Pistou Review

      On a brutally cold night, we decided to walk from Church Street down Main street to try a newcomer on the Burlington dining scene, Pistou. Opened by a young couple, Pistou serves French/American creative food. The space is dimly lit, and inviting, with a semi-opened Kitchen, ( you can see the chefs but not really the preparations). Perusing online, I noticed they have a very small menu that changes almost daily. I like that idea, as it means you are always getting the chef's freshest ingredients. Little did we know that, that very small menu shrinks even smaller on Sunday evenings, (we went before the Mama Mia show), down to 3 appetizer and 3 mains for a set price on $28.00 for one of each.This makes the Bluebird's 3 course Sunday evening meal for $30 a bit of a bargain, though you have NO choice in your courses, nor on this particular Sunday were they listing on their website what the courses were.

      Anyways, back to Pistou. We were seated immediately, DUH, as we were the only people there. In fact, the entire time we were there, 5:30 to 7:30, only one other couple came in. I think Sunday evening service may not last long. I will have to say, service was really lacking on this particular evening. Not in efficiency, our server was VERY efficient, but not a genuine note of friendliness was to be had. This is the type of server, who when he asks you how your food is, has already turned and headed back to the bar before you can answer. And considering how friendly I had heard the young owners were with previous reviewers, neither of them came over to the table to say Hi or ask what we thought of the food, again we were the only two in the place for over an hour.

      By now I am sure you are all dying to know how the food was. And here we hit almost all the marks. Food, preparation and presentation are all excellent. An amuse bouche of parsnip puree soup served in a shot glass was excellent, (Wife says best part of the meal and she wished it was offered as a bowl). Why don't more places start you off with an Amuse, this puts the diner in a great frame of mind, to get something from the kitchen as a prelude to the meal.  We started with a beet salad for the wife and a scallop and shrimp appetizer for me. Both had great flavors, the seafood was done perfectly and the burrata cheese that came with the salad was smooth and creamy. For our entrees, we both went with the seafood stew.  Again presentation and flavors were great. It came with a grilled piece of bread covered in a soft potato puree. The big problem with this dish was the amount of potato. Between the multi colored offerings in the stew (red, purple and regular) and the puree on the bread, this dish was 65% potato. I would of really liked more seafood and less starch.

      For dessert, the pain perdu, with chocolate ice cream and homemade peanut brittle. This was the one big clunker of the meal, the bread was DRY and flavorless, the ice cream cold and flavorless, the peanut brittle was GREAT. All in all, not a bad meal but once again closing in on $100 for two, is there no reasonably priced restaurants in Burlington serving great fresh food???

On a scale of 1 to 5;

Food,                Quality means much more to us than quantity.
Beer and Wine,  Based on selection and pricing

Service,             Speaks for itself
Ambiance,          Does the look fit the food and pricing

 Price,                And finally does the pricing equal the results we had.

Food,                     3.50  Very nice food , though a bit too heavy on the starches and not heavy enough on the proteins. Dessert was a total miss.
Beer and Wine,    3.0  Nice beer and wine selections, list is small and expensive.
Service,                 3.0  Is there some kind of class where servers are taught efficient but aloof. Come on people, be a bit friendly, it will help your tip tremendously.

Ambiance,             3.5  Nice space but the location seems to be a death knell for local places.
Price,                     3.0  VERY pricey, but the excellence in taste and presentation almost make up for it. Definitely a special occasion place.

Overall                  3.20 I really, really wanted to like this place. It's everything I can hope for in a Burlington area restaurant, locally produced food, innovative preparations, comfortable and stylish interior. BUT something just didn't set me on fire. Maybe it was the indifferent service, the extremely high pricing, or the lack of selection, but I just wasn't blown away. Maybe we will give them another chance at a later date and report back.

Three Penny Taproom Review

      This will be the world's quickest review, as really the Three Penny is a bar. Yes, they do serve a LIMITED amount of food, (on our visit it consisted solely of  two kinds of oysters, a sandwich of onions and cheese and a cheese plate). So you do not stop here for a meal but rather for the fact that they serve the finest selection of beers in the Montpelier area.

      A big sign proclaims "We proudly DO NOT server Anheuser Busch products" and that basically says it all. If your idea of a great beer is to order a Michelob ULTRA, then please do not stop here. But if you want a local, (or not so local), beer with great taste and flavor, then this is your place. IF you want to try something you have never heard of , then this is your place. Mike and I went with Foster by Hill Farmstead, who's beers are rapidly becoming my favorites in the whole wide world. Foster is a black wheat IPA with incredible flavors, Kris went with Edward also by Hill Farmstead, which is their American pale Ale and wifey went with a cider/mead combo which was interesting.

