This Issue | Local Flavors

A couple of years ago, I was on assignment in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. The focus of my visit was the hilly hamlet of Greensboro, which is small even by northern New England’s standards. But oh, what a place for lingering. I meandered up and down the aisles of Willey’s, an everything-under-the-sun kind of store that sells, among thousands of other items, fresh sandwiches, chainsaws, and underwear. Jasper Hill Farm cheese is sold there, too. Its blues, soft ripened varieties, and clothbound cheddars are recognized as some of the best in the world, and it’s located just a few miles from Willey’s. So is Hill Farmstead, a beer nerd’s mecca, where Shaun Hill has built a brewery on land that’s been in his family for eight generations and now is creating some of most lauded beers on the planet. Here, in Greensboro, population 750. But Greensboro is hardly alone, as foodie towns prevail across New England — and this month we celebrate that fact by showcasing the best, from Great Barrington, Massachusetts, to Litchfield, Connecticut, to Little Compton, Rhode Island. There are 10 in all, and we think you’ll love discovering them in this issue. (Just don’t read it on an empty stomach.) —Ian Aldrich