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*****
On my final night back in western Massachusetts prior to returning to Virginia for the new semester, my mother, step-father, and I dined at Chez Albert, Amherst's lone restaurant serving French cuisine. I had long heard that the food was solid, but that the restaurant was overpriced and served small portions. This may well have been true in the past, but it was not my experience; now, they serve generous portions for reasonable prices, and the food is both well presented and delicious.
Sunday through Wednesday, the restaurant offers a three course prix fixe menu, priced at $35.00, which includes a choice of three appetizers (Butternut Squash, Simple Salad, or Pate de Foie), three entrees (Chicken Fricassee, Monkfish Cheeks, or Pumpkin Gnocchi), and two desserts (Creme Brulee or Chocolate Mousse). The servings, as I said, are quite large; I had the Pate de Foie, the Monkfish Cheeks, and the Creme Brulee, and I barely finished my dessert--though, I did have a large chunk of my step-father's pork and a tremendous amount of bread.
We ate on a Tuesday night, and I believe the restaurant had not planned on having a full house; only one bartender and the owner were serving, and I suspect the kitchen was short staffed as well, so everything took a little longer than it should have to come out. That said, bread was never far from hand, and the wait did not seem overly tedious. We were initially given a basket of bread (which was a thick, crusty variety, and quite good) along with a white bean spread that was tasty, though we did have difficulty identifying it; honestly, I thought it was something involving butter, or possibly rendered fat of some variety.
When my appetizer finally came, it was a large rectangle of pate, which had a rich, meaty flavor, and a consistency that allowed it to be spread but was not so soft as the foie gras I had in France. It was served with a very good mustard that reminded me of some of the good stone ground mustards I had in France, as well as a thoroughly delicious dried cherry chutney that was just the right level of sweetness and tartness each. There were also a couple of cornichon, which is traditional, but in this case added little. The bread, again, was a good vehicle for the pate and its accompaniment. This was among the better pates I have had, and the cherry was just absolutely perfect with it.
Following up the foie was my entree of Monkfish Cheeks with Lobster au Jus. The cheeks, lightly batter and fried, were very good, though one piece was just very slightly undercooked; that was easily overlooked due to the quality of the remaining pieces, which were each substantial. Cheeks are known to be the most tender part of many fish and animals, and the monkfish is no exception; these particular cheeks were no exception. Served with very good mashed potatoes, as well as a truly decadent lobster sauce (along with a small piece of lobster itself), this was a fine main dish, and the one minor flaw was easily overlooked. My step-father's confit pork was also spectacular, moist and succulent, though my mother's gnocchi, which had a texture as if they had been flash fried, were only okay.
The creme brulee for dessert was very good, with a thick, hard crust of nearly burnt sugar topping a light, creamy custard that was as good as any I have had before. I do truly love creme brulee, it is among my favorite desserts when made properly, especially since it tends not to be overly sweet; kudos to the restaurant for doing this so well.
All in all, a fine restaurant, and a fine meal. It does appear to be vegetarian friendly (I suppose you would have to be to exist in Amherst), and the prices are distinctly reasonable, especially considering the enormous portions you get. Both my step-dad and my mom had leftovers.
Showing posts with label Massachusetts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Massachusetts. Show all posts
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Friday, June 20, 2014
Legal's Test Kitchen (Logan Airport, Boston, MA)
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*****
Renowned local seafood chain Legal Seafood has gone regional, and now has 34 restaurants from Massachusetts to Georgia, including their "Test Kitchens," restaurants where they try new recipes, as well as showcase old favorites. Featuring both local and nationally sourced seafood, they espouse a philosophy of using fish from sustainable sources and fisheries, and offer a high level of service and product. This review is a little different from most because it is not of a restaurant that is accessible to the daily diner; it is, rather, of one of their locations that happens to be located inside Logan Airport. That said, Legal's Test Kitchen (LTK, or like the rest of the restaurant group, colloquially, Legal) Harborside is a restaurant I have tried in the past, and it was just as good (if not better) so I feel confident in recommending that restaurant as well, and even would go so far as to recommend the entirety of the Legal Seafood line.