      Service started out not too friendly, but by the time we left the young bartender was joking and seemed a bit more interested in us rather that chatting with her friend. Stools are not the most comfortable, no backs so no place to hang your coat and being a long narrow space it can get quite cold when someone opens the door. But for a taste of beer you can't find elsewhere, these inconveniences wont matter.

      I give Three penny taproom an A rating and declare it a great neighborhood bar.

Ray's Seafood Review

      UPDATE: Since the first time we visited we have gone back a second and third time. THIS time we called in our order ahead and when we got there it was only a very short wait. Food was just as good , maybe even better and the portions still HUGE!! When we want fresh seafood, this is now our go to place. GREAT PLACE and highly recommended.

      I know what your thinking, why is he reviewing a seafood market? Well, as it turns out, Ray's is not only a market but a restaurant. Who knew? OK, everybody did but me I guess. Anyways, on this particular Saturday night, as we drove home, we realized we had made no plans for supper. And, since I drive past the sign for Ray's twice every single day, and had never bothered to turn down the street and check them out, off we went. Sometimes unscheduled and unplanned adventures turn out the best. And in this case it certainly did.

      Thinking we would make a quick stop, pick up whatever was really fresh and head for home to cook, we were stopped in our tracks when we learned we could eat in or get a to go order. So after perusing the menu, we stepped up to the counter, which is not as easy as it sounds, as the counter is way off to the left, and ordered a fried oyster dinner and the baked haddock special. Now the waiting began, allowing us PLENTY of time to wander around the market, look at all the cool stuff in the freezer (Calamari rings or CONCH anyone?).  Then we waited, and waited and waited. To be fair, there was a huge table of people that had ordered just before us, but MAN, it seems this really messed up the kitchen, as orders seemed to be in complete disarray and people were running around not seemingly knowing what was going on.

      This did not bode well and for $35.00, we were worried we wouldn't get what we ordered. Finally our orders were ready, and as soon as they were bagged up, we sped off for home ,as by now we were STARVING. We arrived home and lo and behold, the first thing we noticed is the orders were EXACTLY correct, all the sides were right and the meal perfect. Second thing we noticed, is the portions were HUGE!!! Hooray, the fish was unbelievably fresh and speaking from someone who can eat a TON of oysters I was stuffed, french fries were great, nothing was greasy, cocktail sauce had the right amount of horseradish. Only disappointment was the standard grocery store type roll but really who cares. Highly recommend, though I do recommend calling ahead or if you are eating there bring a book.

On a scale of 1 to 5;
Food,                Quality means much more to us than quantity.
Beer and Wine,  Based on selection and pricing

Service,             Speaks for itself
Ambiance,          Does the look fit the food and pricing

 Price,                And finally does the pricing equal the results we had.

Food,                     4.5  Huge portions, incredibly fresh, fried foods are not greasy, a winner
Beer and Wine,    NO  No alcohol is served so no rating.
Service,                 3.0  Everyone was friendly but the kitchen seems to be chaotic because of the large group eating there. Wait time was excessive.
Ambiance,             3.0  I have been called out before for rating a take out place for ambiance. BUT, this is a restaurant and its not really attractive. Again, the main focus is on the market so think bright fluorescent lights and it can be very loud . Think cree-mee stand and you have the idea, not a romantic date night for sure.

Price,                     4.0  At first we thought this was rather pricey, never having been here before. BUT after seeing the size of the order and tasting the quality of the fish, we think this may be one of the best values for dollars in Northern Vermont.

Overall             3.625  Not much atmosphere, its a market after all. Service (or at least the kitchen) can be chaotic, but the value for quality is off the charts. We will DEFINITELY be back. I dare you to find fresher or better prepared fish outside of going to the coast. Save yourself a three hour trip, eat here instead.

Belted Cow Bistro Review

      We have eaten here a couple of times and always enjoyed the food. But the pricing made this a special occasion place only. So when I read that they were introducing a comfort food menu at a value price, I was very excited. I called on Friday to see if the new menu was in place and was told not yet but they were introducing a couple of items every week to see how the response would be. For this particular weekend, the two new items would be a hot chicken sandwich and meatball stroganoff, YUMMY. So we made plans to visit on that Saturday with sis and bro-in-law.

