SEVEN DAYS
2011 guide to readers’ picks
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MG, you’re multiplying. We thought we’d hit it big last year when nearly 4400 people responded to our annual best-of survey, but this year, we heard from more than 5800 of you — that’s almost 1 percent of Vermont’s population! We like to keep you on your toes, so for the ninth annual Daysies survey, we added a bunch of new categories, some of them better received than others. Only a handful of people felt strongly enough to vote for Vermont’s best side musician, for example, but everyone had an opinion about the best creemee stand. Can’t say we’re surprised. You extolled the virtues of your favorite soft-serve providers while cutting down the competition with a nerdy enthusiasm unparalleled in other categories. Three Brothers Pizza & Grill in Colchester, one of you declared, uses 10 percent milk fat, “unlike most creemee stands at 5 percent.” About Morse Farm’s maple creemees in Montpelier, someone wrote, “Real maple syrup, people! Not cut with Aunt J. like some BTV places!” One of you refused to name any particular stand. “That’s like picking a favorite child,” you protested. Speaking of children, we weren’t surprised that so many of you feel children don’t belong in restaurants, but we were surprised at the vitriol with which you expressed your desire to banish them from all eating establishments forever. When asked about the best restaurant to take the kids, scores of you answered, “Anywhere I’m not.” One of you took the opportunity to attack the little ones’ character: “Kids are expensive and ungrateful.” Another wanted to send them to “The [restaurant] at the bottom of Lake Champlain.” Maybe it’s the contrarian in us, but your collective self-righteousness on this issue kind of made us want to cart hundreds of babies to your favorite restaurant, just to watch you squirm. The only other category that inspired such rage was best Internet service provider. Many of you replied with some variation on “Anyone but [insert name of service provider here].” “Do we have a choice?” you bitched. “Fuck them all!” wrote more than a few of you. Perhaps that explains why so many Seven Days readers opt for a different kind of provider: “My neighbor.” Many of you thought it was hilarious that we would ask about your favorite bookstores, record stores, movie rental shops and photo shops. “What is this, 2002?” you scoffed. “What’s a book?” “What’s a record?” you joked. Over and over. We hear ya. But these places do still exist. And even in 2011, local bricks-and-mortar stores are still winning Daysies over Amazon and Netflix — well, just barely over Netflix. Old favorites, such as City Market, Higher Ground and WPTZ weather god Tom Messner have held on to their Daysies, year after year, and 2011 was no exception. We thought about creating a new category called “Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride” to honor longtime runners-up, such as Radio Bean (best small local music hotspot), The Point (best radio station) and, of course, Healthy Living Market (best natural foods market), which this year lost to City Market by an agonizing 32 votes. It’s up to you, dear voters, to see if, next year, these “bridesmaids” will get their turn in the spotlight. Congratulations to all the winners — and almost-winners — and thanks to everyone who voted. You’re an opinionated and loyal bunch, and that’s why we love you.
2 daysies
MEGAN JAMES
Pictured, clockwise from top: The Getup, Burlington Bay Market & Café, Thai Phat Market, Angioplasty Media, Gulliver’s Doggie Daycare, Wilaiwan Kitchen Note: Categories in blue are spotlighted.
Ga Ga We are
for glasses!
168 battery street
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burlington
651.0880
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SEVEN DAYS
2011 guide to readers’ picks
SEVENDAYSvt.com
Anthony, Jessica and Julia Chan
Best Ethnic Market
Thai Phat Market
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early a decade into the Daysies, it seemed like time for a shakeup. We offered you a slew of new categories, and in return you gave us some surprising new winners. Perhaps what’s old is new again, at least in the case of the Wayside Restaurant & Bakery. The 97-year-old Berlin diner snagged second place for best breakfast outside Chittenden County. On the opposite end of the age spectrum, Farmhouse Tap & Grill won its second Daysie for best burger. At just slightly more than a year old, the Burlington gastropub was ineligible for best new restaurant, which it would have handily won. Instead, Church & Main, which opened last October, won that honor. Outside Chittenden County, the new resto Daysie went to Salt, the Montpelier café that former Seven Days food editor Suzanne Podhaizer opened with her husband, chef Dan Green, last November. Sustainability may be its own reward, but, this year, you were eager to share the locavore laurels. Vermont Fresh Network member Leonardo’s Pizza netted its third consecutive win for best pizza delivery. Bite Me Organic Pizza, with its creative specialty pies, came in second, unseating last year’s runner-up, Domino’s, by only two votes.
Burlington To shine a light on local producers, we eliminated last year’s award for best Vermont specialty food in favor of more specific categories. Perhaps Cabot Creamery was simply too big not to win best Vermont cheese, but Shelburne Farms wasn’t far behind — thanks to some incredibly enthusiastic fans. One of you endorsed Shelburne Farms Tractor Cheddar thus: “It’ll put hair on your chest.” Maybe it’s time for Vermonters to claim the title “cheddarheads” from Wisconsin. Another Shelburne business topped the best winery voting in Chittenden County: Shelburne Vineyard. Samosaman won best farmers market vendor, with Rookie’s Root Beer its runner-up, and also recaptured second place for best ethnic cuisine (non-Asian) outside Chittenden County. Speaking of the largest continent, a pair of Asian markets ran neck-and-neck for the first-ever best ethnic market Daysie. 99 Asian Market Eatery was only five points behind Thai Phat Market, just down North Street. What else was new? Read on to see if your favorites made the cut. Alice Levitt
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et your unusual dry goods, sweets and meats at this authentic Asian supermarket. You’ll find fish, quail, goat, chicken feet and all types of candy and dried fruit. SEVEN DAYS: Do many Americans buy durian fruit from your market? ANTHONY CHAN, MANAGER: Many college students are very curious about the fruits. Americans buy dragonfruit, lychee and durian, but they buy more mangoes because they are sweet. FRANCES CANNON
Thank you to our community for all of your support! We couldn’t do it without you! - From everyone at Positive Pie
Italian Trattoria | Seasonal Menus | Hand Tossed Pizza Eclectic Wine List | Full Bar | Live Music Venue
22 State Street, Montpelier www.positivepie.com Free Delivery: 802-229-0453 Check out our original location in downtown Plainfield featuring a variety of fine craft beers from both near and far!
Girls have drea e e ! o m m o t s e e r
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Thank you for your votes!
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2011 guide to readers’ picks
VERMONT LIQUOR OUTLET
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125 Battery Street, Burlington 802-864-0110 www.burlingtonbaycafe.com 7/28/11 1:23 PM
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Top leftt: Erin Thomson, University of Vermont Bottom left: Molly Howard, Castleton State Center: Mariah Aylward, Becker College Bottom right: Maggie Ryan, Boston College Top right: Blythe Wisniewski, Champlain College
SEVEN DAYS
SERVING BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER & CREEMEES!
