Get Your Grill On

Local Food: As Spring promises rising temperatures and Summer days just around the corner, the kitchen at Claire's is heating up as well. From our grill, Steven introduces chicken from Pete's Greens done to smokey, crispy, juicy goodness. It is served with two sauces: a cucumber and ramp crème fraîche, made with season-defying cucumbers from Pete's that contrast against the grilled chicken and add a tangy moistness; and chimichurri, a traditional South American sauce that can incorporate a variety of herbs and spices. Steven makes this chimichurri with basil and our own dried chiles for a kick of heat. The grilled chicken is served along with quickly sautéed greens. The contrast of hot and cold in this flavorful dish is a promise of much to celebrate as we kick in grilling for the season.

Around the Galaxy: Save June 7th for the World Premier at Galaxy of Ben Hewitt's new book Making Supper Safe: One Man's Quest to Learn About Food Safety. Take a peek at it here and then call Claire's to make your reservation for before or after the event at Galaxy. Ben's first book, The Town That Food Saved, will be out in paperback at the same time. Bring your own work to read on May 24th when Galaxy hosts an open mic night.

Music Notes: Flat Top Trio join us Thursday, May 19 at 7:30 with their bluegrassin' honky tonkin' music. With a sound deeply rooted in the spirit of real country and bluegrass music based around the heartbeat of a flat top guitar, the Trio projects a sound that is unique and timeless.

Local Events: The next Vermont Vaudeville show is Saturday, May 21 at 8:00, at the Hardwick Town House. Their community-centered, live entertainment is all ages and features circus, comedy, magic, puppetry, contortion, music and more! Every show is different, admittance is always by donation and anyone and everyone is welcome.

Reminders: 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. Claire's is closed every Wednesday. We appreciate it when you use cash or a check- credit card companies charge us a fee that really adds up.

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Forage

Local Food: Though wildly different from each other, ramps and fiddleheads are foraged in spring and hit our menu this week. With some peaking earlier in the season, which illustrates our range of microclimates, Fiddlehead Farm in Greensboro is going strong. Fiddleheads have a slightly nutty flavor, similar to asparagus. Right now, Steven fries them in a beer batter along with with other vegetables, accompanied by mayo made in house. They also add just the right complement to the trout from Mountain Foot Farm, prepared with brown butter and herb sauce. Ramps, also called wild leeks, have a mild flavor, similar to onion, so they serve to enhance the ingredients on a plate or can stand out on their own. Steven just started foraging to include the ramps with the beer battered vegetables. Also look for his ramp pesto, or enjoy our Ramptini cocktail from the bar, made with pickled ramp juice.

Remember, if you forage for ramps and fiddleheads, harvest responsibly.

Around the Galaxy: Bill Schubart visits the Galaxy on Tuesday at 7PM to talk about his new book Fat People. His book is a fictional look at the emotions and experiences of those who live to eat, and Bill will also speak about his own complicated relationship with food.

Music Notes: Tiffany Pfeiffer returns this Thursday, May 12 at 7:30. Don't miss the musician who Dan Bolles of Seven Days calls a "remarkably talented songstress." Her "classic jazz vocal aesthetic with modern beats, flavors and rhythms" is not to be missed!

Local Events: Ed Smith, author of The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, will provide insights on vegetable gardening at the Craftsbury Public Library on Sunday, May 15th at 4:00. The program is free, and will provide gardeners with ideas about obtaining higher yields, composting, and how to have a weed and pest free garden.

Reminders: 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. Claire's is closed every Wednesday. We appreciate it when you use cash or a check- credit card companies charge us a fee that really adds up.

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Filet o Fish

Local Food: Satisfy your hankering for a sandwich at Sunday "Blunch," when Steven builds an ample meal on beer-battered trout from Mountain Foot Farm in Wheelock and crispy bacon from Pete's Greens, served on toasted slices of Elmore Mountain baguette. Spinach from David Allen at Hazendale Farm adds the light green of the season, and the sandwich is spread with a house-made mayonnaise that includes basil from Pete's. The plate is topped with pickled red onions from Sweet Mountain Farm for some extra tart. Our fish sandwich pairs well with a glass of Fresh Tracks Rosé. Crispy French fries, made with potatoes from Blackwell Roots, and our own ketchup accompany the sandwich.