      NOW, before we go any further, I must admit when I was told about the new value menu, I did not ask what constituted value pricing, so shame on me. We arrived just after 5 PM and were the first ones seated. This may be the most beautiful restaurant in Northern Vermont. Gorgeous interior colors, beautiful woodwork, a great communal table (that unfortunately will disappear from what I hear), The bad, a tiny bar, and a really poor location, (from our gorgeous table, we looked out the window at a gas station and the 5 corners traffic).

      As the chef (and co-owner) was walking through, I asked about his recent win at the Jack Daniels championships. He was rather disappointed, as the win was for the grilling category not the barbeque, but for me still a great honor to bring back to little ole Vermont. I had noticed on facebook he was experimenting with things back in the kitchen and asked if he had any chicken skin skewers left and he happily sent out a plate full. YUMMY crispy, fatty goodness. The guys loved them, the ladies not so much.

      We ordered drinks, beer for the guys, martini for the wife , Kris went with a ginger ale. The wine and beer list is well thought out but small. I tried a "porkslap" beer and it was very good. No draft beers here just cans and the dreaded TEN dollar martinis. C'mon people, really 10 dollars for a martini in Vermont ? WHY ?? I make martinis for the ladies most every weekend and I know there is never more than $3. in ingredients in each one. MAYBE $4.00 at the absolute most and I only use high quality liquors. Nothing burns me more than seeing $9 and $10 drinks on a menu here in Vermont, I know, I know, overhead, staff, rent , etc., etc. but still its a ripoff. OK enough ranting back to our meal.

      We each ordered, 3 specials and one chicken dinner for Kris. And the first surprise, the new "value" menu was priced at $14.pp per plate. The guys ordered the hot chicken sandwich and Wife order the meatball stroganoff. Kris's chicken dinner, on the other hand, was $23.00, making our meals a bargain. I had high hopes it would be the biggest, best chicken sandwich ever and I could rave about the value. UMMM, not so much.  Don't get me wrong the food was incredible, the gravy perfect, but the portion was SMALL. Wife liked hers but said the meatballs were a bit bland. Kris was happy with her meal but again not the pricing, it was a good piece of chicken but not $23 good. And that in effect says it all, good food but the value is still missing.

On a scale of 1 to 5;

Food,                Quality means much more to us than quantity.
Beer and Wine,  Based on selection and pricing

Service,             Speaks for itself
Ambiance,          Does the look fit the food and pricing

 Price,                And finally does the pricing equal the results we had.

Food,                     4.0  Very good flavors, though the meatballs were a bit bland
Beer and Wine,    3.0  Nice wine selections, list is small but well thought out, by the glass selection is poor, beer seems to be an afterthought and yet it goes so well with barbeque??.
Service,                 3.0  Efficient but certainly not friendly, owners are really nice though.

Ambiance,             4.0  Beautiful interior , just don't look out the windows.
Price,                     3.0  VERY pricey, and while the new "value" items cut the price down, they do so at the expense of serving size. Still most definitely a special occasion place

Overall                  3.40  I have to admire the owners trying to reinvent themselves in this trying economy. BUT dropping your prices and also dropping the serving size so dramatically is not going to work. At the sizes we were served they need to be more in the $10.price range. Will we go back? Maybe, but I would have to hear from others that they are offering the "value" in value pricing.

Chicken Fried Steak Recipe

      Chicken Fried steak could be called the state dish of Texas. And there are as many different recipes as there are cooks in Texas. For my version, I went with the "Pioneer Woman's" online version. Heck, if it's good enough for a bunch of ranchers, it's good enough for me. For those of you not familiar with this comfort food dish, it is basically pan fried cube steak covered in batter, and served with 'milk gravy". The normal accompaniments would be mashed potatoes and fresh rolls. We went with french fries (potato and sweet potato) cuz , well , I was lazy and plus had fries in the freezer.

      Into a bowl put one cup of milk and one egg, (double it if you are cooking alot of steak, we had 1.5 lbs.), and whisk well. On a plate combine two cups of flour with seasonings of your choice, we went with some cayenne and some spice mixture we had. Don't be shy, this is alot of flour and gets fried so you need to put plenty of spices, traditionally you would use cayenne and black pepper. Now comes the messy part, (I made Kris and Mike do this portion *S*). First dip the steak in the milk mixture, then the coat well with flour but shake off the excess, then back into the milk and back into the flour and set on a clean plate.

