Archive for the ‘Market Beat’ Category

• Sugarsnap Expands to Tech Park

  Date: 07.23.2010 | Category: Market Beat | Response: 0

  When you pull into the parking lot at 30 Community Drive, the hub of South Burlington’s Technology Park, you might have to squint to spot the cheery little sign for the new Sugarsnap restaurant. It’s off to the left, sandwiched between TelJet’s and Test America’s no-nonsense logos. It feels far away from Sugarsnap’s friendly home at the edge of the Intervale. But once you step inside, warm aromas from simmering soups and just-baked cookies tell you you’re headed to the right place.

  After six years of serving impeccably fresh, ready-to-eat, mostly local foods from its Riverside Avenue location, Sugarsnap has just expanded into a new commissary kitchen and second retail store in South Burlington. The move brings all the food preparation, storage and catering operations for the growing business into one place—and frees up freezer space in founder, owner and co-president Abbey Duke’s garage. It’s all part of Sugarsnap’s mission to put delicious, sustainable food within reach of everyone.

  All of Sugarsnap’s sandwiches, salads, soups, baked goods and daily special entrées (like today’s terrific Beet & Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Wild Mushroom Sauce) showcase ingredients from its own three-acre farm in the Intervale as well as from more than 20 regional Food Partners. Co-0wner and co-president Rob Smart estimates that more than half of the ingredients used at Sugarsnap are locally grown. “We aim to move that to 60 or even 70 percent over the next couple of years.”

  “Our plan is to make really great, healthy food accessible to all—and to make the regional economy stronger in the process,” says Smart. “We’re building a new regional food business model here.”

  Stop by either of the two stores to have coffee and pastries at breakfast, to savor soup, sandwiches and salads at lunch or to grab ready-made entrées to take home for dinner. The Tech Park location includes restaurant seating as well. Sugarsnap Catering offers farm-fresh foods for events of many sizes, from business meetings to private parties.

  Sugarsnap Zucchini “Linguini” With Basil Pesto
  from Sugarsnap, Burlington, Vermont

  2 large zucchini
  One 8 ounce container of pesto (homemade or purchased)
  ½ cup pine nuts or nuts of your choice
  3+ tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano or other hard Italian cheese
  Juice and zest of 1 lemon
  Salt and pepper

  Wash and dry the zucchini and using a julienne peeler, make the “linguini“ using the white flesh and skin of the squash, stopping when you get to the seeds. In a bowl large enough to toss the mix, add pesto (to taste), nuts, half of the cheese and the lemon zest. Use lemon juice to thin the pesto as you would use hot pasta water in a hot pesto/pasta dish.

  Add salt and pepper and more or less of anything as you wish. Top each serving with some of the remaining cheese. Serve with a green salad and crusty bread.

  Serves 4

  Sugarsnap on Riverside • 505 Riverside Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401 • 802.652.5922
  Sugarsnap at Technology Park • 30 Community Drive, Suite 9, South Burlington, VT 05403 • 802.861.2718 • contact@sugarsnapvt.com

  See more great images of Sugarsnap on our flickr page!

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• A Day At NYC’s Tribeca Greenmarket

  Date: 07.08.2010 | Category: Market Beat | Response: 0

  The 90-plus degree New York City weather didn’t stop shoppers from picking up fresh food in the city’s Tribeca neighborhood this Wednesday. Shoppers who could have easily slipped into the air-conditioned sanctuary of Whole Foods (a mere block away) were opting instead to support local farmers and bakers and stock their baskets at the Tribeca Greenmarket.

  The quiet, family-friendly market is located on Greenwich Street, between Chambers and Duane Streets, adjacent to a usually busy playground. It’s open year-round on Saturdays; it’s also open on Wednesdays from April 7 to December 22.

  

  Red and Yellow Swiss Chard from Alex Farm, Milford, NJ.

  This week’s Wednesday market boasted fresh fruits, berries and juices from Toigo Orchards and Red Jacket Orchards. Homemade baked goods made with local flour and organic ingredients could be found at Bread Alone or Not Just Rugelach.

  Alex Farm, located in Milford, New Jersey, sells vegetables like radishes, garlic and kale  directly to consumers at farmers’ markets throughout New York. In addition to the Tribeca Greenmarket, Alex Farm has a booth at Bowling Green on Tuesdays and Thursdays and at City Hall on Fridays.

  

  Squash, Beans & Shell Peas From Lani's Farm, Bordentown, NJ.

  Shoppers at the Tribeca market can also pick up produce good enough for famed restaurateur Danny Meyer if they stop by the Lani’s Farm booth. Located in Bordentown, New Jersey, Lani’s Farm sells both at the Tribeca Market and to some of New York’s most buzzed about restaurants, including: Union Square Café, Gramercy Tavern, Momofuku, Northern Spy Food Co. and Blue Hill Farm (The Obamas’ choice when they came to New York).

  In addition to wonderfully fresh local foods, shoppers can pick up free recipes and produce storage and preparation tips from the GrowNYC Greenmarket information booth.

  For locations, hours and vendor listings for all of New York City’s Greenmarkets, see the GrowNYC website.

  Tribeca Greenmarket• Greenwich & Chambers Streets,  New York, NY 10007

  See more great images of the Tribeca Greenmarket on our flickr page!

  

  Tribeca Greenmarket

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• Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Healthiness

  Date: 07.02.2010 | Category: Market Beat | Response: 0

  Philly has the Let Freedom Ring bell-ringing ceremony and Boston goes all out with Harborfest, but New England’s true patriots and parade fanatics head to Warren, Vermont, for the best July 4th spectacular around.