Around the Galaxy: Vermont author Bill Schubart will stop by to talk about his new book, Fat People, on Tuesday, May 10 at 7:00. Alice Levitt of Seven Days says, "In Schubart's stories, we meet a vividly realized cast of characters who all fight a battle with the scale. Some emerge relatively unscathed. Many don't emerge at all...Schubart loves food, and he doesn't hide it. But in Fat People, which he self-published through his company Magic Hill, he explores the dark side of that passion." A reading and book signing will follow his talk at Galaxy.

Music Notes: Burlington musicians Dr. Ruckus bring on the funk with their repertoire of favorite jazz, funk and rock standards this Thursday, May 5 at 7:30. Check out the mix of guitar, bass, drums, sax and trombone and support Vermont music.

Local Events: May 7 is Green Up Day. Started in 1970, Vermont was the first state to designate a day to clean up the entire state. Find out how you can participate here.

Reminders: Make a Blunch reservation for Mother's Day, May 8, and be entered to win a $25 gift certificate for mom! We will also be serving dinner from 5-8.

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. Claire's is closed every Wednesday. We appreciate it when you use cash or a check- credit card companies charge us a fee that really adds up.

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Seeing Green

Local Food: With spring promising rebirth, Pete just delivered the first greens of the season and the first since the fire destroyed the farm's storage facilities a few months ago. With farmers around Hardwick harvesting the first taste of the season, we have greens - in various shades and with hints of color beyond green - sprouting across the menu. Ruby streaked mustard greens add a bite of pepper to the crab cake, while the spicy curly variety of mustard greens provides a familiar heat to the wheatberry risotto. Steven introduces succulent and fluffy Claytonia, from Brian Titus at Woods Edge Farm in Greensboro, to the sprout salad to balance the textures. Also from Pete's Greens is basil- look for it in Steven's famous pesto and in cocktails at the bar.

Music Notes: Burlington based songwriter Phil Yates and his band, Phil Yates & The Affiliates, join us Thursday at 7:30. Support local music and don't miss the "clever songsmith with an indelibly off-kilter sense of humor."

Local Events: April is Alcohol Awareness Month. Consider making a donation to the Hardwick Area Community Coalition to support local prevention efforts.

School Budget voting for Hazen Union is Thursday, April 28 in Hardwick, Greensboro and Woodbury.

Reminders: 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. Claire's is closed every Wednesday. We appreciate it when you use cash or a check- credit card companies charge us a fee that really adds up.

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Incredible Edible Egg

Local Food: The egg - with its deep colors and perfect shape - is the perfect symbol of spring's rebirth just as it serves as a starting point in cooking. With breeds that include Red Sex-Link, Barred Rock and Welsummer hens, Windhorse Farm in Hardwick provides the rich eggs that Steven prepares hard cooked to add to both our spinach salad and crab cake. Bright purple pickled eggs top the sprout salad, and a fried egg accompanies the house made herb fettuccine. Of course there is Blunch too, when the egg provides added depth to poutine, and builds on the textures of our curry vegetable and tofu hash. A new favorite is the cheddar, thyme and buttermilk biscuits with red wine sausage gravy and a fried egg.

And special for Easter, we will feature a new version of green eggs and ham. Make your reservation today - we have a special Easter "Blunch" menu for kids.

Around the Galaxy: Come to Galaxy on Tuesday to hear Baron Wormser read from his new book of poems, Impenitent Notes. Baron Wormser is the former poet laureate of Maine and is now our neighbor. Come to Galaxy at 7PM on Tuesday to celebrate National Poetry Month, Baron Wormser, and a new event season at the bookstore.

Music Notes: Burlington based bluegrass and country band Honest Thieves join us Thursday, April 21 at 7:30 for their first performance at Claire's. Come out and dance and support local music.

Local Events: Learn about vermicomposting (composting with worms) with the "wackier worm sister" Lynette Courtney on Tuesday, April 26 at 4:00 at the Center for an Agricultural Economy. With seed starts and planting, you need worm castings the most, so come and learn all about it. Cost is $5 for Community Garden members, $10 for non-members.