As I am about to embark on a vacation abroad, I find myself in one of my least favorite places; the airport. Not just any airport, either, but Logan, a hellish place that typically is among my least favorite places on earth. Today, however, I arrived at lunch time, and since all I had had to eat was a doughnut at a staff meeting this morning and a piece of toast before leaving western Mass to head out to Boston, I figured food was a good idea. LTK happened to be situated directly in front of my gate, so I decided to grab a beer and a bite to eat. They do not have a particularly extensive list of craft beers, but old mainstay Allagash White was among them, so I cannot complain too much. The menu is rather limited at this particular location, but they had gumbo on the menu, a personal favorite and something I rarely pass up when the opportunity to order it presents itself. Meals come up quickly here, as they should at an airport restaurant, with a clear recognition of the fact that people often are grabbing a quick meal between flights and have limited time, so mine came to me in probably five minutes. Despite the rapidity of the cooking, everything was prepared pretty well, from the fried okra (breaded, strangely; it worked though) to the shrimp to the scallops; my only complain was a little bit of grit in the seafood, but considering the okra was not at all slimy, I am willing to call that a wash. The gumbo was served with a mound of rice in the middle, which was simple white rice, but with the gravy-like soup it was very good, as the gumbo itself had a fair amount of flavor; clearly a proper roux was made in the preparation. The dish included generous amounts of everything, and I am definitely not hungry as I write this. That is a very good thing, seeing as the beer (only a 16oz, not the optional 23oz) and gumbo came to $26 before tip; nothing annoys me more than needing more food after spending that kind of money on lunch.
Airports are not typically known for providing good, or even acceptable food, but in this case Logan, and Legal's Test Kitchen, break the mold, and for that I am quite thankful. I highly recommend stopping into Concourse A (across from A5) for lunch if you have the time while at Logan, or hitting up one of their nearly three dozen other locations throughout the northeast, mid-Atlantic and Georgia.
*****
Renowned local seafood chain Legal Seafood has gone regional, and now has 34 restaurants from Massachusetts to Georgia, including their "Test Kitchens," restaurants where they try new recipes, as well as showcase old favorites. Featuring both local and nationally sourced seafood, they espouse a philosophy of using fish from sustainable sources and fisheries, and offer a high level of service and product. This review is a little different from most because it is not of a restaurant that is accessible to the daily diner; it is, rather, of one of their locations that happens to be located inside Logan Airport. That said, Legal's Test Kitchen (LTK, or like the rest of the restaurant group, colloquially, Legal) Harborside is a restaurant I have tried in the past, and it was just as good (if not better) so I feel confident in recommending that restaurant as well, and even would go so far as to recommend the entirety of the Legal Seafood line.
As I am about to embark on a vacation abroad, I find myself in one of my least favorite places; the airport. Not just any airport, either, but Logan, a hellish place that typically is among my least favorite places on earth. Today, however, I arrived at lunch time, and since all I had had to eat was a doughnut at a staff meeting this morning and a piece of toast before leaving western Mass to head out to Boston, I figured food was a good idea. LTK happened to be situated directly in front of my gate, so I decided to grab a beer and a bite to eat. They do not have a particularly extensive list of craft beers, but old mainstay Allagash White was among them, so I cannot complain too much. The menu is rather limited at this particular location, but they had gumbo on the menu, a personal favorite and something I rarely pass up when the opportunity to order it presents itself. Meals come up quickly here, as they should at an airport restaurant, with a clear recognition of the fact that people often are grabbing a quick meal between flights and have limited time, so mine came to me in probably five minutes. Despite the rapidity of the cooking, everything was prepared pretty well, from the fried okra (breaded, strangely; it worked though) to the shrimp to the scallops; my only complain was a little bit of grit in the seafood, but considering the okra was not at all slimy, I am willing to call that a wash. The gumbo was served with a mound of rice in the middle, which was simple white rice, but with the gravy-like soup it was very good, as the gumbo itself had a fair amount of flavor; clearly a proper roux was made in the preparation. The dish included generous amounts of everything, and I am definitely not hungry as I write this. That is a very good thing, seeing as the beer (only a 16oz, not the optional 23oz) and gumbo came to $26 before tip; nothing annoys me more than needing more food after spending that kind of money on lunch.
Airports are not typically known for providing good, or even acceptable food, but in this case Logan, and Legal's Test Kitchen, break the mold, and for that I am quite thankful. I highly recommend stopping into Concourse A (across from A5) for lunch if you have the time while at Logan, or hitting up one of their nearly three dozen other locations throughout the northeast, mid-Atlantic and Georgia.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Guest Chef Dinner, The Gill Tavern (Gill, MA)
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*****
The Gill Tavern is a very good restaurant in its own right, a solid mix of modern upscale and simple pub-like fare. Founded by the owner of The People's Pint, a Greenfield brewpub that has good food, great beer, and (at least the last time I went there, which has now been a few years) absolutely horrific service that prevented me from enjoying the good food and beer, The Gill Tavern has been successful since the beginning, and since it really is unique in Franklin County, I suspect they will continue to be for a long time.
