The Downtown Grocery, VT (TDG to those in the loop).

A truly satisfying and exciting dining experience can be hard to find, especially in these rural parts, but recently I found one that hits the mark in all the right places, The Downtown Grocery in Ludlow VT. Let me say that the owners are friends, comprising of husband and wife team Rogan and Abby Lechthaler and assisted by Alyssa Prouty. Rogan is the Chef Owner and Alyssa his Sous, both previously of the fine dining restaurant Verdé, at Stratton Mountain. Abby also worked there, delivering her own dynamic enthusiasm and Southern charm to the front of house, as she does at TDG.

Let me also say I have made my career in restaurants and they are my passion, but when you work in them you look for all manner of tiny things that can naturally turn you off. Hard sell. Suffice it to say, I take my work home with me and am not swung by personal ties when assessing any dining experience I have. TDG promises to deliver pretty much everything that I want in a dining experience. Wonderful warm and bustling atmosphere with perfectly dimmed lighting, plenty of gorgeous decorative detail but with restraint and consideration for the overall look, casual individual but informed and friendly service, killer cocktails....oh and the food? The food is divine. Clever, witty, skilled and most of all delicious. The emphasis is on local ingredients and the best of seasonal fare and the kitchen cooks up inventive pairings of flavors making for a truly exciting taste fest.

The menu itself is small but left me completely crippled by indecision about what to order. It all looked so good. The specials boards are stuffed with alternatives that just made the process even harder, only eased by the fact that those dishes sell out in lightening speed and so by the time we forced ourselves to choose some of our decisions were made for us by the 86-ed specials.

 

To start, a board of house made sausage, pickles, mustard and local cheddar, teamed with an arugala, pancetta and shaved parmesan salad. Then onto a slow cooked pork belly that was the definition of "melt in the mouth".

 

 

A special that took our fancy was this house made gnocchi with rabbit that was so light and bright in flavor it took us pleasantly by surprise.

Desserts are a small and perfectly formed list. The late night breakfast (freshly made french toast, buttermilk bacon ice cream, maple syrup) is one that I will have to go back for, but the homemade sorbets (cherry was my fave) were a perfect way to cleanse the palate at the end of the meal. 

The interior boasts many details that emphasize the casual and local nature of the restaurant's ethos. Handmade birch light fittings, barn boards used to make blackboard frames, quirky coat hooks made from upcycled forks and the chuckle inducing restaurant signs painted by Alyssa's sister Lucy (they are in fact local Vermont birds).

The Downtown Grocery is relatively new to the scene and is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication to the craft by this trio, and it shows. So why not reward them at the end of your meal by more than just the tip?

By them a round of tall boys (Narragansett is the current beer du jour) and they'll thank you for it. This business is a thirsty job!

Not so wily Coyote

Imagine my surprise when I stepped out this afternoon and saw a coyote sauntering around our yard! Even more amazing was that it wandered up into our field and snuggled up in the horses' hay. Can you spot him?

Once the horses came over to have a chat, he decided to move on.

A while back I trapped a fisher cat (notoriously hard to do as these critters are vicious and crafty), which had been eating our chickens so this is just another example of my keenly honed nature skills. Maybe I should become a professional trapper or something, my talents are being wasted...

Off to the lake

Will be hanging out by the water for the next few days, listening to the loons, catching up on a bit of reading....

True Prep, Liz Birnbach with Chip Kidd

Sula, Toni Morrison

and chilling out. See you soon! xx

Woodcock Farm Cheese

The kind folks (Mark and Gari Fischer) at the Woodcock Farm gave me a little tour today of their cheese making facilities. Their farm is in Weston Vermont, a stones throw from the house we grew up in. Famous in our parts particularly for their Summer Snow, Weston Wheel and Feta sheep cheeses, I have long been a fan of theiraward winning artisanal cheese. Gari was making the Summer Snow today, which they describe as "soft ripened, bloomy rind, cool and creamy like a camembert, with hints of mushroom and lingering flavor of lemony butter, available during peak summer months." Sounds amazing, right? It is...

The Fischers use milk from their own sheep (a hurd of around 150) to create their cheese. After the curd from this milk is pressed, it is salted and left until the crystals basically disappear.

The cheese then has to be turned over a period of days, as it dries out.


In the "cave", their cheeses age getting washed with brine as they mature. Woodcock Farm has a number of different cheeses on the go and I can't wait to try their Manchego style cheese especially. This takes allot of time and patience but the wait is worth it. The smell in this room is amazing, as long as you like musty cheesey aromas.

Summer Snow, all wrapped up and waiting to be shipped out.

The final product, label designed by my friend Anna Dibble.

Huge thanks to my dear friend Virginia (working hard above while I munched on cheese), and Gari for letting me take a peak at their wonderful cheese works. Oh, and above all for the cheese I got to take home and enjoy. If you are not lucky enough to live in southern Vermont where their cheese is sold at farmer's markets and good speciality food stores, you can get your hands on Woodcock Farm Cheese and others by looking here.