Reminders: 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. Claire's is closed every Wednesday. We appreciate it when you use cash or a check- credit card companies charge us a fee that really adds up.

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Local Food: With the celebration of Passover in mind, Steven prepares a dish of chicken liver that takes off from flavors and textures inspired by the Seder plate. Starting with sautéed liver from chickens raised at Pete's Greens, Steven adds a sauce that combines horseradish, cider vinegar from Square Deal Farm, maple syrup from Sweet Stone Maple Farm, and Empire apples from Champlain Orchards in a variation on the bitter herbs and sweet charoset that recall the signficance of the holiday. The tender morsels of liver are served over polenta and then topped with our housemade pickled ramps that suggest karpas, which is celery dipped in vinegar or salt water. Matzoh bread from Patchwork Farms provides the final note.

Around the Galaxy: Baron Wormser, former Poet Laureate of Maine and now our neighbor, kicks off the 2011 event series at Galaxy on Tuesday, April 19th at 7pm. He will read from his new volume of poetry, Impenitent Notes. Celebrate National Poetry Month and Baron Wormser at Galaxy on April 19th.

Music Notes: Dan Haley is Mister Casual will perform the "world's most beautiful songs" on Thursday, April 14 at 7:30. Check out their 100% original chord garden of acoustic/electric art-pop with clever lyrics, innovative harmonies and tuxedo shirts.

Local Events: Registration for 2011 Hardwick Community Garden plots is now open. Plots are 20 x 30 and cost $20. A potluck meeting for new and returning gardeners is Wednesday, April 20 at 6:00 at the Center for an Agricultural Economy. Contact Elena at center@hardwickagriculture.org for more information.

Democracy Matters & the Office of Sustainability at St. Mike's College host a panel discussion on local food movements on Tuesday, April 12 at 7:00. Hardwick area panelists include Ben Hewitt, author of The Town that Food Saved, and Mike Bosia, St. Mike's political science professor and Claire's co-owner.

On Thursday, April 14th area residents can learn more about and help shape Hardwick's e-Vermont projects at a forum at the Town House at 7PM. To find out more about the meeting, contact Lisa Sammet at the Jeudevine Memorial Library at 472-5948 or by email at jeudevine@hotmail.com.

Reminders: 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. Claire's is closed every Wednesday. We appreciate it when you use cash or a check- credit card companies charge us a fee that really adds up.

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"I am what I am"

Local Food: Even after the whiff of spring on Sunday, the best sign that Mother Nature is bringing warmer weather is the baby spinach from David Allen at Hazendale Farm in Greensboro. Buttery, tender, and herbacious, spinach is one of the earliest risers and the heartiest growers - and a muscle builder to boot, according to Popeye. We're featuring it in a classic American spinach salad - tantalizing and comforting all at the same time. Our version includes the traditional hard cooked eggs, brought to us from Windhorse Farm, and thinly sliced red onion from Blackwell Roots. Crispy bacon from Pete's Greens adds crunch and rich flavor, and Mossend Blue cheese from Bonnieview Farm lends a strong nuttiness. Maple candied cranberries from Vermont Cranberry Company with maple syrup are included for a pop of tartness and some caramelized crunch.

Around the Galaxy: These April snowstorms seem to send many to the gardening section at Galaxy. If you are looking for inspiration, try Eliot Coleman's Four-Season Harvest or Lewis Hill's classic, Cold-Climate Gardening. For more advice about gardening here, check out Henry Homeyer's Vermont Gardener's Companion and enjoy watching those seedlings grow!

Music Notes: Local favorites Fresh Greenes return this Thursday, April 7 at 7:30. Check out the original repertoire of this father-daughter duo and support local music.

Local Events: Celebrate with WGDR/WGDH, community radio from Goddard College, as they launch their new signal at the WGDH Launch Party at the Hardwick Townhouse on Saturday, April 9. The new signal, 91.7 FM will now reach the Hardwick community. The party gets started at 3:00 with music, food and much more.

Reminders: 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. Claire's is closed every Wednesday. We appreciate it when you use cash or a check- credit card companies charge us a fee that really adds up.

Click on the image above to get a closer look!