FIRST
TRACKS
SKI AND EAT LIKE A LOCAL
Selected as the Oxford American Dictionary Word of the Year for
2007, a “localvore” is a person committed to eating foods grown
within the local foodshed – generally considered as an area within
a 100-mile radius of home. Recently, Vermont has emerged as a
national leader in the growing “localvore” movement.
Given the economic, environmental, political, and health benefits
to eating foods produced close to home, localvorism is fast
becoming an attractive alternative to the consumption of food
that has been packaged and shipped many miles before landing on
your plate. You can find locally produced foods at many Vermont
food retailers (and after the snow melts, at farmer’s markets).
Now many ski-area and ski-town eateries are beginning to feature
“localvore” items on their menus. The Ski Vermont Burger,
introduced last year at several resorts, is just one example.
After a day spent skiing in the mountains, do your body and
the local economy a favor: Sample some locally grown fare.
Here are three top eateries to do it.
Big Picture Theatre, Waitsfield, bigpicturetheater.info. The
increasingly popular Big Picture is at once a restaurant, café,
movie theatre, music venue, and community gathering place.
Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, the Big Picture Burger starts
with eight ounces of locally-raised, grass-fed beef, and is served up
with a tasty, locally-grown green salad. Even the cheese, potato
chips and veggies – when in season – are locally produced.
Sugarsnap, Burlington, sugarsnap.biz. At the forefront of
Vermont’s localvore movement, Sugarsnap is a take-out
restaurant and catering company specializing in wholesome
food made from farm-fresh, seasonal vegetables, eggs, and
meat. In fact, the Sugarsnap staff raise much of the food
they cook on a small farm at the nearby Intervale Farm in
Burlington. The menu features an ever-changing variety of
soups, salads, sandwiches and dinner specials.
Riverview Café, Brattleboro, riverviewcafe.com. Owner/Chef
Tristan Toleno is an active member of the Vermont Fresh
Network, working to build partnerships between farmers and
consumers. Nearly every item on the café menu features locally
sourced ingredients. The turkey vegetable soup and maple
barbeque pulled pork sandwich are standout localvore choices.
— Brian Mohr
HERE’S THE
(LoCAL) BEEF
The best burger in Vermont? Last June at Mt. Snow, Ski
Vermont invited chefs from ski areas across the state to
compete in the first-ever cheeseburger cookoff to come up
with an answer to the question. Eight chefs answered the
call, and when the smoke, literally, cleared, the winner was
the VERMONT BLEU CHEESEBURGER PRODUCED BY GERRY
NOONEY, CHEF AT SUGARBUSH’S TIMBERS RESTAURANT.
When possible, local ingredients were used. – Po
Vermont Bleu Cheese Burger with Pickled Peppers
6 oz of Vermont burger per person (we use Boyden Farms)
Quality Vermont blue cheese (we use Bouchon)
Pickled peppers
Small pita pockets
Local leaf lettuce
Start with fresh local beef. Season the meat with good sea
salt before you make the patty. Be sure to have a slight
indent in the middle of the patty. This way when it cooks
and expands the burger will be flat and the toppings
won’t slide off.
Grill and top with cheese, let rest on an elevated plate or
rack so the juices can settle.
To assemble, slice top off pita pocket and slide in a lettuce
leaf, using a slotted spoon add pickled peppers on top of
the lettuce. Add cheeseburger to top of pickled peppers.
Stuff in a little more peppers if desired.
PICKLED PEPPER TOPPING:
2 onions small dice
½ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
½ cup each of pickled banana peppers, cherry peppers and
jalapeño peppers, sliced thin
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
A few sprigs of fresh thyme and bay leaf
Sweat onions in olive oil with thyme and bay leaf. Add
garlic, add peppers, and simmer 5 minutes. Add rice
vinegar and cook 2 minutes. Season to taste.
10 skivermont.com
