Posted by Jamie Forrest, April 8, 2008 at 10:45 AM
With the housing market tanking, financial companies imploding, and the dollar weaker than a gin and tonic on the rocks, some are finding it hard to cough up the small fortune required these days to buy even the most basic artisanal cheese plate. Add to that the stress of Uncle Sam breathing down your neck this time of year, and you'll end up deciding to avoid cheese altogether.
After all, cheese can be quite expensive, and is one of those foods whose quality generally increases with the price. Small dairies cannot take advantage of the economies of scale afforded by a large herd, but, all else being equal, a small dairy will usually make a better cheese, since the farmers and cheesemakers are better able to control quality across the entire operation. So what's a turophile to do during these tough times? Get your hands on Vermont's own Grafton Village Cheddar.
Continue reading »
Posted by Jamie Forrest, September 18, 2007 at 11:15 AM
Huddled in the Champlain Valley, between the Adirondack Mountains to the east and Vermont's Green Mountains to the west, Dancing Cow Farm is producing outstanding raw-milk and organic cheeses after only two years in business. Founded in 2005 by former computer software engineer Steve Getz and his wife Karen, who moved to their 243-acre Vermont property from Eastern Pennsylvania, the farm is so called because of a little dance that their 18 Guernsey and Jersey cows do when they are enjoying a fresh, ungrazed pasture. In fact, all the cheeses they make have dance-related names, like Menuet and Sarabande.
Continue reading »
Posted by From Roadfood.com, January 15, 2007 at 7:00 AM
We asked our friends Jane and Michael Stern over at Roadfood.com to give us their top five chili picks. Here are their choices, with tasting notes.
DOT'S | 3 West Main Street, Wilmington VT 05363 [map]
Year after year Dot's takes the People's Choice First Prize in the New England chili cook-off; and while Southwest chiliheads wouldn't even recognize it as their beloved bowl of red, this true Yankee chili is terrific. It is listed on the menu as "Jailhouse Chili," but it's most respectable. Beefy, thick with beans, spicy but not ferocious, it comes as a cup or bowl under a mantle of melted cheese. Originally reviewed by Michael Stern on Roadfood.com
REAL CHILI | 419 East Wells Street, Milwaukee WI 53202 [map]. 414-271-4042
Real Chili serves bowls of chili mild, medium, or hot, with spaghetti or beans, or spaghetti and beans. The full and complete arrangement is known as the Marquette Special. (The original Real Chili parlor has long been a favorite of Marquette University students.) The degree of heat is determined by the amount of meat; i.e. more meat equals more heat. The meat is ground fine, brilliantly spiced, and deliciously oily. It goes atop layers of noodles and beans; and on top of the meat is piled a large fistful of shredded cheese (melting from the heat). You can also get sour cream and raw onions as a garnish. Every bowl comes with a side dish of oyster crackers to crumble on top or to eat as a sort of palate-cleanser between bites of chili.
This true downtown chili parlor (of which the original branch is at 1625 West Wells Street, 414-342-6955) is the sort of beanery once fairly common in big cities throughout the region. With the exception of Cincinnati, where chili has remained a bona fide mania, most of the Midwest has forgotten its chili passions; and old-time chili parlors are a rarity. That is one reason we are so enamored of Real Chili.
Granted, heartland chili gets little respect from gastronomes who prefer the southwestern kinds, but even for the Texas-style chili purist, Real Chili is an inspiring and enjoyable adventure in declasse dining. Sit at a counter or at one of two communal tables with backless stools and accompany your chili with beer or cherry Coke. A super-fast, friendly staff dole out second helpings at half price of the first, and if you need a bumper sticker for your car, there is always a stack of them at the cash register. A while ago, we got one that said, "REAL CHILI: IT'S NOT JUST FOR BREAKFAST ANYMORE." Recently, the bumper stickers have proclaimed Real Chili "A MILWAUKEE LEGEND." Originally reviewed by Michael Stern on Roadfood.com
Continue reading »