There is a nice article featuring Woodcock Farm and more cheese makers from the Boston Globe, 2008 which will give you an idea of the bounty of talent we have around here for cheese.

Today's menu

Finally home now after our community dinner (biggest ever turn out of 55 people), and thought you might like a peak at what we made. Pulled pork, baked beans and coleslaw were the order of the day.


This was my plate after slaving away all day today (and yesterday), washed down with a High Life and aided by a warm biscuit. Delicious!

I'll be back later...

...Sorry for the silence, I haven't deserted you. I am currently whipping up a 3 course meal for 50+ seniors who attend our town's community "dinners" (it is actually lunch.....it's an old Vermont thing). I am sure I have told you all about this before. Anyway, today's lunch is Chilled Gazpacho Soup, Pulled Pork with Coleslaw and Baked Beans, and Chocolate Fudge Brownies and Ice Cream. Pictures to follow if I have a sec. The only thing we have not made from scratch is the ice cream, and I have to admit the food has turned out to be delicious!
Doors open at 10.30am for those who just have to get their "usual" seat...so I need to run. More later...

A crafty day in Vermont

The Southern Vermont Art and Craft Festival at Hildene's Meadows, Manchester Vermont is happening this weekend and I went to soak it all up yesterday. Now in its 32nd year, this festival brings together some of the very best artisans in the North East region for a three day craft blow-out, featuring 175 exhibitors nestled in the picturesque foothills of the green mountains!

It was a perfect Vermont summers day...


Here's a peak at some of the highlights from my day out.

The Bowl Works, hand turned wooden bowls by Carol Joos (see her in action below).


Donna Mcgee fine tiles and pottery.


Vermont Pepper Works, hand made and all natural PG-13 to XXX Rated hot sauce!


Vermont Rolling Pins, hand turned using maple, cherry and walnut woods.


Mach's Wood Fired Gourmet Pizza.


Jonathan's Spoons, handmade cherry wood kitchen utensils.


Clinton Pottery functional, colorful hand made pottery.


Vermont Peanut Butter, 100% organic nuts used to create 100% natural peanut butter in tasty flavors like Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate and Cinnamon Raisin.


I was too busy tasting to get a picture of the Vermont Spirits Vermont White Vodka, made from Milk sugar and spring water, but it is worth checking out.

Surely only in Vermont could there be a vodka made from milk or maple sap (Vermont Gold). Read more on these vodkas here.

Chocolate for Charity

I was recently asked to contribute my "baking skills" for a fundraiser for a local Southern Vermont non-profit organisation, Neighbourhood Connections, and of course I couldn't say no. The Chocolate Fest was held last night at the Landgrove Inn, Landgrove VT and included local chefs and bakers who turned out to supply all things chocolatey to a mob of chocoholics. I was thinking a dozen cupcakes would do it until I realised I had been given billing for the event and decided I had to up the ante.

The result...mini Red Velvet cupcakes neatly packaged in egg boxes.

Aren't they the cutest?? I can't take credit for the idea, Pops suggested it. We have these boxes for our own free range organic eggs, which were used to make the cupcakes. The only down side was that they were impossible to get out once I had neatly placed them in their little holes. Well, at least they looked and tasted good!

I also baked peanut butter and chocolate fudge cupcakes with hazelnut chocolate frosting, and regular sized Red Velvets. 5 dozen to be precise. The event was a roaring success (I would guess about 300 people attended the chocolate blowout in the end). Without exaggeration, all of my cupcakes were gone in half an hour. WOW, people go crazy for chocolate (and I don't even particularly like the stuff)!

Anyway, the point of telling you all of this is to give a little air time to the fantastic work that Neighbourhood Connections does in our community. The work that these fine people do is vital to the people in our communities who require help, advice and support in all areas of health care. Their missions is to "provide preventive health care, education, and social services with particular emphasis on the those most vulnerable. We are dedicated to excellence in our work to improve the health and quality of life for all."

The organisation's focus is to:

• Help families make choices and reduce health care costs
  through early intervention
• Perform physicals in the schools
• Provide school based education for students, families and staff
• Run wellness programs for seniors
• Bring services closer to home for the ageing population
• Hold Health education workshops
• Run support groups
• Provide outreach to individuals, families and groups
• Assist with access to all State and Federal Social Service Programs
• Provide emergency services

Please take moment to read through the services offered, and feel free to get involved if you are in or near this area (serving Londonderry, S. Londonderry, Weston, Chester, Andover, Windham, Winhall, Jamaica, Landgrove and Peru). They need volunteers, funding and supplies to continue their much needed work and as we all know, every little helps!

Judging by the turn out last night, this is a community that is passionate about supporting those in need and it was awesome to see.