O, lissen up, people -- I've found a way to start a new fashion craze and help save the family farm. It's called "Dirty Britches." I sense your eyebrows raising already, but bear with me. Vermont isn't exactly known for its couture culture, but everyone agrees it has something called cachet. That Green Mountain magic helps sell everything from snowboards to salsa.... Read more

To mismatch a few lines from Shakespeare, anyone who understands "how full of briers is this working-day world" can easily become "a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles." In a word: snacks. The busy Bard must have known that breakfast and lunch may not be enough for those who toil with "an unbounded stomach."... Read more

All I really need to know I learned as a Hostess Helper. That's the job I worked one or two evenings a month when I was in high school. While other kids were mowing lawns or baby sitting, I was a certified member of the entertainment industry, part of a specialized squad of teens who'd been carefully trained to properly replenish potato chips and safely store leftover dip. By the time I was 16, I was peddling my skills for $4 an hour - an impressive rate for a kid in those days.... Read more

Even before I reach the bottom of the stairs at Lazy Lady Farms, I'm already self-conscious about the flecks of mud caking my boots, as though I'm about to contaminate the sterile field of an operating room. Inside the small, laboratory-like cheese room, the air is thick with humidity and the fecund aroma of curing cheeses -- chunky white patties resting on waxpaper-covered shelves and countertops like the proverbial pies cooling on a windowsill.... Read more

There's nothing generic about the "The Restaurant." Despite its lackluster name, Burlington's newest Church Street eatery excels in uniqueness -- from the romantic Old World decor to unorthodox food combinations such as lobster paired with black truffle bernaise.

"It's some stuff I worked on when I had a lot of down time," says dreadlocked chef Lenny Williams, a former chef at Iron Wolf who got his start running a French-fries cart. "This is basically the place I've been waiting to do in Burlington." Red Square co-owner Jack O'Brien is his partner in the project.... Read more

The first time you go to the Farmers Diner in Barre, you might have no idea what you're walking into. It might just be a place where a friend has suggested grabbing a bite. Sitting down at the counter -- which bustles with waitresses and is lined with comforting cakes and pies -- you might feel like you're in Smallville, or everyone's ideal hometown. Part of the inviting feeling comes from the wholesome face of the woman grinning back at you from the cover of your menu. By the caption, you might assume she's some local farmer who sells food to the diner.... Read more

Some folks get their thrills from garage-sale finds -- an original Fiestaware plate for $5, an original Elvis 8-track for 50 cents, that sort of thing. Other bargain lovers surf the Net for half-price closeouts and overstocks. Me, I hunt for cheap groceries at the crash-and-dent stores. That's what my mother-in-law called the places selling an ever-changing assortment of goods with damaged packaging. My best find to date was six large bottles of Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette, the salad dressing of choice for garden greens at our house. Regular chain-store cost: $3.29 each.... Read more

It's no secret that Montreal is a great bargain city. Cheap ethnic eats and comfortable no-frills accommodations -- along with the city's myriad other urban attractions -- regularly lure many of us north of the border. That exchange rate doesn't hurt, either. When sticking to the budget isn't a priority, however, Montreal's also a fine place to find an excuse to laissez le bon temps rouler.... Read more

A new legend of Sleepy Hollow is being created in the town of Huntington. So far, there have been no reports of headless cross-country skiers -- just increasing numbers of happy winter sports fans waxing poetic about the pleasures of this reborn resort.... Read more

You’ve got to love a culture that celebrates by eating. Quebec definitely qualifies, and Vermonters are lucky to be next door. Celebratory case in point: the arrival of spring. Or should I say the expectation of the arrival of spring? While Vermonters drill into maple trees and indulge in a little sugar on snow, the Quebecois enjoy an entire culinary-agro-tourism industry. Come March and April, families from all over the province head to a favorite cabane à sucre, or sugar shack, for a feast and some fresh air.... Read more