Farm to Bar!

Local Libations: As we head towards summer, herbs and other produce head toward our bar.  Basil from Hazendale Farm, when muddled with lime juice and a splash of Sumptuous Syrups Lemon 3 Basil, adds sweetness to our Lemontini, with either vodka or gin from Caledonia Spirits.  Rhubarb from our neighbor Leslie White adds a tart kick to our Rhubarb Basil Martini with vodka from Green Mountain Distillers. Cilantro from Pete's is perfect in our margarita with a salty rim.  And of course we have mint, bringing joy to mojito lovers. Joining the wonderul maple and elderflower rums from Dunc's Mill, this summer we also have rum from Smuggler's Notch Distillery.  Look for these herbacious cocktails and others at the bar soon!

At the Bar: Remember our Sunday and Monday drink specials. Sunday, June 3rd we offer a $2.50 pint of Wolaver's, a $4 glass of Boyden Valley Big Barn Red or Seyval Blanc. The Elderberry Fizz, with Caledonia Spirits Barr Hill Gin and Elderberry Cordial and ginger beer, is offered for $5.

Around the Galaxy: On Thursday, June 14th, join Bethany Dunbar for the world premier of Kingdom's Bounty. The book showcases the best of our region's locally produced and prepared foods - which you can enjoy at Claire's before the event. Beginning at 5:15 join Bethany and several producers featured in the book at Claire's for dinner. The event is not ticketed but reservations are required. Call Galaxy at 472-5533 for details and to reserve your spot! The book event begins at Galaxy at 7.

Music Notes: Tritium Well bring us their radioactive roots, rock and reggae on Thursday, May 31 at 7:00.  Check out this quintet and support local music!

Local Art: Join us on Monday, June 11th for an artist reception with Elizabeth Nelson. Stop by to admire her Symbolic Landscapes show now at Claire's, and see more of her art online.

Local Events: The new Vermont Philharmonic is coming to town with music director Lou Kosma, featuring works by Wagner, Mozart and Berlioz. The performance is Saturday, June 2nd at 7:30 at the Hardwick Town House. Tickets are $15/ $12 Seniors/ $5 Students.

Our next dance party, The June Bug, is Friday, June 8 from 10-2 with DJ DMD making his debut! Bring your dancing shoes and ID.  $5 suggested music donation. Designated drivers who pledge to be alcohol free for the night get free non-alcoholic drinks and a $10 gift card!

Reminders: We will be open Wednesdays starting July 4th for the 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. Claire's is closed every Wednesday until July 4th.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! 

Celebrating Spring in Hardwick

Local Food:  Spring Festival on Saturday, May 26, marks our four year anniversary, and we'll be open from 10 am to noon to say "hi," "thank you," or for a snack.  We'll be offering something new for sale this year- Steven's sweet maple kettle korn or breakfast fries, and Bloody Marys or Mimosas from the bar.  Each purchase will enter you into a drawing to win dinner for two that night with a view of the fireworks from our windows on Main Street.

It is hard to believe we've been open four years! As we celebrate our anniversary, we thank all of our supporters for making it happen. Our CSR holders, (coming to an end at the end of May!), lenders and investors, our regulars, those who travel from far and away, and all those in between, we thank you!

The parade begins at 11:00, followed by the festival at Atkins Field until 4:00, with crafts, food vendors, games and rides!

At the Bar: Remember our Sunday and Monday drink specials. Sunday, May 27th we offer a $2.50 pint of Rock Art, a $4 glass of Boyden Valley Big Barn Red or Seyval Blanc. The Claire's Cosmo with Green Mountain Organic Vodka and Vermont Cranberry Company juice, is offered for $5.

Around the Galaxy: On Thursday, June 14th, join Bethany Dunbar for the world premier of Kingdom's Bounty. The book showcases the best of our region's locally produced and prepared foods - which you can enjoy at Claire's before the event. Beginning at 5:15 join Bethany and several producers for dinner. The event is not ticketed but reservations are required. Call Galaxy at 472-5533 for details and to reserve your spot! The book event begins at Galaxy at 7.

Music Notes: Josh Gould of The Butterbeans joins us for a solo gig this Thursday, May 24 at 7:00.  Check out his bluegrass/Americana tunes on the guitar, banjo and mandolin.