Best New Restaurant
(Outside Chittenden County)
Salt Montpelier
6 DAYSIES
SEVEN DAYS
2011 GUIDE TO READERS’ PICKS
MATTHEW THORSEN
SEVENDAYSVT.COM
JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR
Suzanne Podhaizer and Dan Green
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uzanne Podhaizer and Dan Green opened Salt in November 2010 in the Barre Street space previously occupied by Kismet. The former Seven Days food editor and her chef-husband change their eclectic menu every three weeks, with themes ranging from Alsatian specialties to Thomas Jefferson’s garden at Monticello. SEVEN DAYS: Are there any themes you planned, then abandoned? SUZANNE PODHAIZER, COOWNER: I wanted to start off with themes that would be broadly appealing to people. We’d like to do a medieval menu for which we might make trenchers. We probably won’t make camel stuffed with sheep, like the medieval turducken. I don’t think we can purchase local camel — at least in enough quantity. The chef isn’t really sold on the Great Depression menu, so I’ll have to do some work to get him to agree to that. Geek that I am, I’m eventually going to do a Lord of the Rings theme, too. ALICE LEVITT
Best New Restaurant (Inside Chittenden County)
Church & Main Burlington
Best restaurant if you’re paying INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] American Flatbread Burlington Hearth [RU] Tiny Thai (Winooski) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Sarducci’s (Montpelier)
Best restaurant if they’re paying INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Leunig’s Bistro & Café (Burlington) [RU] Trattoria Delia (Burlington) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Hen of the Wood at the Grist Mill (Waterbury)
Best new restaurant INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Church & Main Restaurant (Burlington) [RU] Our House Bistro (Winooski) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Salt (Montpelier)
Best breakfast/brunch INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Penny Cluse Café (Burlington) [RU] Sneakers Bistro & Café (Winooski) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Kismet (Montpelier)
Best lunch [W] Sarducci’s (Montpelier) [RU] Penny Cluse Café (Burlington)
Best Asian restaurant (including Indian) [W] A Single Pebble (Burlington) [RU] Tiny Thai (Winooski) Devin Quinn, Ned Church and Mark Marcer
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ocation, location, location. Since opening last fall, this lushly appointed spot has gone through at least three chefs, but the kitchen is clearly doing something right with its hearty portions of risotto, calamari and steak frites. The epic wine and spirits list keeps the bar lively.
Best ethnic cuisine (non-Asian) SEVEN DAYS: What do you see more of: anniversaries, first dates or illicit liaisons? DEVIN QUINN, GENERAL MANAGER: We get quite a mixture. You definitely notice the blind dates, the Match.com dates. And then you get the kind of meetings that you question. The bar is very open, and someone might ask, “So, what’s your wife doing tonight?” “Oh, she’s out of town.” We see a lot of that. CORIN HIRSCH
INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Madera’s Restaurante & Mexicano Cantina (Burlington) [RU] Trattoria Delia (Burlington) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Frida’s Taqueria & Grill (Stowe)
Best restaurant to take the kids [W] American Flatbread Burlington Hearth [RU] Friendly’s (South Burlington)
Thank you to everyone for your continued support!
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www.sarduccis.com 156 Church St. Burlington, VT
2010 guide to readers’ picks
winner 2003-2010
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Best late-night food [W] Kountry Kart Deli (Burlington) [RU] Ahli Baba’s Kabob Shop (Burlington)
Best pizza (restaurant) INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] American Flatbread Burlington Hearth [RU] Junior’s Italian (Colchester, Burlington) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Positive Pie (Plainfield/Montpelier)
Best pizza delivery INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Leonardo’s Pizza (Burlington) [RU] Bite Me Organic Pizza (Burlington)
8 daysies
SEVEN DAYS
2011 guide to readers’ picks
Best Vermont cheese [W] Cabot Cheese [RU] Shelburne Farms matthew thorsen
SEVENDAYSvt.com
OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Positive Pie (Plainfield/Montpelier)
Best burger [W] The Farmhouse Tap & Grill (Burlington) [RU] Sky Burger (Burlington)
Best creemee stand
Best Creemee Stand
INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Burlington Bay Market & Café (Burlington) [RU] Al’s French Frys (Southy Burlington)
Burlington Bay Market & Café
OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Dairy Creme (Montpelier)
Burlington
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his waterfront market certainly isn’t the only place in Vermont that offers maple creemees, but many of you say it’s the best. Of course, the location helps. Everybody stops there for a sweet treat on their way to or from the lake. Dress up a hard ice cream sundae with hot fudge, nuts and cookie dough, or go all out and order your dog a “doggie dish” — ice cream with a canine treat.
SEVEN DAYS: How is your doggie ice cream different from the ice cream you serve humans? JOEL CASSIDY, MANAGER: The vanilla ice cream in our puppy parfaits is the same, but the dog treats are made with organic ingredients by Kevin Douglas from Vermont Doggie Treats. FRANCES CANNON
Best brewpub INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Vermont Pub & Brewery (Burlington) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] The Alchemist Pub and Brewery (Waterbury)
Best Vermont craft beer [W] Switchback Brewing Company (Burlington) [RU] Magic Hat Brewing Company (South Burlington)
New menu items coming soon: The Triple ThreaT ShiNer Bacon, sausage and ham topped with 3 eggs and 3 hash browns with 3 times the cheese. The DJ paTTi MelT ½ lb. burger on grilled rye with Swiss and VT Cabot cheddar, grilled onions and garlic mayo. The KKD rapper Fresh chicken salad with crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato and red onion. Topped with VT Cabot cheddar cheese. The NooNaN Sliced grilled turkey with VT Cabot cheddar, tomato, red onion and BBQ sauce. DuNN’S MoNTreal SMoKeD MeaT Imported from Montreal – grilled and served on rye bread with Swiss, tomatoes, red onion and Dijon mustard.
Thank you loyal beer geeks! ˘alchemistbeer.com
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Open 7 days a week, 7:00 AM - 3:00 AM • 155 Main St • Burlington • 864-4408 7/30/10 11:13:56 AM
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Welcome to Our House
2011 guide to readers’ picks
Make it Yours.
SEVEN DAYS
Serving twisted comfort food for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch Our House Bistro
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36 Main Street, Winooski, VT 05404 (802) 497-1884 • www.ourhousebistro.com DQ11-switchback.indd 1
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jeb wallace-brodeur
Best Vermont winery INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Shelburne Vineyard (Shelburne) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Boyden Valley Winery
Josh Bard and Jack Pickett with a plate of lengua
Frida’s Taqueria & Grill Stowe
SEVENDAYSvt.com 2011 guide to readers’ picks SEVEN DAYS 10 daysies
uthentic” Mexican spots recently began proliferating in northern Vermont, but when Frida’s Taqueria & Grill opened in 2009, fresh south-ofthe-border fare was difficult to come by. Two years on, the Stowe restaurant has picked up its first Daysie, earned for its much-loved tacos, flan and smoked-duck mole.