  Warren takes patriotism and parades pretty seriously. Named after the first American to fall at Bunker Hill, the little town on the Mad River swells from about 1,700 year-round residents to three times that number on the morning of Independence Day. Since the 4th falls on a Sunday this year, Sunday morning church service has been moved to Saturday.

  The parade is an eclectic mix of marching bands, honking fire trucks, waving politicians and homegrown floats—all blessed by an Air National Guard fly-by. This year’s parade theme “Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Healthiness” is sure to be interpreted in infinitely creative, occasionally off-the-wall ways.

  As always, the parade starts with Clive’s cannon shooting off sometime near 10 am. The parade proceeds down Main Street, then takes the right on Brook Road where floats pull off the road or continue up to Brooks Field parking lot, where after the parade, fun and festivities abound on the field until mid-afternoon.

  Plan on getting to Warren by 8 am, if not before. Hop on the MadBus to get to the town center. Delicious aromas will lead you to the Warren Store where you can grab a hot breakfast muffin with egg and cheese or a boxful of fresh-baked pastries. Deli chef and Vermont native Jessica Zidovsky tells us that they offer a limited menu on parade morning to be able to feed the crush of visitors, security people and paraders. A coffee table will be set up outside the store.

  We caught up with Warren Store manager/wine connoisseur Jack Garvin yesterday afternoon as he was busily making sure the store would be ready for the Sunday’s flood of people. He was stocking a display of delicious, reasonably priced American wines that he assured us would be ideal for any pre-fireworks cookouts. In the spirit of the day and the season, he suggested a red and a white from Longball Cellars wines with their nod to the boys of summer. ZinfandEllsbury (with a picture of Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury on the label) and Chardon-K (Sox right-hander Josh Becket adorns this one). Proceeds from both wines benefit children’s charities. (Due to restrictions on the sale of alcohol, the store will only be selling wine before 10 am on the 4th, and then again after the band finished their set.)

  Fourth of July regulars Jimmy Yozell & Friends will be performing on the porch of the Warren Store for the Street Dance following the parade. As the dancing in the streets winds down, order up a Farmstand sandwich from the Warren Store deli to restore your energy. Don’t forget to grab a bottle or two of Sean Lawson’s “Maple Nipple Ale” for later on. Warren Store is the only retail vendor of Lawson’s Finest Liquids prize-winning brews. Then drive south on Route 100 about three miles for a picnic and a refreshing dip in Warren Falls.

  Warren Store • Historic Main Street, Warren Village, VT 05674 • 802.496.3864

  See more great images of the Warren Store on our flickr page!

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• Montpelier’s Meeting Place

  Date: 02.19.2010 | Category: Market Beat | Response: 0

  Since 1977 the Capital City Farmers Market has served as a favorite Vermont gathering place for local producers and devoted foodies on Saturdays from May to November. Come December, market junkies used to have to go cold turkey. But not anymore.

  Now in its third season, Montpelier’s winter market welcomes eager shoppers on the first and third Saturdays of each month. Fresh meats and cured sausages, farmhouse cheeses, still-warm artisan breads, irresistible baked goods, maple products, micro greens, root veggies of every color and shape, fiber arts, conga drums, one-of-a-kind t-shirts . . . the list goes on and on. More than 25 central Vermont food producers and craftspeople will set up their stalls in the Vermont College of Fine Arts Gym at tomorrow’s market.

  Randy George will be there, unloading fragrant loaves of artisan breads, rolls and pastries. Randy is the owner of Red Hen Bakery in Middlesex and is also on the market’s board of directors. He knows the market rules well—producers must be at their stands at least 50% of the market days. “I wouldn’t miss it,” he says.

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• Woodstock Farmers’ Market: Nothing Short of a Blast

  Date: 12.04.2009 | Category: Market Beat | Response: 1

  Woodstock Farmers’ Market owner Patrick Crowl loves what he does for a living–and it shows. It shows in the thousands of personally selected (and tasted) products for sale. It shows in the attention he gives to customers. It shows in the respect he has for his more than 35 food-crazy employees.

  “Our staff is amazing—we literally wake up every day living and breathing food—plus everyone genuinely loves to help our customers make choices,” boasts Crowl. “To actually know where your food comes from is so important these days—and to guide our guests toward something new and cool is nothing short of a blast.”

  The 2,000-square-foot market specializes in sourcing artisanal foods from all over the world but focuses on regional and local foods, such as Vermont meats, poultry, cheeses (50+!) and produce, and uses many local ingredients in its prepared lunch and dinner selections.

  The on-site bakery is known throughout the region for its breads, cakes, pies and cookies. (Covered Bridge Hermits are a personal favorite.)

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• Barnard General Store Sustains Tradition

  Date: 11.13.2009 | Category: Market Beat | Response: 0

  Carolyn DiCicco and Kim Furlong aren’t just proprietors of a Vermont general store. They’re stewards of a long-standing, vibrant tradition. Since 1832, the Barnard General Store has supplied village residents and passing visitors with a place to stop, share some news and stock up.

  Dwindling small-town populations and easy access to big-box stores have shuttered many New England retailers, but Barnard’s historic emporium succeeds by providing what megastores cannot.

  “While we do not have the buying power to offer inexpensive choices for basic needs,” says Furlong, “we can provide the ‘heart’ of a community. We sell the basic provisions to get you by until your big shopping day, as well as healthy, freshly made foods. If it’s a beautiful day, we’ll pack you a picnic to take across the street to enjoy at Silver Lake. If it’s cold out, you can grab a seat by the woodstove and meet new people or enjoy old friends.”

  Localvores will find much to satisfy their hunger and thirst–from Long Wind Farm tomatoes, apples and cider from Moore’s Orchard and La Panciata breads to a selection of local cheeses and more than a dozen local beers and wines.

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