This review, however, is not about the restaurant's ordinary operations, but rather about a Guest Chef event they now hold yearly. Julian Proujansky, an old schoolmate of mine, and Heather Bortnem, have come to The Gill Tavern for the last three years to display their talents. Both are highly successful in New York City: Julian is the Chef de Cuisine at Omar's La Ranita, which has received significant acclaim, and formerly worked at the famed Eleven Madison Park, recipient of three Michelin stars; Heather is head baker at Commerce Restaurant, famous in its own right, and a truly impressive title for someone so young.
This year's dinner was an interesting look into the current state of haute cuisine, with a combination of primarily simple ingredients and sophisticated concepts, it was all in all a very successful meal. Five courses were served, consisting of canapes, a salad, an appetizer, entree, and finally dessert. My only complaint had nothing to do with the food, which was that we were seated family style, and since I am not a huge fan of strangers, that was less than entirely comfortable for me.
The canapes were spectacular, four small bites that offered different textures, flavors and visuals: chick pea "fritters;" roast carrots with za'atar; black rice crisps with English peas; and deviled quail egg. The fritters were small logs of mashed chickpeas lightly fried and topped with a mild sauce; it tasted like a mild falafel, which works for me since I absolutely love falafel. My only criticism was that the exterior was not very crisp, so there was not a ton of textural contrast, but that is kind of nitpicky. The black rice crisps with English peas were my favorite, with a chip-like vessel of the rice holding the peas and a sauce. I wish I had been taking notes, because I would love to describe the flavors that this presented, but honestly there was so much going on in that one bite that I am struggling to really remember individual aspects. Suffice it to say I would eat an entire meal of just that preparation. Nearly as successful were the deviled quail eggs, topped with truffle; not featured on the menu that was e-mailed out to those with reservations, this was a great little surprise, an absurdly good, fancy version of one of my favorite party snacks from childhood. Quail eggs are super flavorful to begin with, and adding in the truffle flavor really did bring it to a whole new level; if only quail eggs were not so tiny! Lastly, the roast carrots were good, with a slight Middle Eastern flare to them from the za'atar. This was a fine couple of bites, maybe a little different from how I have seen carrots prepared before in a restaurant, and quite tasty, but there was nothing insanely creative about it.
The salad was my least favorite dish of the night, though I think that was simply because of my own personal tastes and not anything to do with the quality. There was, quite simply, just too much sweet involved for me; the candied pistachios were delicious, as were the pomegranate balls (made with pomegranate juice and agar agar; cool preparation that threw us all for a bit of a loop), and even the crisps of goat cheese, but all had a sweetness to them, as did the dressing, which added up to just a lot of sweetness. For people who are not as bothered by that, it was probably great, but for me, I could have done with more tang and salt and less sweet.
The appetizer course was probably my favorite, a rabbit torchon with pickled ramps, fava beans, and what we decided must be shaved asparagus. The torchon was deceptively brilliant, with huge rabbit flavor (not too gamy, but you knew you were eating rabbit), perfectly acidic and crisp ramps that were picked and pickled by Julian's mother up in Leyden, and a nice crunch from the asparagus, though they did not add a ton of flavor. There were also rye crackers, which I did not love, though with the combination of everything on one, they were pretty tasty. I wish ramps could be farmed properly, because they are incredibly delicious, and these were perfectly pickled.
The entree course was almost a deconstructed ravioli, with "stained glass pasta" topping braised lamb, almonds, chickpeas and a soft cheese that tasted like a whipped Boursin to me (my step-dad disagreed and we never did remember to ask what it actually was) in a sauce that was primarily jus with a little red wine. The pasta was delicate, delicious, and beautiful, the lamb essentially pulled, the chickpeas actually tasty (despite my love of falafel, I hate whole chickpeas), and the cheese beyond delicious. The only failure in this to me was the addition of the almonds, which seemed a little superfluous, and were not necessary for texture since the chickpeas were still rather crisp. Again, I'm being nitpicky, because they were not a negative for me, simply unnecessary in my opinion. The lamb was truly delicious, and reminded me again how much I wish mutton were popular in the USA, since I love that flavor and, as long as it is cooked long enough to eliminate the toughness, it is simply a stronger lamb.
Dessert was perfect for me, a strawberry (not blackberry like the pre-sent menu; that would have been sad if I had remembered, since I love blackberries more than almost anything else) mousse on a shortbread like crust. I was worried about how sweet it was going to be, but it was just perfect, mildly sweet, full of strawberry flavor. It was delicate looking, but had good body to the mousse; not quite the ethereal lightness that I think most people associate with a proper mousse, but that is good in my opinion, as I like the food I am eating to have some texture.