SEVEN DAYS: How have you sold people on lengua (beef tongue) tacos? JACK PICKETT, CO-OWNER: Sometimes you can tell people, “Hey, you’ve never had it, but you’re gonna pay $3.75. If you don’t like it, what’s the worst that can happen?” We also guarantee all our food — if you don’t like it, you don’t pay for it. The majority of people who order it have already been to a taqueria here or in Mexico that serves it. People who are in the know go for it. ALICE LEVITT
Best Caterer
Sugarsnap Burlington
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his purveyor of prepared locavore specialties added two locations to its empire this year: a café at ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, and Sugarsnap at Technology Park, which is now home base for the company’s prep kitchen and catering division. The produce comes from Sugarsnap’s own garden at the Burlington Intervale, but the menu spans the globe, from pork empanadas to Thai peanut chicken skewers.
SEVEN DAYS: What do you do when someone requests food that’s wildly out of season for an event? LAURA KANYA, EXECUTIVE CHEF: Of course if somebody is really adamant on it, we will try and fill their request. But we also stress our philosophy of seasonal and local and the best product is within season. Sometimes, for things like blueberries, we are able to freeze them and use those all winter long. We’ll puree basil and use it all winter long in pestos. ALICE LEVITT
INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Muddy Waters (Burlington) [RU] Uncommon Grounds (Burlington) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Capitol Grounds (Montpelier)
Laura Kanya
matthew thorsen
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[W] Three Penny Taproom (Montpelier) [RU] Red Square (Burlington)
Best coffee/teahouse
Best Ethnic Cuisine (Non-Asian) (Outside Chittenden County)
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Best bar
We thank you from the bottom of our pints for all your support throughout the years!
Open 6:45am–3pm Open Weekdays 6:45am–3pm Open Weekdays Weekdays 6:45am–3pm Open Weekdays 6:45am–3pm Weekends Holidays 8am–3pm Weekends & Holidays 8am–3pm Weekends && Holidays 8am–3pm
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Gracias a todos We Greatly Appreciate your support!
2011 GUIDE TO READERS’ PICKS SEVEN DAYS
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courtesy of boyden valley winery
Best bakery INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Mirabelles (Burlington) [RU] August First (Burlington) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Red Hen Bakery & Café (Middlesex)
Best Vermont Winery (Outside Chittenden County)
Best street eats
Boyden Valley Winery
INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Hong’s Dumplings (Burlington) [RU] The Skinny Pancake (Burlington)
Cambridge
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enerations of the Boyden family have presided over this idylliclooking Cambridge farm for more than 100 years, producing milk, maple syrup and beef. Several years ago, David Boyden began making wines from coldhardy grapes — such as Frontenac and Seyval Blanc — that are more polished every year.
SEVEN DAYS: What kinds of wines do you drink when you’re not drinking your own? DAVID BOYDEN, OWNER and WINEMAKER: I tend to like European wines more than New World wines, wines from France and Italy. Our wines are modeled on a European style — balanced but not super jammy or too strong in oak. Subtle wines that are really good with food.
jeb wallace-brodeur
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t their food cart outside Montpelier’s county courthouse, Wilaiwan Phonjan and her husband, Tim Azarian, serve colorful, spicy fare that fuses traditional Thai street food with the cuisine of Phonjan’s native region near the Laos border. They roll out two dishes at lunchtime every weekday — such as coconut curry or crispy pork salad — and almost always sell out within two hours.
SEVEN DAYS
2011 guide to readers’ picks
SEVENDAYSvt.com
CORIN HIRSCH
Tim Azarian and Wilaiwan Phonjan
Best Street Eats
12 daysies
(Outside Chittenden County)
Wilaiwan Kitchen Montpelier
SEVEN DAYS: What is the most difficult ingredient to find here in Vermont? TIM AZARIAN, CO-PROPRIETOR: I would say the hardest to get is galangal, a Thai ginger. It’s similar to the Asian ginger we get in the store but it has a much different taste. The thing with [authentic] Thai food is that you can’t really get it here. In Thailand, everything is fresh, to be eaten right away. The lemongrass there tastes different, the limes are different. It’s just a soil thing. It’s really hard to recreate Thai food here, but we try to get as close as we can. CORIN HIRSCH
OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Wilaiwan Kitchen (Montpelier)
Best ethnic market [W] Thai Phat Market (Burlington) [RU] 99 Asian Market (Burlington)
Best natural foods market INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] City Market / Onion River Co-op (Burlington) [RU] Healthy Living Market (South Burlington) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Hunger Mountain Co-op (Montpelier)
Best farmers market vendor [W] Samosaman Natural Foods [RU] Rookie’s Root Beer
Best veggie fare INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Zabby & Elf’s Stone Soup (Burlington) [RU] A Single Pebble (Burlington) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Kismet (Montpelier)
Best wine seller [W] Cheese Traders and Wine Sellers (South Burlington) [RU] Dedalus Wine (Burlington)
Best caterer [W] Sugarsnap (Burlington) [RU] Cloud 9 Caterers (South Burlington)
SEVENDAYSvt.com 2011 guide to readers’ picks
SEVEN DAYS
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arts, entertainment & recreation
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hen it closed two months ago after a seven-year run, Montpelier’s Langdon Street Café left a lot of broken hearts in central Vermont. So it’s no surprise the place raked in the most votes for best small local music hotspot outside Chittenden County. Unfortunately, we can’t give out posthumous awards — where would they put their Daysie sticker? — so this little shoutout will have to do: Langdon Street, we loved you, too! Inside Chittenden County, the competition in that category was stiff: Only 27 votes separated this year’s winner, Nectar’s, from runner-up Radio Bean. When it comes to large live music venues, there’s just no competing with Higher Ground, though the Flynn launched into the runner-up spot this year with nearly double the votes of last year’s runner-up, Nectar’s. Everybody loves dancing at Club Metronome, especially at Retronome, the weekly ’80s night, but some of you prefer a little more privacy. “At home naked” was a surprisingly common response. “Anywhere with my book group” was more puzzling. Singer-songwriter Joshua Panda had a bit of the always-a-bridesmaid thing going on this
year, coming in twice as runner-up, once for best up-and-coming performer — which Myra Flynn took home for the second year, despite the fact that the soulful diva has already, well, up and come — and once for best unsigned Vermont band. And kudos to the Lynguistic Civilians, whom you named both best unsigned Vermont band and best Vermont hip-hop artist. Harry Bliss had a strong showing in the best cartoonist category, but ultimately the Daysie went to James Kochalka, Vermont’s cartoonist laureate. Painter Katharine Montstream held down her title as best visual artist for the second year, with past winner dug Nap close behind. But we’ve really got to hand it to Chris Bohjalian, who has won a Daysie for best Vermont fiction writer for nine straight years. How does he do it, and where does he keep them all? The other perennial winner in this section, of course, is the undefeated best weekend getaway in Vermont: the town of Stowe — and the spas (Stoweflake) and lodges (Trapp Family Lodge) of Stowe that came in second and third, respectively, this year. What do they do up there in that magical land? Whatever it is, we want to try it. MEGAN JAMES
Best Local Record Label Montpelier
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his Capital City-based collective embodies the spirit of Montpeculiar with an eclectic roster of talent that runs the gamut from hiphop to indie pop to experimental rock, and any number of stops in between.