Local Events: Celebrate the 20th year of Vermont Open Studio Weekend May 26 and 27.  Over 250 artists and craftspeople will open their studios to the public this weekend, giving you the opportunity to learn how art and craft is made at the studios of glass blowers, jewelers, potters, sculptors, weavers, furniture makers and more. Our neighbors and glassblowers Harry and Wendy Besett of Vermont Glass Workshop were recently honored for their participation for all 20 years. Also in Hardwick is Ruby Leslie's Ruby Charuby Weaving Studio.  Bring us a receipt of purchase from a participating studio and we'll buy you dessert with the purchase of dinner for two.

Reminders: We will be open Wednesdays starting July 4th for the 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. Claire's is closed every Wednesday until July 4th.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! 

Sorrel

Local Food: It was once used to "refresh overspent spirits" and "to quench thirst," according to English physician Culpeper in the 1800s, and sorrel was also valued for its Vitamin C to prevent scurvy.  Today we can enjoy sorrel straight from Steven's own garden, where he harvests the spring herb in its prime, before it turns bitter. The tart and lemony flavor adds a kick to our crab cake with Steven's sorrel vinaigrette.  Sorrel adds unique flavor to his house made pasta, with clothbound cheddar and ramp pistou cream.  As the weather heats up, look for it in those wonderful spring soups for which Steven is justly famous, and as a light dressing with the mesclun salad.  Sorrel also has a place at the bar, tarting up Caledonia Spirits Barr Hill Gin and Vodka.

At the Bar: Remember our Sunday and Monday drink specials. Sunday, May 21st we offer a $2.50 pint of Rock Art American Red, a $4 glass of Boyden Valley Riverbend Red or Seyval Blanc. The Aviation, made with Caledonia Spirits Barr Hill, Maraschino Liqueur and lemon juice, is offered for $5.

Around the Galaxy: Today at 7, Galaxy welcomes former Vermont governor Madeleine Kunin to discuss The New Feminist Agenda. On the front page of the New York Times Sunday Book Review, Judith Warner writes, "Kunin...is almost unimpeachably right, as she diagnoses what we in America need, why we've never gotten it, and how we may have some hope of achieving change in the future."

Music Notes: Spider Roulette join us this Thursday, May 17 at 7:00.  They'll play something for everyone, from blues to folk, jazz to country, and maybe even an Irish waltz!

Local Events: Riverside Farm's annual plant sale begins this weekend from 10-4.  Stop by the farm on Route 16 this Saturday and Sunday.  If you can't make it this weekend, stop by on Saturdays and Sundays though June 10th.  Call 472-6169 for more information.

Vermont Vaudeville presents Perfect Harmony, two nights of comedy, music and spectacle at the Hardwick Town House.  Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19 at 8:00, Vermont Vaudeville will show their community centered, live entertainment, great for all ages that features local talents and world touring professionals. Tickets are available at The Galaxy Bookshop.

Reminders: We will be open Wednesdays starting July 4th for the 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. Claire's is closed every Wednesday until July 4th.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! 

Fiddle-ee-dee

Local Food:  This time of year, Steven's labors extend beyond the kitchen, as he spends his mornings foraging for one of Vermont's hidden gems, fiddleheads. Like their equally wild cousin the ramp,  fiddleheads, or furled baby ferns, are spring's wild harbingers, and a fleeting delicacy. With a taste similar to asparagus, fiddleheads are crispy and nutty, perfect battered with beer and lightly fried along with ramps and shallots.  Grilled Brown Trout from Mountain Foot Farm pairs perfectly with sautéed fiddleheads.  They also add a hint of green to a plate of roasted roots and polenta with Landaff cheese. While fiddlehead season may be fleeting, Steven is busy preserving and pickling them for us to enjoy year round, and even at the bar.  Our Ramptini will be available soon!

Mother's Day is this Sunday- we're open for Blunch from 11-2 and dinner from 5-8.  Each Blunch reservation will be entered to win a $25 gift card for mom!

At the Bar: Remember our Sunday and Monday drink specials. Sunday, May 13th we offer a $2.50 pint of Rock Art, a $4 glass of Boyden Valley Riverbend Red or Seyval Blanc. The Apple Cider Car, made with Green Mountain Organic Vodka, Flagg Hill Farm Apple Brandy and apple cider, is offered for $5.

