December « 2010 « Village Inn Blog

	December 8, 2010 “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” Groucho Marx Filed under: Restaurants, Uncategorized, Vermont's finest — Tags: Quechee VT, Simon Pearce Restaurant, Woodstock VT — villageinn @ 4:04 pm There are exceptions to every rule. For me, it’s the Fish Stew Club at Simon Pearce Restaurant in nearby Quechee, Vermont. It began innocently enough. A few years ago I ordered one of the specials at lunch at Simon Pearce Restaurant. It happened to be the Provencal Fish Stew. One bite and I was hooked. It was like a trip to the south of France. Fresh fennel, tomatoes, mussels, an assortment of fish, baby spinach simmered in a white wine and lemon flavored broth, topped with saffron aioli and focaccia croutons. Provencal Fish Stew My fish stew delight is heightened by the atmosphere. The restaurant is cantilevered over a waterfall, looking at a covered bridge. The atmosphere is both modern and warm at the same time. The glassware is all made by Simon Pearce artisans – hand blown, made in the USA. The dinnerware is also handcrafted by master artisans. Service is wonderful, friendly and efficient. For me, going to lunch at Simon Pearce is like being on vacation, even if for just a few hours. Alas, that lunch ended, but my craving for fish stew did not. A few weeks later, I called the restaurant to see when fish stew would be on the menu again. The lovely Deanna, restaurant manager, answered my call. She asked if I wanted to be included in the Fish Stew Club. Too funny, I am not the only one that craves the stuff. Sure, I sign up, and will be notified by e-mail whenever fish stew is on the menu. Perfect! The water fall, right outside the window by our table Now don’t worry if you aren’t in the club, and aren’t sure if you want to join, either. As of this fall, the Provencal Fish Stew has become a staple on the lunch menu. Not sure if it will stay that way, but I sure hope that it does so that you can try this wonderful dish anytime. While you are at Simon Pearce Restaurant, be sure to check out the glass blowing downstairs. It is a delightful activity for folks of all ages. You can also see the turbine that harnesses energy from the massive waterfall. The turbine produces all of the energy needed to power the entire restaurant and glassblowing operation. If you are visiting on the weekends, you can see potters at work. And once you’ve come to appreciate all that goes into creating these beautiful pieces, you can saunter back up to the retail shop and treat yourself to a one of a kind remembrance of your visit to Vermont. If I sound like a hired hand for Simon Pearce, I’m not. I just have a real love for how well they do things. Our guests always rave about the excellent service at the restaurant. Personally I have a bit of an addiction to their glassware. The tables at our Woodstock Vermont bed and breakfast are topped with Simon Pearce hurricanes and their champagne buckets and glass ice cubes are in our tavern. And yesterday I was lucky enough to have another bowl of my favorite Provencal Fish Stew. Life is good. Comments (0) December 4, 2010 Change is in the air Filed under: What's cooking — Tags: Cafe du Monde, Woodstock Vermont, Woodstock Vermont Bed & Breakfast — villageinn @ 5:27 pm Change. Not always welcome, but inevitable. I usually resist, but am almost always thrilled with the outcome. In this case, it involves coffee – not just any coffee, but our beloved French Market Coffee from New Orleans that we have been serving at our Woodstock Vermont bed and breakfast for the past nine years. This change was in the works for some time. For many years I would call French Market to order our coffee. A very sweet woman named Michelle would answer, ask me how life is in the village of Woodstock, Vermont, and then take my coffee order. One day Michelle was gone. There was much confusion. Eventually someone on the phone told me that French Market Coffee was sold to Reily Foods, a much bigger company. The famous Cafe du Monde Though it was difficult at first, eventually we were assigned a new sales rep. No more sweet conversations with Michelle, but at least we could still get our coffee. That is, until Reily Foods sent us a letter in late August -they would no longer ship us coffee. Not thank you for being a loyal customer for nine years, not sorry for the inconvenience, not call us if you have any questions. But, they did give us the name of another supplier, along with the owner’s phone number and e-mail address. Okay, I was a little bit annoyed, but I called the new supplier. The owner answered the phone “hello”, no company name, no introduction. I explained that I’d like to buy coffee. We had a very pleasant conversation, he said that he would send me a price list along with a product listing for everything else that he sells. He asked me to send an e-mail with my contact info. I did that – no response. I followed up with another e-mail – no response. Two more phone calls -neither were returned. So, French Market is not the most famous coffee in New Orleans. We originally chose French Market just because it is what most of the old line restaurants in New Orleans serve. But, you already know how that story ended. Enter Cafe Du Monde, the New Orleans institution on Jackson Square. I called them and was immediately transferred to Chris, their wholesale manager. We arranged to meet this past November. It was all quite nice, much like when we first arranged to do business with French Market. A small company, a face and a name that appreciate your business. A welcome change! And an awesome cup o’ joe. We hope that you agree, we’ll be getting our first shipment from Cafe du Monde in just a few weeks. Comments (0) Archives September 2011 May 2011 December 2010 October 2010 July 2010 June 2010 March 2010 February 2010 Categories Just for fun Latest finds Restaurants Spanky speaking Specials Uncategorized Vermont's finest What's cooking