jeb wallace-brodeur
14 daysies
SEVEN DAYS
2011 guide to readers’ picks
SEVENDAYSvt.com
State & Main Records
Knayte Lander and Scott Baker
SEVEN DAYS: Did video really kill the radio star? If so, with which object and in which room of the mansion? SCOTT BAKER: On August 1, 1981, the Radio Star faked his own death. Video, in a desperate attempt to build hype, took the credit. Colonel Mustard was keen to the ploy and threatened to out Video to the growing media frenzy... Video’s estranged paramour, Miss Peacock, was hired to protect [his] integrity… and offed the great colonel with the candlestick in the conservatory. Radio Star was formally buried amongst the ballyhoo, although he is alive and well and resides on a remote island with Tupac and Biggie. Their forthcoming album, featuring appearances by all three, A Very Calypso Christmas, will be released on State & Main Records. Pre-orders available now at stateandmainrecords.com. DAN BOLLES
Thanks for renting local for 15 years!
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HIGHLIGHTS k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang
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Young@Heart is Alive and Well
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Here’s looking forward to many more.
Flying Karamazov Brothers Broadway National Tour
“My Fair Lady”
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Laurie Anderson India.Arie and Idan Raichel “Open Door”
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Ravi Coltrane Cherish the Ladies “A Celtic Christmas” Broadway National Tour
“Mamma Mia!”
S 370 Shelburne Road Burlington • 802.660.5545 DQ11-waterfrontvideo.indd 1
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s • Indie Films e i r a t n ume s • Hollywood Blockbusters c o D stival Voted BeSt ter thea in:
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
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Hugh Masekela
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Broadway National Tour
An All-Balanchine Evening
The Suzanne Farrell Ballet “South Pacific” Joan Rivers
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For a complete season brochure call 802-652-4554
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2011 GUIDE TO READERS’ PICKS
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American Icon and National Treasure
Best large live music venue MATTHEW THORSEN
[W] Higher Ground (South Burlington) [RU] Flynn Center for the Performing Arts (Burlington)
Best small local music hot spot
Best Unsigned Vermont Band & Best Vermont Hip-Hop Artist
[W] Nectar’s (Burlington) [RU] Radio Bean (Burlington)
The Lynguistic Civilians V
ermont’s recent hip-hop renaissance has given rise to a startling number of highquality MCs, DJs and crews. Among the more promising are the Lyngusitic Civilians, whose Jurassic 5-inspired jams shake both minds and behinds. SEVEN DAYS: Who put the “bomp” in the bomp-bah-bomp-bah-bomp? Subquestion: Who put the “ram” in the rama-lama-ding-dong?
MONTY BURNS: The Lynguistic Civilians, because we made your baby fall in love with you. DAN BOLLES
Best Museum (Outside Chittenden County)
16 DAYSIES
SEVEN DAYS
[W] Club Metronome (Burlington) [RU] Red Square (Burlington)
Best up-and-coming musical performer [W] Myra Flynn [RU] Joshua Panda
Best unsigned Vermont band [W] The Lynguistic Civilians [RU] Joshua Panda
Best side musician
Norwich
[W]
(tie) Bob Wagner, Joshua Glass
Best Vermont hip-hop artist [W] The Lynguistic Civilians [RU] DJ A-Dog
Best independent music promoter [W] Angioplasty Media [RU] Big Heavy World
Best local record label
TOM MCNEILL
2011 GUIDE TO READERS’ PICKS
SEVENDAYSVT.COM
Montshire Museum
Best place to dance
[W] State & Main Records [RU] Angioplasty Media
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t the Montshire Museum of Science, they trick you into learning, and they’re not ashamed to admit it. They make you think you’re just having fun — sticky pads strapped to your hands and knees as you crawl up a sloped wall — when actually you’re learning about insects. They give you a “tongue gun” and invite you to launch it; whoops, you just learned about chameleons catching their prey. Turns out, when science is hands-on — and involves awesome contraptions such as “The Rill,” a 250-foot outdoor watercourse decked out with adjustable mini dams and sluices — it’s easy to learn.
SEVEN DAYS: What’s the coolest scientific factoid you’ve learned from a Montshire exhibit lately? BOB RAISELIS, EXHIBITS DIRECTOR: Individual ants can live as long as three years. We have a leaf-cutter ant exhibit that is quite popular. The ants don’t actually eat the leaves we give them, but rather they cut them up and use them to grow fungus gardens that supply food for the colony. MEGAN JAMES
Best Vermont stand-up comedian [W] (tie) Josie Leavitt, Rusty DeWees [RU] Jason Lorber
Best club DJ [W] cRAIG mITCHELL [RU] DJ A-Dog
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888.253.4849 www.stowe.com Follow us at twitter.com/stowemtresort & facebook.com/stowemountainresort. DHH11-stowe.indd 1
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MATTHEW THORSEN
Best Independent Music Promoter
Angioplasty Media Burlington
Best visual artist [W] Katharine Montstream [RU] dug Nap
Best cartoonist [W] James Kochalka [RU] Harry Bliss
Best art gallery [W] BCA Center (Burlington) [RU] S.P.A.C.E. Gallery (Burlington)
Best Vermont craft gallery INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Frog Hollow Vermont State Craft Center (Burlington) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Artisans Hand Craft Gallery (Montpelier)
Best movie theater
18 DAYSIES
SEVEN DAYS
2011 GUIDE TO READERS’ PICKS
SEVENDAYSVT.COM
INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Merrill’s Roxy (Burlington) [RU] Majestic 10 (Williston) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] The Savoy Theater (Montpelier)
Best museum INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Shelburne Museum (Shelburne) [RU] ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center (Burlington)
Nick Mavodones and Paddy Reagan
I
f Burlington and surrounds have seemed just a bit cooler of late, it’s because of indie music promoters like Angioplasty Media. The little booking collective that could is responsible for bringing a staggering number of underground acts through the area, vastly upping the Queen City’s indie cred.
SEVEN DAYS: You have the chance to book Bon Iver, solo, at the Monkey House. The show will be incredible and help fund future shows for months, if not years, to come. But there is a clause in the rider that states you also have to find a place for Color Me Badd to play, and find them local support. One, do you do it? And two, where do book CMB, and with whom?