      Now on to the frying, fill a cast iron pan with enough oil to go 1/2 way up the steak. I KNOW this isn't an exact measurement but I don't know how big your pan is. Remember you are pan frying not deep frying so you don't want your steak submerged. Get the oil hot, if you have to be specific, I would say 375 but I let it heat up until a drop of flour sizzles big time. Carefully drop in the steak, dropping them away from you as it WILL splatter. Let fry until golden brown (you can peak if you want) and then carefully flip them over, frying until the other side is nice and brown. Put them on a plate covered in paper towels and place them in an oven heated to 225 to keep crispy and warm.

      Once all the frying is done, its time for the most important part of the operation, the milk gravy. Drain off all the oil, reserving 1/4 cup. Let the pan cool down a bit (believe me this is important) and add the oil back in along with 1/4 cup flour, (this forms a roux). Cook together on medium heat and stir until the roux turns golden brown, keep an eye out as this can burn easily. Once you get to the correct color, start adding in milk, just a bit at a time, and YES it will be a total solid lump. Keep whisking until you have added all two cups of milk. Grind in a copious amount of black pepper and whisk until heated thoroughly. Take off heat, pour over fries and steak and ENJOY.

      To this incredible feast, I added homemade dinner rolls. As before, I made the dough in my bread machine but it could easily be done in a stand mixer or even by hand if you so desire. Here is the recipe;

1 cup water
2 tablespoons butter softened
1 egg
3 1/4 cups bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons yeast

     Place all ingredients in bread machine and set to dough cycle. Once the dough is ready remove from machine and let rest for 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 15 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place in a well greased baking pan and let rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes. Bake at 375 for 12 to 15 minutes and brush with melted butter YUMMY.

     And there you go a rather easy but extremely tasty meal.

Sukhothai review

      It was with great sadness that we learned our beloved Tiny Thai had sold their Essex location. As you know, (see previous review), that was probably our favorite restaurant in all of Vermont. So it was with dread and anticipation, we made our way to the new Sukhothai on Friday night. As it turns out, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

      The first thing we noticed is the popularity had not change one tiny bit. A large line snaked to the door, which was always typical of Tiny Thai on a weekend night. The next thing we noticed, is both servers were part of the original Tiny Thai family. The third thing we noticed, is the menu really has not changed much, a couple of new appetizers and some new stir fries and curries but all in all we are looking at all our old favorites, YEA.

      We gave our name to the server and were told 15-20 minutes wait. This is pretty much normal for a weekend night, but be aware if you have a party greater than four, you are going to WAIT. This is a small place and not alot of large tables open up. As we sat waiting, I observed the first flaw, many, many tables had some food, while others in the party were waiting. I noticed one couple, (I say I am being observant, my wife says nosy), who the husband had food for a good 20 minutes before his wife. Several other times during the evening we heard the servers offering discounts or free food for prolonged waits. Obviously, this is a situation they will need to get under control.

      One of the things I always loved about Tiny Thai, was every night you could be assured of some specials and I loved ordering them because it gave me a chance to try new preparations but for now Sukhothai sticks strictly to the menu. We started with one of our favorite appetizers, dim sum and decided to try a new one, Goong Hom Pa, shrimp wrapped in a wheat dough and fried, Unfortunately, what came out was dim sum and fish cakes? I was going to return it but this was one of the other appetizers we wanted to try. Big mistake, should of sent them back ,as they were very rubbery and not much flavor.

      For our entrees wife went with her go to meal, massaman with chicken and I tried a new stir fry, Pan Nam Prik, roasted chili jam, cashews, basil with chicken and shrimp . The menu assured me it was one star the same as the massamn which I always thought of as mild. WRONG. I won't say it was blistering hot but it was MUCH hotter than expected and as such I didn't enjoy the sauce as much as I would of. The new owners need to make sure the heat scale on the menu is accurate as many of us base our meals on this index.

      Both entrees were very good and it appears the serving size is equivalent to what Tiny Thai offered and again the price for both of us together was under $40, which is a bargain anywhere.

On a scale of 1 to 5;

Food,                Quality means much more to us than quantity.
Beer and Wine,  Based on selection and pricing

Service,             Speaks for itself
Ambiance,          Does the look fit the food and pricing

 Price,                And finally does the pricing equal the results we had.

Food,                     3.75  Good as always though one appetizers fell way short and my entree was hotter than expected. Wife was relieved to see her favorite hadn't changed.
Beer and Wine,    No  Still BYOB so no rating.
Service,                 3.0  I knocked it down by .5 for the poor service by the kitchen and for getting our order mixed up.

