Building on the recent theme of offering a soundtrack to Dining on a Dime, this week I present dinner from Butch + Babe’s in Burlington and the accompanying song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," Gil Scott-Heron’s 1971 masterpiece.

Takeout from Butch + Babe's on Friday night was its $9.95 TV dinner. The weekly special was served, appropriately, in a compartmentalized foil container. Its contents, too, were Swanson-like: meat, potato, vegetable.

The meatloaf in my TV dinner was placed on a serving of mashed potatoes. The mixed vegetables included cauliflower, corn and carrots. In a bonus offering, the Butch + Babe’s version of the throwback meal came with a slice of cherry pie.



I don’t recall dessert in the long-ago TV dinners I ate on occasion as a kid with my family. And I’m not going to google it to check. But I did google Scott-Heron’s song, and I recommend you do, too.

You can eat  your meatloaf and watch videos of would-be revolutionaries, some armed with the Confederate flag, trying to overthrow the U.S. government. Or you can listen to late musician-poet Scott-Heron, who 50 years ago envisioned a different kind of revolution.

Turn on the music, take a bite of that cherry pie, and imagine a sweeter world.

Dining on a Dime is a series featuring well-made, filling bites (something substantial enough to qualify as a small meal or better) for $12 or less. Know of a tasty dish we should feature? Drop us a line: food@sevendaysvt.com.