NICK MAVODONES: Definitely. We would 100 percent take on the challenge of putting on both Bon Iver and Color Me Badd. Bon Iver would hit up the Monkey House — slay it. Fund us for years to come. Color Me Badd would have to be at Metro Hair salon on Pearl Street. Opening set by Lawrence Welks & Our Bear to Cross. Crowds would spill out into the streets. Nakedness and psalms all around. DAN BOLLES
OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Montshire Museum of Science (Norwich)
Best Vermont festival [W] Burlington Discover Jazz Festival [RU] Vermont Brewers Festival (Burlington)
Best outdoor concert series [W]
Ben & Jerry’s Concerts on the Green (Higher Ground Presents) (Shelburne) [RU] Battery Park Free Concert Series (Burlington)
Best Vermont fiction writer [W] Chris Bohjalian [RU] Archer Mayor
THANKS FOR YOUR VOTES!
Thanks for voting!
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Antique Vintage & Modern Furnishings
On the Mountain Road in Stowe (802) 760-1083 www.spaatstoweflake.com
Featuring a Modern*Love showroom
2011 guide to readers’ picks SEVEN DAYS
Anjou
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& the Little Pear 53 Main St. Burlington | 802.540.0008 | anjouVT.com DQ11-anjou.indd 1
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MATTHEW THORSEN
Best Vermont Stand-up Comedian
Josie Leavitt
(tie with Rusty DeWees) W
hether helping to develop young comedians or slaying audiences of her own, the matriarch of Vermont’s burgeoning stand-up comedy scene is among the area’s most accomplished comics. She also owns one of Chittenden County’s coolest bookstores, the Flying Pig in Shelburne.
20 DAYSIES
SEVEN DAYS
2011 GUIDE TO READERS’ PICKS
JOSIE LEAVITT: Janeane Garofalo. She’s really smart and seems like an actress who reads a lot. Plus, she’s got enough attitude that she could handle the eight hours a day of customer service while still having a lot of laughs. She also has the right amount of flakiness to forget important things sometimes, like paying the rent. DAN BOLLES
Best Theater Company (Outside Chittenden County)
COURTESY OF LOST NATION THEATER
SEVENDAYSVT.COM
SEVEN DAYS: Let’s say NBC just picked up your pilot for a show called “Oh, That Joanie!” It’s about the zany misadventures of a woman who runs a bookstore by day and does standup by night. Sadly, the suits at NBC won’t let you play the lead role, but they will let you cast it, provided it’s a reasonably well-known actress. Who do you choose, and why?
The cast of Woody Guthrie’s American song
Lost Nation Theater Montpelier
I
n its first incarnation in Bristol in the late ’70s, Lost Nation Theater performed exclusively original works. Later, it began focusing on productions that addressed social issues. Since 1989, though, Lost Nation Theater has been in residence at Montpelier City Hall, where it puts on a steady flow of shows, from classic dramas to original, Vermont-based works. For the current show, Woody Guthrie’s American Song, producing artistic director Kathleen Keenan says she’s gone back to her “singer-songwriter roots” — not to mention her guitar. She’s hard pressed to name a favorite production, but some that spring to mind are To Kill a Mockingbird, Judevine, and Having Our Say. SEVEN DAYS: What does live theater bring to a community? KATHLEEN KEENAN: What I love about theater is, it’s an opportunity to walk in someone else’s shoes for a while, to be transported, to see it together and see how other people respond. … Theater is a heightened form of storytelling; it reflects who
we are. … It’s one of those art forms where you can go and be surrounded by a bunch of people in a really positive way; at once to be outside ourselves and totally connected to how we’re feeling and what we’re thinking. It speaks to something primal. PAMELA POLSTON
Best poet [W] dug Nap [RU] David Budbill
Best theater company INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Lyric Theatre Company OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Lost Nation Theater
Best performing arts venue [W]
Flynn Center for the Performing Arts (Burlington)
Best recreation area [W] Oakledge Park (Burlington) [RU] Burlington Bike Path
Best public golf course [W] Kwiniaska Golf Club (Shelburne) [RU] Williston Golf Club
Best snow slope [W] Stowe Mountain Resort [RU] Smugglers’ Notch (Jeffersonville)
Best après-ski [W] The Matterhorn (Stowe) [RU] The Alchemist Pub & Brewery (Waterbury)
Best x-country ski area [W] Trapp Family Lodge (Stowe) [RU] Catamount Outdoor Family Center (Williston)
Best weekend getaway in Vermont [W] Stowe (town) [RU] Stoweflake Mountain Resort & Spa (Stowe)
French Wine-Images of the 1957 Margaux Wine Harvest by Peter Miller
Thanks to all the Daysies Voters for Your Support!
Opening Reception Friday, August 5 from 5-8pm
85 Church Street. Burlington 802-863-6458 • www.froghollow.org This exhibit is made possible by the generosity of DQ11-petfoodwarehouse072711.indd 1
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Fresh, Affordable, Authentic Thai Food!
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THANKS FOR THE VOTES!
2011 GUIDE TO READERS’ PICKS
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TAKE OUT • BYOB • LOOK FOR OUR NEW MENU COMING SOON: TINYTHAIRESTAURANT.NET
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DAYSIES 21
Essex Shoppes & Cinema: 878-2788 Mon-Sat 11:30am-9:00pm Sun 12-7pm
jeb wallace-brodeur
Best Vermont Blogger
Anne Galloway VT Digger
W
hat is it about Tom Messner? The WPTZ meteorologist, also known as Mr. Smiley — and (lovingly?) referred to by one respondent this year as “Tom Crystal Methner” — just won his ninth consecutive Daysie. The biggest change in the Media category this year is that we dropped the award for best publication, because, well, Seven Days kept winning, and that was getting kind of embarrassing. It never seemed fair, anyway, to poll our own readers, the people who — and we hope we’re not being presumptuous here — we’re pretty sure already like us. A lot.
SEVEN DAYS 22 daysies
Anne Galloway
file: jordan silverman
2011 guide to readers’ picks
SEVENDAYSvt.com
Darren Perron, WCAX news anchor
R
eferring to Anne Galloway as a blogger — and VTDigger as a blog — is a bit misleading. Since launching in the fall of 2009, Galloway’s nonprofit news website has become an ambitious, six-days-a-week newsgathering operation and a must-read for Vermonters who want the inside scoop on statehouse news and politics. While establishment media continue their march toward infotainment, VT Digger has earned a small but devoted following by digging in on complex — and unsexy — topics such as the state budget and health care regulations. Loyal to its motto, “Led by journalists, powered by the public,” VT Digger recently launched a companion site called Tipster that aims to be a repository for Vermonters to drop anonymous tips for reporters to use in developing stories. After a big year of changes that included renting a bricks-and-mortar office on Main Street in Montpelier, merging with the Vermont Journalism Trust and winning a $104,000 grant from the Knight Foundation, the next year promises even more growth — the site is hiring three new staffers, including a full-time reporter. SEVEN DAYS: Do you ever sleep? ANNE GALLOWAY: Oh, God, I’m actually trying to get more sleep this summer. I did go for a while without much sleep. We are pretty crazy about posting, it’s true. It’s easy to burn out, and I don’t want to burn out. ANDY BROMAGE
It’s a little more exciting to watch you pit us against each other, as you did in the best print/web journalist category. Seven Days political columnist Shay Totten demolished his colleagues Lauren Ober, Ken Picard and Dan Bolles — who came in the next three spots — to take home that Daysie for the third year. Oh, and he won for best Twitter feed again, too. We’re just saying: Shay, watch your back. Those of you who own a television — more than a few responded, “What’s TV?” — still love the newscast on WCAX, which beat out WPTZ by more than 400 votes this year. On the radio, 95 Triple X’s Jamie & Chantal just barely held on to their three-year Daysie-winner reign — well, “they” used to be Mike & Chantal. The Point’s Zeb Norris came in not far behind. The Point also came this close (20 votes!) to edging out four-year winner Vermont Public Radio for best radio station. Maybe next year, folks. MEGAN JAMES
We thank our clients, friends + family
Thank you for your votes!
for all their support!
