produce.

Thanks for your help.

[opinionatedchef]

stigand, we've been here visiting burlington these past 4 days. a number of restaurants do most of their sourcing locally- pork, beef, duck, in addition to produce and dairy (chevre and cheddar and butter) and fruit.

The Green Room in Burl is super; as is The Kitchen Table near Burlington. and , of course, Penny Cluse for bkfst in Burl.

Starry Night in Vergennes was a waste compared to these 3.

Specialty retail food products other than maple syrup? hmmmm I can only think of Vermont Creamery Sea Salt Butter.

[bshapiro]

Cheese Cheese Cheese Cheese Cheese!

Vermont Cheese Council has tons of info and a cheese map!

B

[Stigand]

Thanks for these recommendations - I'm especially excited about the cheese. The Cheese Council site seemed to have tons of interesting-looking small cheesemakers. Are there any you'd particularly recommend?

[Peter the eater]

I worked one summer in rural Vermont doing bicycle tours. I ate a lot of cheese, maple products and Ben & Jerry's. Mmmmm.

[Qwerty]

Don't miss Jasper Hill Farms Cheese....amazing. They have one called Constant Bliss (apt) and a great blue called Bayley Hazen.

[cinghiale]

I've done drive-bys of probably 2/3 of the cheesemakers on the VT Cheese Trail. If you want a tour of the facility and to buy cheese, I'd suggest Dancing Cow, Orb Weaver, and Blue Ledge. Willow Hill's put in a new tourist facility, but I got snapped at by Willow when I showed up unannounced and the Times was doing a photo shoot on her cave, so probably best to call in advance. It's a tad corporate on the VT cheese scale, but Cabot gave me a really nice tour, and their shop's nice. Grafton's shop is good, also.

Produce can be spotty this time of year. However, if you happen to be in the Warren vicinity next week, I'll be coming up from Philly and staying there. I can show you the Warren General Store, Schoolhouse Farm Market, and in Waitsfield, a good vegetable grower (I'm thinking garlic, squash and maybe... maybe chard will be good) and a really good butcher. There's American Flatbread in Waitsfield, also.

And, if you want a Mad River Rocket to take on the slopes this year, I can introduce you to the manufacturer.

[violetfox]

[bump!]

Fresh corn has been amazing, but it's almost gone now.

Jasper Hill has what I believe is a new cheese - Winnowmere. A wonderful soft, Camembert-related large round wrapped with birch bark!

I had it first at Hen of the Woods in Waterbury about a month ago, and it's in stores. A fabulous and truly unique cheese!

[Country]

Check out this article in the NYT. Lots of good stuff going on in Hardwick. (I used to live near there.)