Archive for the 'Eating Well in VT' Category

Vermont’s own health and wellness program is making news nation-wide. This month’s issue of Prevention magazine has an article featuring the well-known Vtrim program, and Vtrim founder, Dr. Jean Harvey-Berino of the University of Vermont has recently won a James Beard Award for her very successful book The Eating Well Diet book- recently printed in paper-back. The program is being offered online now, and if you want to find out why thousands of strong women and men in Vermont have chosen the Vtrim lifestyle, you can save $50.00 on registration fees by going to www.uvm.edu/vtrim. Oprah Winfrey, I hope you are listening!

There are many who will tell you that the only place to go for coffee and scones every morning in Bristol, Vermont, is the Almost Home Market. They will also tell you that the only place to get that great last-minute gift for the home and garden is Rocky Dale Nursery. You don’t have to travel far to do both! Ed Burke and his trusty elves have set up the most wonderful Christmas Shanty right outside the Market on North Street in Bristol. Linda Hanson and her crew of wondrously talented chefs and bakers cater all year long to an ever-growing loyal following who come from far and wide to purchase incredible edibles of every sort (smoked trout and horseradish pate, pasta arabiatta, Italian wedding cake…) as well as gifts for the kitchen, pantry, and bath. There is not a more inviting destination especially during this season. Inside, amaryllis are ready to bloom for your holiday table and outside on the porch are gorgeous wreaths and swatches and swags of greens for the door and mantle.  The Christmas Shanty is filled to overflowing with gifts for gardeners and and trimmings for the tree.  So, this week, visit Bristol, just east of Route 7 on Route 17and 116. Stock up on goodies for parties and family gatherings, decorations for the house, get a cup of coffee, and sit out by the fire with Ed for a bit and enjoy the snow.  See Photos here:

Jim Lampman, CEO and Founder of Lake Champlain Chocolate may have one ofthe best jobs in the Vermont. He started the company in Burlington, VT 25 years ago, and has always been glad that tasting his product ”is part of his job description”, and one of the best ways to keep tabs on the business. Here are some of his useful tips for success in the food sales business:

 _ Avoid shooting for huge spikes in growth as they create havoc.

- Build the capacity for change into your business because markets and technologies never stand still.

-Stay in touch with the ingredients and the finished product…”get to know the back-end of the business as well as the front end”.

-Hire good people and work hard to pay them what it is worth.

-Take energetic breaks from work

-Keep your mission simple -”start with a quality product and then deliver that product”.

To view a recent article about Jim and Lake Champlain Chocolate, see The Burlington Free Press article in Business Monday – Vermont’s guide to the business community. Dated December 15, 2008.

A recent New York Times article in the Travel Section missed a great deal that this energized, hip and beautiful Vermont city has to offer!

36 Hours in Burlington, Vermont

It is no surprise that Burlington, a city whose biggest exports include the jam band Phish and Ben & Jerry’s, has a chill, socially conscious vibe. But for all its worldliness — antiglobalization rallies and fair-trade products abound — Burlington has lately turned an eye to the local. The Lake Champlain shoreline has undergone a renaissance in recent years, with gleaming new hotels, bike and sailboat rental shops and parks with sweeping views of the Adirondack Mountains. But perhaps the strongest emphasis on local can be found in the city’s developing restaurant scene, where menus are now filled with heirloom tomatoes and grass-fed beef from (where else?) Vermont. And you’re practically required to wash it all down with a local microbrew.

Source: New York Times – 36 Hours in Burlington Vermont

For example, the article did not mention The Willard Street Inn, the Lang House as great places to stay the night. It missed the Skinny Pancake – an extraordinary creperie on the lake, Trattoria Delia and Pulcinella’s

For some of the best places to stay – see our list of outstanding favorites.