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SEVENDAYSVT.COM 2011 GUIDE TO READERS’ PICKS
THANK YOU …for your votes! We appreciate the confidence you have in us and the financial products and services we have provided for over 50 years.
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andy duback
Chantal Paulino and Jamie Scavotto
Jamie & Chantal 95 Triple X
SEVEN DAYS
2011 guide to readers’ picks
SEVENDAYSvt.com
Best Local Radio DJs
Best print/web journalist
24 daysies
[W] Shay Totten (Seven Days) [RU] Lauren Ober (Seven Days)
M
orning jocks Jamie Scavotto and Chantal Paulino have been dishing it on air for years. Hell, Chantal’s been on the air since 1990, back when DJs used to have to spin the overnight shift. As a result, they’re pretty good at what they do: entertaining the masses, pushing people’s buttons and being royally obnoxious — all between their commercial rotation of Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and other pop gumballs, plus “entertainment sleaze,” stupid news and their infamous phone scams. So it’s no surprise that readers once again voted Chantal and pal the area’s best local radio DJs. (Actually, a previous iteration of the popular morning drive-time show Mike & Chantal won a handful of previous Daysies. Scavotto replaced Mike Czarny in 2010.)
SEVEN DAYS: Were you born this way? JAMIE SCAVOTTO: (Laughs) Unfortunately, yes. I was born this way… [T]his is basically what I have to do with myself in order to maintain a successful, stable life. I was born dysfunctional and loud, so I guess that’s pretty much the only thing I have to go with. CHANTAL PAULINO: Yes, unfortunately. Well, no. I was born skinny. I was born seven pounds. I now weigh a lot more than that. So, I guess no, I was not born this way. LAUREN OBER
Best TV newscast
Best radio station
[W] WCAX [RU] WPTZ
[W] Vermont Public Radio [RU] The Point 104.7
Best meteorologist
Best Vermont blogger
[W] Tom Messner (WPTZ) [RU] Gary Sadowsky (WCAX)
[W] Anne Galloway (vtdigger.org) [RU] Shay Totten (Seven Days)
Best local radio DJ
Best Vermont twitter feed
[W] Jamie & Chantal (95 Triple X) [RU] Zeb Norris (The Point 104.7)
[W] @shaytotten [RU] @handyslunch
we've Got Daysies!
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for your Support Community owned and operated since 1972! BULK
It's our pleasure to serve Burlington, south Burlington, shelburne, winooski, Colchester, williston and essex Junction.
Open 8am-8pm every day 623 Stone Cutters Way Montpelier, VT 802.223.8000 hungermountain.com
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Brewing strong for 17 years. 184 Main street Burlington, Vt (802) 658-0466
Check out www.unionstreetmedia.com to learn more about our growing team and the online customer experiences we create together with our clients!
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For the uninitiated among you, we design, build, host and market web sites from our offices in the Adams School Building on S. Union Street.
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to everyone that voted for our 3rd straight “Best Web Developer“ Seven Daysie and all of the Vermont business people who have supported us since 1999.
Muddy Waters
2011 guide to readers’ picks
Color: Full Color Path: Marketing / Art / Print Ads / 2011 Ads / Seven Days Date sent: 7/27/2011 Send PDF to: michael.@sevendaysvt.com KrissyL@hungermountain.com (thunderous applause here) Ad produced by: Shirley Leclerc / shirleyL@hungermountain.com
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Best Vintage/ Secondhand Clothing (Outside Chittenden County)
The Getup Vintage Clothing Montpelier
I
f it was stylish between 1900 and 1980, there’s a good chance you’ll find it at the Getup. Hannah Bean, who owns the Montpelier store with Jeff Thomson — they closed their Burlington sister store at the end of July — is a self-declared “nostalgic nutcase.” She handpicks everything they sell: slips in every imaginable hue, elaborate belt buckles, vintage sewing supplies, cowboy boots, aprons for kids, super-tight men’s swim trunks from the 1960s, and more. And with her platinum blond, chin-length coif, she looks like she stepped right out of the bygone eras she adores.
26 daysies
SEVEN DAYS
2011 guide to readers’ picks
SEVENDAYSvt.com
Hannah Bean
services & stuff
W
hen it comes to shopping for stuff, you people know what you like. No big surprises here. Except maybe that the Men’s Store in Montpelier finally overtook Burlington’s Michael Kehoe for best men’s clothing. And that humble little Crow Bookshop faced down the mighty Goliath Barnes & Noble — and won. Here’s to independent bookstores and, let’s face it, prime Church Street real estate. You probably thought we’d covered everything you could think to buy last year, but we didn’t! So we added a few new categories, including best pet daycare (Gulliver’s Doggie Daycare), best toy store (Woodbury Mountain Toys) and an outside Chittenden County award for best lighting store (Barre Electric & Lighting supply). Jennifer Kahn, who was named best Vermont craftsperson in 2008 before we retired the category, found her way back to a Daysie this year, taking the title of best local jewelry designer from last year’s winner Timothy Grannis. It was a tight race for financial institutions this year. Defending champion Merchants Bank edged out runner-up New England Federal Credit Union with just seven votes! Anjou & the Little Pear is getting its moment in the sun. The consignment store was runner-up to ReStore last year for best antique/secondhand store; this year, the two shops flip-flopped. In another switcheroo, the Old Spokes Home is back in the game as best bike shop, having lost its title to runner-up Skirack last year. And then there are the Stowe spas ever jockeying for a Daysie. This year, the best spa title went
to Stoweflake Mountain Resort & Spa, with Topnotch Resort and Spa about 40 votes behind. For the second year, you named Perrywinkle’s best jewelry store, with Zinnia not far behind. In trying to cast your vote for that category, one of you stumbled on a moment of self-discovery. “Kay?” you suggested. “I don’t know. I’m divorced … maybe that’s why.” In the wedding world, the Inn at Shelburne Farms and the Inn at the Round Barn Farm are holding tight to their best Vermont wedding venue titles, inside and outside Chittenden County, respectively. Fiori Bridal Boutique in Essex Junction has been the reigning bridal salon since 2006 — except for the one time this year’s runner-up, Sewly Yours & Once Upon a Bride, won the title. Still, one respondent remained mystified by the whole bridal salon thing, offering, “The one that actually sells brides?” The majority of last year’s winners coasted easily to another victory. Full Tank and Good Stuff remain, by far, your favorite places to buy pipes and adult toys, respectively. Seventh Generation still has a reputation as the greenest Vermont business. And you seem to seriously love the Automaster of Shelburne — does it have anything to do with that commanding name? Kudos to Gardener’s Supply and Pet Food Warehouse, who each won with colossal leads of more than 600 votes. Whatever they’re doing, it’s clearly working. MEGAN JAMES
SEVEN DAYS: What clothing item or fashion trend from the past do you most wish would make a reappearance in contemporary fashion? HANNAH BEAN: Personally, I love the 1940s, the cuts and the fabrics. Things were fitted but comfortable, there was a lot of ruching detail and peplum. There’s something about it that you just don’t see in clothing a lot anymore. MEGAN JAMES
City Market is proud to be a part of this community.
