This little piggy...

Local Food:  Pork jowls and BBQ are the perfect summer combination.  Steven takes the jowls from Snug Valley Farm on a visit to the grill - just long enough to acquire a touch of smoke - and then braises them in Wolaver's Wildflower Wheat beer.  The honey and chamomile brew combines with mustard seeds for that sweetness that balances the smoke in a good barbeque, at the same time tenderizing the jowls.  Steven combines black raspberries from our neighbor Larry Brochu, a splash of Citizen Cider and a lot of love with a base of slow cooked tomatoes and spices to achieve BBQ Sauce bliss, and a final sauté that crisps up the jowls.  Their natural ally is a summer slaw of red savoy cabbage from Hazendale Farm, along with green, yellow and dragon tongue beans from Mystic Morning Farm.  Red potatoes from Pete's and crispy onion rings provide just the right finishing touch.

At the Bar: Remember our Sunday and Monday drink specials. Sunday, July 22nd we offer a $2.50 pint of Rock Art, a $4 glass of Boyden Valley Seyval Blanc or Big Barn Red. Our Lavender Lemontini, with Caledonia Spirits Barr Hill Gin, is offered for $5.

Around the Galaxy: On Tuesday, July 17th, Galaxy welcomes Patricia Ellis Herr who will describe her adventures summiting all forty-eight peaks over 4,000 feet in New Hampshire with her young daughter. Take a peak at a book about peaks here and then come to Galaxy to hear all about it. Thursday, July 19 at 6PM, Glover author Elaine Magalis will read from her new mystery, The Body in the Butter Churn. And Saturday, July 21st at 1PM, Evelyn Grace Geer and the Lepine Sisters appear at Galaxy in celebration of the new book The Lepine Girls of Mud City: Embracing Vermont. Embrace the chance to meet some great authors at Galaxy!

Music Notes: Miles and Murphy, a jazz guitar duo from central Vermont, join us this Thursday, July 19th at 7:30.  The two work their way through classic jazz tunes such as "How High the Moon" and "All of Me."

Local Events: Join us this weekend in welcoming the newest Positive Pie to Main Street, offering what their website describes as a "cool, contemporary, comfortable, casual - yet always stylish - urban refuge from the ordinary." Hardwick should be proud that all our efforts have created an economic climate attractive to investors like the Rovetto Brothers International Restaurant Group, with restaurants across Vermont and New York, from Pizza Jerks to Piecasso.  Congratulations on your opening day and welcome to the neighborhood!

Stop by the Jeudevine Library Tent (behind the library) on Friday, July 20 from 4-7pm.  Sample some home-baked treats, listen to some live music, try out an e-reader and surf around some great library services that are free to library patrons.  Talk to the Library Trustees about your vision for the future library!  For more information, call the library at 472-5948.

The Craftsbury Outdoor Center hosts a 15K trail race on Saturday, July 21st. More info here about that, along with the weekly 5K series.

Reminders: We are now open seven days a week in summer! 

We are open daily after 2:30 for coffee, bar service, and baked goods, and free WiFi, with dinner reservations available from 5-9, Sundays from 5-8. We serve our special Blunch menu Sundays from 11-2. We appreciate it when you use cash or a check - credit card companies charge us a fee that really adds up. Thanks to many of you we have been able to significantly reduce those fees.

Click on the image above to get a closer look!