The Farmhouse Tap & Grill is open for lunch on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Despite the fact that today was the first day, at 1:30 p.m., the Bank Street eatery was still boasting a significant number of tables.
    What were people eating? Burgers — including the new egg-topped pork burger — a special salad with fried goat-cheese balls and the delicious "ridiculously local" BLT, made with smoky and salty housemade bacon and juicy slices of tomato. That's what I had. Yum.
    What else is new at "old McDonald's?" Some dinner menu tweaks: mac 'n' cheese is a buck cheaper, the meatloaf plate now comes with veggies, and the pork sausage entrée had a growth spurt. 

In honor of the 4th of July — evidently a beer-drinker's holiday — Eric Asimov, the New York Times' esteemed wine and beverage writer, took a break from vino to taste 20 American pale ales. While his favorite offering came from Maryland, Asimov gave the number two spot to a Vermont brew — Long Trail Pale Ale. What did he like about it? "...A clove-like spiciness that gave it complexity, but would not have been out of place in a Belgian ale... its balance made it utterly refreshing."
    Number five on the list was Wolaver's Organic Pale Ale from Middlebury. His succinct analysis: "Pronounced malt flavors with well-proportioned hop bitterness." Read the whole story...

On Monday, June 28, the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) announced the winners of their annual "sofi" awards for "specialty outstanding food innovation." This year, the Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery picked up a gold "sofi" for its Bijou in the not-so-sexily named "Perishable Foodservice Product" category. You can see all of the winners here.
    In other VB&C news, the creamery got some love for its newest cheese, Cremont, on the national Tasting Table newsletter on June 30. The TT team eats Cremont with pretty much everything: "Cremont makes fans out of everything (and everyone) it meets. We love it melted over pasta (its nuttiness complements mushrooms with flourish), paired with pickles and mustard or just spread liberally across a slice of bread."
    Click here to visit the Tasting Table.