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daycare boarding training
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2010 guide to readers’ picks
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Corner of Main & Battery Streets, Burlington, VT • 802-861-7500 • www.mirrormirrorvt.com
Best place to buy women’s casual clothing INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Sweet Lady Jane (Burlington) [RU] Ecco Clothes for Women & Men (Burlington) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Salaam Boutique (Montpelier)
Best place to buy women’s evening wear [W] Ecco Clothes for Women & Men (Burlington) [RU] Sweet Lady Jane (Burlington)
Best men’s clothing [W] The Men’s Store (Montpelier) [RU] Michael Kehoe (Burlington)
Best shoe store INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Stella (Burlington) [RU] Danform Shoes (Burlington, Shelburne)
28 daysies
SEVEN DAYS
2011 guide to readers’ picks
Best vintage/secondhand clothes matthew thorsen
SEVENDAYSvt.com
OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] The Shoe Horn Boutique (Montpelier)
Pat Clark and friends
INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Old Gold (Burlington) [RU] Second Time Around (Burlington) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] The Getup Vintage Clothing (Montpelier)
Best children’s clothing
Best Pet Daycare
INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Isabean Children’s Boutique (Burlington)
Gulliver’s Doggie Daycare
OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Zutano (Montpelier)
Burlington
I
n 1994, Pat Clark didn’t just launch what would become a hugely successful business; she named an entire industry: doggie daycare. Her oncetrademarked moniker is now as generic as Band-Aid, Zipper and Kleenex. And although she lost her trademark and has since adopted the name Gulliver’s Doggie Daycare, in order to differentiate her operation from similar ones, Clark’s remains Vermont’s favorite home-away-from-home for pups when their owners are at work or on vacation. SEVEN DAYS: So, how much dog poop does your business generate? PAT CLARK: The most a dumpster has weighed is 1600 pounds in one week ... But that happened in the winter, when we have to scoop around [the piles], so we end up paying for all that snow. But it’s a lot. I figure in my life I’ve carried a ton of poop. KEN PICARD
Best eyeglasses [W] Eyes of the World (Burlington) [RU] Costco (Colchester)
Best local jewelry designer [W] Jennifer Kahn (Burlington) [RU] Timothy Grannis (Burlington)
Best jewelry store [W] Perrywinkle’s Fine Jewelry (Burlington) [RU] Zinnia (Burlington)
198 Pearl Street Burlington. Mon-Sat 12-8 Sun 12-6
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You’ve always had our back.
2010 guide to readers’ picks
Thank you to all of our loyal customers!
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weddings.parties. black tie events.special occasions.
SEVEN DAYS
81 Church Street, Burlington 860.2220 • eccoclothesboutique.com
BCBG 7 for All Mankind Rich and Skinny Velvet Ella Moss Splendid Citizens of Humanity Paige Premium Denim James Perse DL 1961 AG Michael Stars Susana Monaco Brandy Melville
courtesy of the inn at the round barn farm
Best beauty-product purveyor INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Mirror Mirror (Burlington) [RU] MAC Cosmetics (Burlington) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Splash Naturals (Montpelier)
Best pet daycare [W] Gulliver’s Doggie Daycare (Williston) [RU] Play Dog Play (Burlington)
Best pet store [W] Pet Food Warehouse (South Burlington, Shelburne) [RU] PetSmart (Williston)
Best musical instrument store INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Advance Music Center (Burlington)
SEVEN DAYS
2011 guide to readers’ picks
SEVENDAYSvt.com
Best Vermont Wedding Venue (Outside Chittenden County)
OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] GuitarSam (Montpelier)
The Inn at the Round Barn Farm
Best record store
Waitsfield
T
he folks at Round Barn Farm attribute the unusual design of their namesake barn, built in 1910, to the Shakers. The religious sect r easoned that in a round structure, “the devil can’t catch you in the corners.” In the barn’s modern life as an events venue, the advantage is similar: At a wedding reception, you’re less likely to get cornered by the groom’s weird uncle. Plus, with its exposed beams and soaring ceiling, the place is simply gorgeous. Executive chef Charlie Menard has worked in the kitchen for 11 years, sourcing food entirely from local farms and the inn’s organic gardens — unless he gets a special request, such as the time a father of the bride caught a swordfish in Florida and shipped it to Vermont the day before the wedding. SEVEN DAYS: What’s the key to giving a great wedding toast? CHARLIE MENARD: I’m usually in the kitchen when that’s happening. I have given one. I really wasn’t prepared at all. That’s the key: rehearse and rehearse and rehearse. I didn’t, and I blew it. A lot of the folks we have at the Round Barn, I don’t know how they do it. They’re so well spoken and thoughtful. It’s a skill I just don’t have. MEGAN JAMES
INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Pure Pop (Burlington) [RU] Burlington Records OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Buch Spieler (Montpelier)
Best bookstore INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Crow Bookshop (Burlington) [RU] Barnes & Noble (South Burlington) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Bear Pond Books (Montpelier)
Best housewares store INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Homeport (Burlington) [RU] Kiss the Cook (Burlington)
30 daysies
OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Capital Kitchen (Montpelier)
Best toy store [W] Woodbury Mountain Toys (Montpelier) [RU] Toys “R” Us
Full Day 30 Night one way/ $10 roundtrip Obedience and Agility $90/6 weeks
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SEVENDAYSVT.COM 2011 GUIDE TO READERS’ PICKS
Congratulations to all the Daysie winners!