I was worried that by going to this dinner I would end up surrounded by old elementary school classmates, and I was only half wrong, but the food was so good that even if I had been 100% right it would have been worth it. The food was original, delicious, at least partially locally sourced (always a positive), and it was nice to see someone from my past doing so very well, and clearly having fun. I hope to have the chance to go again next year, and I am so glad I finally made it to one of these.
*****
The Gill Tavern is a very good restaurant in its own right, a solid mix of modern upscale and simple pub-like fare. Founded by the owner of The People's Pint, a Greenfield brewpub that has good food, great beer, and (at least the last time I went there, which has now been a few years) absolutely horrific service that prevented me from enjoying the good food and beer, The Gill Tavern has been successful since the beginning, and since it really is unique in Franklin County, I suspect they will continue to be for a long time.
This review, however, is not about the restaurant's ordinary operations, but rather about a Guest Chef event they now hold yearly. Julian Proujansky, an old schoolmate of mine, and Heather Bortnem, have come to The Gill Tavern for the last three years to display their talents. Both are highly successful in New York City: Julian is the Chef de Cuisine at Omar's La Ranita, which has received significant acclaim, and formerly worked at the famed Eleven Madison Park, recipient of three Michelin stars; Heather is head baker at Commerce Restaurant, famous in its own right, and a truly impressive title for someone so young.
This year's dinner was an interesting look into the current state of haute cuisine, with a combination of primarily simple ingredients and sophisticated concepts, it was all in all a very successful meal. Five courses were served, consisting of canapes, a salad, an appetizer, entree, and finally dessert. My only complaint had nothing to do with the food, which was that we were seated family style, and since I am not a huge fan of strangers, that was less than entirely comfortable for me.
The canapes were spectacular, four small bites that offered different textures, flavors and visuals: chick pea "fritters;" roast carrots with za'atar; black rice crisps with English peas; and deviled quail egg. The fritters were small logs of mashed chickpeas lightly fried and topped with a mild sauce; it tasted like a mild falafel, which works for me since I absolutely love falafel. My only criticism was that the exterior was not very crisp, so there was not a ton of textural contrast, but that is kind of nitpicky. The black rice crisps with English peas were my favorite, with a chip-like vessel of the rice holding the peas and a sauce. I wish I had been taking notes, because I would love to describe the flavors that this presented, but honestly there was so much going on in that one bite that I am struggling to really remember individual aspects. Suffice it to say I would eat an entire meal of just that preparation. Nearly as successful were the deviled quail eggs, topped with truffle; not featured on the menu that was e-mailed out to those with reservations, this was a great little surprise, an absurdly good, fancy version of one of my favorite party snacks from childhood. Quail eggs are super flavorful to begin with, and adding in the truffle flavor really did bring it to a whole new level; if only quail eggs were not so tiny! Lastly, the roast carrots were good, with a slight Middle Eastern flare to them from the za'atar. This was a fine couple of bites, maybe a little different from how I have seen carrots prepared before in a restaurant, and quite tasty, but there was nothing insanely creative about it.
The salad was my least favorite dish of the night, though I think that was simply because of my own personal tastes and not anything to do with the quality. There was, quite simply, just too much sweet involved for me; the candied pistachios were delicious, as were the pomegranate balls (made with pomegranate juice and agar agar; cool preparation that threw us all for a bit of a loop), and even the crisps of goat cheese, but all had a sweetness to them, as did the dressing, which added up to just a lot of sweetness. For people who are not as bothered by that, it was probably great, but for me, I could have done with more tang and salt and less sweet.
The appetizer course was probably my favorite, a rabbit torchon with pickled ramps, fava beans, and what we decided must be shaved asparagus. The torchon was deceptively brilliant, with huge rabbit flavor (not too gamy, but you knew you were eating rabbit), perfectly acidic and crisp ramps that were picked and pickled by Julian's mother up in Leyden, and a nice crunch from the asparagus, though they did not add a ton of flavor. There were also rye crackers, which I did not love, though with the combination of everything on one, they were pretty tasty. I wish ramps could be farmed properly, because they are incredibly delicious, and these were perfectly pickled.