Ambiance,             3.5  Same as Tiny Thai, like visiting a favorite Thai aunts house.
Price,                     4.0  Prices have gone up a bit but still an incredible bargain for this area.

Overall                  3.56  Still a great place but needs a little work with the kitchen to come up to the high standards of Tiny Thai. We will be back to give them another chance.

A Christmas Feast.

      We have never done a formal dinner from scratch before. So for Christmas 2011, we invited Mike and Kris and decided to go all out. Costco's sells a gorgeous rack of pork every year at the holidays, so I picked one of them up, to pair with it my famous (in my mind anyways), Pommes Anna. And, to really go out on a limb, homemade crescent rolls, (or as my recipe book calls them Butterhorn rolls, must be a copyright thing).

     This sounds like alot of work, but truthfully it all comes together really easily. Start with the Crown Roast of Pork. Combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons garlic, 4 tablespoons chopped sage, and 2 tablespoons chopped thyme, (don't worry too much about the herbs, anything will work, in addition to the thyme and sage, we added 2 tablespoons rosemary and a big helping of garam masala), what ever you have will work, don't be afraid to make your own combo. When your done, you should have a nice paste, (if you need more olive oil go ahead and add until a thick paste forms). Rub the entire roast with the herb mixture and season generously with salt and pepper. Allow the roast to sit for 1-2 hours with the mixture and then roast at 450 for 15 minutes, turn down the oven to 350, and continue roasting until an instant read thermometer reads between 150-160. Remove roast and tent with aluminum foil for at least 20 minutes to allow juices to set. Carve and serve, I guarantee this will be one of the most tender, juicy pieces of pork you will ever eat.

      Pommes Anna is sort of a potato pancake and goes perfectly with any roast meat. I have made this version several times and everyone just loves it. To make this correctly you will need two very important pieces of equipment. A mandoline and a cast iron frying pan. I supposed this could be done without either, but it will be a lesson in frustration. First the mandoline, this is basically a potato slicer but you really need this unless you can slice potatoes really thin and evenly by hand, (I can't). Slice two pounds of potatoes, (depending on the size of your party and cast iron pan you may need more or less). Make sure you are using a well seasoned cast iron pan, (I used a brand new one, not so smart) and brush it liberally with melted butter. Now comes the fun part, first a layer of potatoes, now brush that layer with melted butter, sprinkle on a layer of parmigiana cheese  and salt and pepper the layer and continue in this way until you have a potato cake about 1 to 2 inches high (depends if you like a crisp cake or a more soft cake on the thickness, I like crisp so I stop at about 1 1/4 inches). Put a layer of aluminum foil over the potatoes and add a heavy weight (brick works good) to the top and push down to compact the cake. Place pan on stove top, over medium heat, until bottom layer turns golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Put the pan in a 400 degree oven, pressing the potatoes down occasionally and shaking the pan to keep them from sticking. Cooked until caramelized and potatoes are soft when pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes. Carefully drain off the excess butter, gently loosen bottom layer and flip onto plate for a beautiful presentation. Cut into slices and serve.

      For the Crescent (Butterhorn) rolls, I used a bread machine on dough cycle. But you could just as easily use a mixer or even by hand, if you so desire. Start with;

3/4 cup milk
1 egg
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

      Place all the ingredients into your bread machine and set to dough cycle. DON'T walk away, keep checking the dough to see if it is too dry or wet and add extra flour or milk as needed. You should end up with a solid ball of shiny dough, not sticking to the walls or falling apart. Once you achieve that dough ball, you can walk away and let the machine do its thing.

      When the dough cycle is done, remove dough and place on a lightly floured counter. Roll dough into a nice even log and divide in three.  Form each dough log into balls, and roll the balls out into a 9 inch circle. With a pizza cutter divide your circles into 8 pieces. Starting at the wide end , roll each slice to its point. Place on ungreased cookie sheets with the point down and let rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes until doubled. Preheat oven to 375, brush top of rolls with melted butter and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. DELICIOUS! WAY better than anything you will ever buy in a tube and they take very little effort.

      So there you have it, a perfect holiday (or any time) meal. Add some nice vegetables and something for dessert, (we had crepes that I bought at Costco's, heated up and topped with nutella and whipped cream, YUM), and you are good to go. And for wine a lighter red is perfect, nice Pinot Noir maybe, or a Malbec would be perfect, maybe even a Zinfandel.