SEVEN DAYS
Mon–Sat 10–8, Sun 11–6
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40 8 62 5051 • S W E E T L A DYJ A N E . B I Z
Best Toy Store
Woodbury Mountain Toys Montpelier
T
hat Woodbury Mountain Toys is independently and locally owned may matter to the grownups, but when kids enter the jam-packed shop on Montpelier’s State Street, all they care about is play, play, play. Karen Williams-Fox bought the toy store 11 years ago from the original owner. Luckily, her vast merch wasn’t in the basement during Montpelier’s flood this spring. What’s hot this year? Gogo’s, says sales associate Emily Diferdinando, 31 and the mother of 5-year-old twins. Kids can’t tell from the outside what little plastic figures are in the three-toa-pack collectibles, so “they have to take a risk,” she says. Also popular is the foam Stomp Rocket, which even little tots can safely load, shoot, chase and reload. Hello, exercise — outdoors.
jeb wallace-brodeur
SEVEN DAYS
2011 guide to readers’ picks
SEVENDAYSvt.com
Emily Diferdinando
Best furniture store [W] Burlington Furniture Company [RU] Homeport (Burlington)
Best lighting shop INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Conant Metal & Light (Burlington) [RU] The Lighting House (Shelburne) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Barre Electric & Lighting Supply
Best computer store 32 daysies
Best photo shop
Best wedding venue
[W] PhotoGarden (South Burlington) [RU] LeZot Camera (Burlington)
INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Inn at Shelburne Farms
Best Internet service provider
OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Inn at the Round Barn (Waitsfield)
[W] Comcast [RU] Burlington Telecom
Best antique/secondhand store Best place to rent a movie [W] Anjou & the Little Pear (Burlington) [RU] The ReStore (Burlington, Barre)
[W] Small Dog Electronics (South Burlington/Waitsfield) [RU] Best Buy (Williston)
SEVEN DAYS: What do you wish you could play with right now? EMILY DIFERDINANDO: We actually do play with toys for most of the time we’re here. But it would be the Thunder Tube. It’s a musical instrument that looks sort of like a drum with a long string attached to it … it is so cool; it makes these very dramatic, satisfying thunderclaps. PAMELA POLSTON
INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] (Off the) Waterfront Video (Burlington, Middlebury) [RU] Netflix OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Downstairs Video (Montpelier)
Best web developer [W] Union Street Media (Burlington) [RU] Eternity Web Development (South Burlington)
Best bridal shop [W] Fiori Bridal (Essex Junction) [RU] Sewly Yours & Once Upon a Bride (Burlington)
Best florist [W] Kathy and Company Florist (Burlington) [RU] Chappell’s Florist (Burlington, South Burlington)
Best outdoor outfitter INSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Outdoor Gear Exchange (Burlington) [RU] Eastern Mountain Sports (South Burlington) OUTSIDE CHITTENDEN COUNTY [W] Onion River Sports (Montpelier)
Best auto dealer [W] The Automaster of Shelburne [RU] Heritage Ford, Toyota & Scion (Burlington)
Best bike shop
CURTAIN GOING UP ON YOUR WEEKEND?
INSIDE cHIttENDEN coUNtY [W] old spokes Home (Burlington) [RU] skirack (Burlington) oUtSIDE cHIttENDEN coUNtY [W] onion river sports (Montpelier)
Best real estate agency
JeB Wallace-Brodeur
[W] coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman realty [RU] re/MaX
Terrence Youk
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SEVEN DAYS: How do you keep a video store alive in the age of Netflix instant downloads? TERRENCE YOUK: it’s access to bandwidth. a lot of people in the area just don’t have it for streaming. if you’re on dial-up, perusing the Netflix catalog can be torture. There’s also a certain percentage of people who like to walk around and pick up something physically. i’d like to keep it going, because it’s almost like a public archive. We have a lot of things you wouldn’t see in another video store. i really thought [the store] would be over by now, but the truth is, it’s holding its own. We’re not getting rich, but we’re certainly thriving.
SEVEN DAYS
wo of Vermont’s remaining indie video stores have names that bear witness to their longevity — and their mobility. Just as Burlington’s Waterfront Video isn’t on the waterfront anymore, Montpelier’s downstairs Video isn’t downstairs. When terrence youk bought the savoy Theater from rick Winston and andrea serota in 2009, he transformed its basement into a second screening room. downstairs Video moved to 7 east state street just as Montpelier’s capitol Video closed its doors — making youk’s store the city’s only nonvirtual movie source besides redbox. “our business went up, like, 45 percent from what it had ever been,” youk says. Now he can offer cinemaphiles rare films from Winston’s VHs collection while also renting blockbusters to a broader clientele.
2011 guide to readers’ picks
Montpelier
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Greatest garden center [W] Gardener’s Supply Company (Burlington, Williston) [RU] Claussen’s Florist & Greenhouse (Colchester)
Best VT green business [W] Seventh Generation (Burlington) [RU] NRG Systems (Hinesburg)
Best place to do your banking [W] Merchants Bank [RU] New England Federal Credit Union
Best place to buy a pipe [W] Full Tank (Burlington) [RU] The Bern Gallery (Burlington)
Best adult toy store [W] Good Stuff (Burlington, St. Albans, Waterbury Center) [RU] Imago (Colchester)
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2011 guide to readers’ picks
[W] Indigo (Burlington) [RU] Stephen & Burns (Burlington) andy duback
SEVENDAYSvt.com
Best hair salon
Jess Ackerman
Best Antique/Secondhand Store
Anjou & the Little Pear Burlington
T
wo years ago, just before Jess Ackerman opened her consignment store on Burlington’s Main Street, she explained its unusual name to Seven Days thus: Anjou pears are “tasteful, with a bit of green.” So, too, the store, which exemplifies the green practices of recycling old furniture and home goods and “upcycling” old products into new ones. (Besides selling original art, Anjou carries some upcycled creations of local artists and crafters.) Today, the store’s 4000 square feet are a great place to browse through a century of changing fashions in home décor; the popular midcentury-themed Modern Love room offers everything from a sleek Danish Modern table to a 1977 Space Invaders arcade game. Ackerman says she loves the “treasure hunt” aspect of her business: “You never know what’s going to come through the door.” SEVEN DAYS: How do you decide on a price for the used items people bring in? JESS ACKERMAN: We come up with a price together. Because I’ve been open two years, I sort of have a pulse on what sells and what doesn’t. I’ll look things up if I don’t. A lot of times, it will depend on the consigner and how quickly they want to move it along. A lot of people don’t know what something’s worth, but I’ll give them my best guess, or surprise them with a bigger check than they were expecting. Margot Harrison
Best place to get body art [W] Yankee Tattoo (Burlington) [RU] Jade Lotus (Burlington)
Best yoga studio [W] Evolution Physical Therapy & Yoga (Burlington) [RU] Yoga Vermont (Burlington)
Best health club [W] The Edge Sports & Fitness (South Burlington, Essex, Williston) [RU] Planet Fitness (South Burlington, Essex)
Best Vermont spa [W] Stoweflake Mountain Resort & Spa [RU] Topnotch Resort and Spa
Best manicure/pedicure [W] Tootsies (Burlington) [RU] Jennie Nail & Spa (Burlington)
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2011 guide to readers’ picks
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