Around the Galaxy: Galaxy welcomes former Vermont governor Madeleine Kunin on May 15th at 7PM to discuss her new book, The New Feminist Agenda: Defining The Next Revolution for Women, Work and Family. The book is available now at The Galaxy Bookshop for Mother's Day giving. Also just arrived an eagerly awaited new book by Sandor Katz, The Art of Fermentation: An In-Depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes From Around the World.

Music Notes: Blue Fox joins us this Thursday, May 10th at 7:00.  Check out what Pamela Polston of Seven Days calls his "deep-lazy-growly-sexy" vocals and "ultra-strength" guitar playing.

Local Events: The Hardwick Farmers' Market starts this Friday, May 11th, with extended hours from 3-6:30.

Vermont Vaudeville presents Perfect Harmony, two nights of comedy, music and spectacle at the Hardwick Town House.  Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19 at 8:00, Vermont Vaudeville will show their community centered, live entertainment, great for all ages that features local talents and world touring professionals. Tickets are available at The Galaxy Bookshop.

Reminders: We will be open Wednesdays starting July 4th for the 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. 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. Thanks to many of you we have been able to significantly reduce those fees.

Click on the image above to get a closer look!

Turn Up the Volume

Local Food: Those of us who are hesitant about the turnip just haven't tried the Hakurei variety - a small, delicately flavored version of Japanese origins. These sweet salad turnips are smooth and snow white, and mature early, typically just after radishes, but with milder flavor. Their sweet and punchy flavor is best enjoyed raw and fresh, which Steven uses to add tender and crisp texture to a mesclun salad.  He also includes Hakurei from Hazendale Farm and Pete's Greens alongside the pork belly sandwich with kimchi featured on our Blunch menu.  The rich and hearty pork butt also gets a touch of the turnips, along with sprouts from Peace of Earth Farm.  The spicy green tops of the turnips can be cooked to add a hint of mustard flavor to any plate.

Coming soon: Steven will be serving his cool green gazpacho with Hakurei turnips at the Burlington Wine and Food Festival in June.

At the Bar: Remember our Sunday and Monday drink specials. Sunday, May 6th we offer a $2.50 pint of Wolaver's, a $4 glass of Boyden Valley Big Barn Red or Seyval Blanc. The Bemis Block, made with Caledonia Spirits Barr Hill Gin, Urban Moonshine citrus bitters and St. Germaine, is offered for $5.

Around the Galaxy: Celebrate artist Tara Goreau, creator of the mural now installed at Galaxy. Tara will be putting the finishing touches on the mural on the afternoon of May 5th starting around 1. Stop by after you finish Greening Up, and then from 4-5 celebrate Tara and the mural with a little party. Be sure to have Tuesday, May 15th on the calendar when Madeleine Kunin will discuss her book The New Feminist Agenda at Galaxy.

Music Notes: First Crush join us Thursday, May 3 at 7:00.  Enjoy the Montpelier based indie pop duo as they spread their love-sickness!

Local Events: Green Up Vermont Day is this Saturday, May 5th from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM.  Meet at the Hardwick Fire Station.  Help beautify our community by participating in Vermont's Annual Green Up campaign.  Trash bags and gloves will be available for pickers and 30 "treasure bottles" will be hidden along the roadways for a little extra incentive.  With a bit of luck everyone should be able to "pick" a prize.

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. Thanks to many of you we have been able to significantly reduce those fees.

Click on the image above to get a closer look!

What's up Doc?

Local Food: The use of carrots as a sweet substitute in cakes and other treats dates back to the Middle Ages, when sugar and other sources were scarce and expensive. These carrot recipes came back into fashion during World War II, a time of tight food rations and Bugs Bunny.  Now a mainstream favorite, everyone has a prized recipe for carrot cake.  Steven starts with shredded carrots from our friend Greg Williams in Wolcott and mixes in a tart cranberries from Cranberry Bob at Vermont Cranberry Company in East Fairfield.  He cooks the cranberries with this season's maple syrup from Caledonia Farm in Hardwick, and adds walnuts to the cake batter for crunch. After baking, apples from Champlain Orchards sautéed with maple syrup top the moist cake, along with almond praline crunch.  Steven twists the traditional cream cheese frosting by whipping cream from Butterworks Farm with mascarpone cheese from Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery and cream cheese from Champlain Valley Creamery to make a rich and creamy topping.

At the Bar: Remember our Sunday and Monday drink specials. Sunday, April 29th we offer a $2.50 pint of Wolaver's, a $4 glass of Boyden Valley Rosé or East Shore Vineyard Cabernet Franc.  The Elderberry Fizz, with Caledonia Spirits Barr Hill Gin and Elderberry Cordial and ginger beer, is offered for $5.

