So there have been increased rumblings about the state of the Burlington downtown and the undesirable presence on the main drag, Church Street. Having worked here the last several years, it has been pretty apparent the growing number of ya-yos that now threaten to turn our main tourist/retail hub into an on-going episode of Cops! 2 recent incidents finally brought our plight to the fore. The first was a bit of vandalism. Burlington has a program called "Cows Come Home" in which local businesses sponsor artists who design cow sculptures for the downtown area in an effort to stimulate tourism. Well, some punks decided they wanted to trash someone else's hard work. Hey, I am all for fake humping the cows after a few late night drinks but destroying something that does not belong to you is f*cked up. The second little gem was the proposal to put in a halfway house for real scumbags right off Church Street. That has naturally gotten local business folks a little irritated. Well, when you provide to much government assistance you get the assholes who take advantage. If you are a crazy,homeless (by choice), dirtbag... why the hell would you live in cold Vermont? Oh yeah, because we invite you here and make it a welcoming place. The police just sit there and watch these clowns make a scene that naturally makes most people uncomfortable and not just a little nervous. I am not looking for a police state by any means but when you have a shirtless, 2 toothed, meth dealer screaming at his smoking pregnant girlfriend and then anyone else in the vicinity... get them off the street. F*ck your stupid waste of time "click it or ticket" program.
OK, on the greener pastures... The Farmhouse is an offshoot of the wildly popular American Flatbread that just opened here last week. It already has generated tons of buzz and a line out the door at the opening bell. Being right down the street, a few work cronies and I rolled in for a 2 night stand on the first 2 days it was open. First off, other than the McDonald's floors they never replaced... the space is very nice, open, airy, and allowing for plenty of cafe style energy. The beer list is intimidating w/ about 20 interesting specialty beers on tap and many more in bottles. The Hill Farmstead Abner IPA is rock solid and was a favorite of our group. The English Oil Can? Well, it tasted like an oil can and left the same way! The menu is still getting going but we rocked a few odds and ends. A couple guys had burgers and said they were very good, I am reserving judgement until I try one myself. We ate some apps that were pretty ok. The beef tartar had nice flavor but its texture and room temperature were a bit off putting. The goat cheese baskets were like little cheese balls of delicious. The roasted garlic blue cheese toasts were small, a bit of a flavor challenge, and well... ok. I like them but I like blue cheese. It was not a universal love around the table. All of the portions were pretty small and expensive but the food did taste good and seemed to be well executed. Service was typically slow for a new opening. Lots of servers standing around looking confused. I expect that to get better. The manager cruised around talking to all of the patrons and being quite friendly both nights. I give it 1 1/2 early bird thumbs up and look forward to my first full on dinner tomorrow night!
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