Around the Galaxy:  On Thursday, The Center for an Agricultural Economy  and Galaxy welcome Severine von Tscharner Fleming to Hardwick. Severine directed and produced the film The Greenhorns and is co-editor of the book Greenhorns: 50 Dispatches from the New Farmers' Movement. Come see the film beginning at 6:30 at The Hardwick Town House. There is a $5 suggested donation to support The Greenhorns, and the film will be followed by a discussion and book signing with Severine. All the details here.

Music Notes: Folk by Association join us this Thursday, April 26 at 7:00. After more than 10 years of performing, Karen Krajacic and Jill Unger have gained a reputation for both their top-notch vocal harmonies and their grassroots approach to working as independent artists. Said to be both nostalgic and modern, soothing and energizing, Folk by Association is both a throwback and a surprise.

Local Events: The Craftsbury Chamber Players will perform a free concert in Greensboro at the Greensboro United Church of Christ on Tuesday, May 1 at 7:30.  Hailed as the "Best Chamber Music in Vermont" by Yankee Magazine, The Craftsbury Chamber Players are enjoying their 47th season of making music in Northern Vermont. Donations will benefit the Greensboro United Church of Christ and the Craftsbury Chamber Players. For more information, contact Jim West at 802-586-9814 or jimwest@craftsburychamberplayers.org.

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. Thanks to many of you we have been able to significantly reduce those fees.

Click on the image above to get a closer look!

A Dash of Funky Feet

Local Food: With early spinach and mesclun already greening up the kitchen at Claire's, ramps or wild leeks are the next spring "green."  One of his favorite Vermont flavors, Steven carefully forages each morning in woodlands and along streams for the groups of young ramps, making sure to leave enough plants to return next year.  Food writer Jane Snow famously described ramps as having flavor similar to "fried green onions with a dash of funky feet."  The distinctive subtle sweetness that accentuates the onion and earthy garlic flavor of the ramp makes it a tasty ingredient, and one we look forward to now that the supply of stored garlic and onions runs low.  Steven flavors a number of dishes with the hearty green - including handrolling chopped ramps right into the fettuccine, adding a distinct note.  Smokey, grilled ramps give a punch to the ribeye or sirloin steak, and will be sautéed with the mustard greens and spinach to accompany the crab cake.  Our ever popular Ramptini will be back soon as well, with pickled ramp juice in place of the traditional olive juice.

At the Bar: Our Sunday drink specials this week will mark Earth Day!  As part of the national "Earth Dinner" campaign to promote local food, we're celebrating with the sustainable food advocacy group Chefs Collaborative, and offering our Earth Day Rum Shrub with Dunc's Mill Elderflower Rum, Green Mountain Organic Maple Liqueur, Cynar and Blueberry Shrub for $5.  We'll donate a portion of the sales to Chefs Collaborative.  Sunday will also feature wine and draft beer specials on some local favorites.  And don't forget our bar specials on Monday as well.

Around the Galaxy: Get ready for the Greenhorns! The Center for an Agricultural Economy  and Galaxy welcome Severine von Tscharner Fleming to Hardwick on Thursday, April 26th. Severine directed and produced the film The Greenhorns and is co-editor of the book Greenhorns: 50 Dispatches from the New Farmers' Movement. Come see the film beginning at 6:30 at The Hardwick Town House. There is a $5 suggested donation to support The Greenhorns, and the film will be followed by a discussion and book signing with Severine. All the details here.

Music Notes: Big Hat, No Cattle, Vermont's newest old time western swing trio join us this Thursday, April 19 at 7:00. Support local music and don't miss their honky tonk tunes!

Local Events: Author and 2011 American Book Award winner Camille T. Dungy will read from her work at Sterling College on Wednesday, April 18 at 6:30. Professor in the Creative Writing Department at San Francisco State University, Dungy's honors include an NEA fellowship, two NAACP Image Award nominations and two Northern California Book Awards.  For more information, call 586-7711, ext. 110.

You can help fund a USDA inspected on-farm butcher shop at Sugar Mountain Farm! The funds will help purchase materials and equipment and make scarce meat processing slots more available to regional farmers. Find out how you can help here.

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. Thanks to many of you we have been able to significantly reduce those fees.

Click on the image above to get a closer look!