The entree course was almost a deconstructed ravioli, with "stained glass pasta" topping braised lamb, almonds, chickpeas and a soft cheese that tasted like a whipped Boursin to me (my step-dad disagreed and we never did remember to ask what it actually was) in a sauce that was primarily jus with a little red wine. The pasta was delicate, delicious, and beautiful, the lamb essentially pulled, the chickpeas actually tasty (despite my love of falafel, I hate whole chickpeas), and the cheese beyond delicious. The only failure in this to me was the addition of the almonds, which seemed a little superfluous, and were not necessary for texture since the chickpeas were still rather crisp. Again, I'm being nitpicky, because they were not a negative for me, simply unnecessary in my opinion. The lamb was truly delicious, and reminded me again how much I wish mutton were popular in the USA, since I love that flavor and, as long as it is cooked long enough to eliminate the toughness, it is simply a stronger lamb.
Dessert was perfect for me, a strawberry (not blackberry like the pre-sent menu; that would have been sad if I had remembered, since I love blackberries more than almost anything else) mousse on a shortbread like crust. I was worried about how sweet it was going to be, but it was just perfect, mildly sweet, full of strawberry flavor. It was delicate looking, but had good body to the mousse; not quite the ethereal lightness that I think most people associate with a proper mousse, but that is good in my opinion, as I like the food I am eating to have some texture.
I was worried that by going to this dinner I would end up surrounded by old elementary school classmates, and I was only half wrong, but the food was so good that even if I had been 100% right it would have been worth it. The food was original, delicious, at least partially locally sourced (always a positive), and it was nice to see someone from my past doing so very well, and clearly having fun. I hope to have the chance to go again next year, and I am so glad I finally made it to one of these.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
The Fat Cat Restaurant (Quincy, MA) and Patron's Mexican Kitchen (Allston, Boston, MA)
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*****
Two of my best friends from college got married this weekend, and we had the bachelor party for the groom Thursday. We went for laid back, going to the F1 Boston kart racing track in Quincy, which was a blast, followed that with lunch, then went climbing at Central Rock Gym in Watertown, and finally drinks and some food in Boston at Patron's Mexican Kitchen. Both F1 Boston and Central Rock were a blast, though I highly recommend you have some cold water on hand for the kart racing, as it is pretty easy to get overheated in there.
Lunch was at The Fat Cat Restaurant in Quincy, a superb little pub with some of the best bone-in chicken wings I have ever had. I went for a Philly Cheesesteak, which was well made, on pretty standard bread, but with roasted peppers, caramelized onions, smoked shiitake mushrooms, and both cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. The steak was perfect, still juicy and delicious, and the vegetables were spectacular. It also came with hand cut french fries, which were really good and insanely crisp, but which I did not end up having much of because I was so full from the sandwich and a few wings.
Those wings were really the key to the meal; we ordered 50 for the table, as three people were having them for their primary meal, and one other person and I were just having a couple each. The wings are big, but not gigantic, cooked perfectly so the skin was crispy and crunchy, but the meat did not seem overcooked or dry. The exterior held the sauces well, so it did not just slough off and leave just a small amount on the wing or drumstick, but instead coated them completely and evenly. Those sauces were the best part, and we picked three: XXX, Cajun, and Qcity. The XXX is a buffalo style, made with house-infused habanero vodka; it had far, far more flavor than any other sauce of an equivalent heat level that I have ever had, including the Mango Habanero from Buffalo Wild Wings, a personal favorite. The Cajun comes as either a sauce or a dry rub, and we went dry; it was good, a little spicy, but nothing super incredible. Qcity was my top choice, and it was also probably the simplest; essentially, it was just honey and pepper, and it was just absolutely awesome, with intense honey flavor without being overly sweet.
For dessert, I had bread pudding, which was served in a giant ramekin. Essentially just big pieces of bread with a slightly sweet sauce, but so, so much more in flavor. It also had a giant mound of delicious homemade whipped cream, which was closer to clotted cream than the stuff that comes in a can, both in flavor and texture. By this point, I was so stuffed that I could not finish the bread pudding, which was very disappointing considering how incredibly good it was.
Fat Cat had a couple good options on draught, including Belhaven Scottish Ale, which I love, and Berkshire Brewing Company's Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale. They also have a handful of interesting looking cocktails and alcoholic coffee drinks. They do their own infusing, including the aforementioned habanero vodka. Since Dan, the groom, is obsessed with insanely spicy things (the table gifts at the wedding were bottles of various hot sauces) we got him a shot, and the waitress (an awesome Irish lady) added a second on the house to congratulate him on getting married. We each tried a tiny bit, and as soon as I took a very tiny sip, I felt an incredible burning sensation in my mouth and began to hiccup instantly, a phenomenon that has never occurred before. I think Dan enjoyed the vodka, but if not, it was at the very least a very cool concept and it makes one hell of a wing sauce.
All in all, this was a really good meal, and pretty reasonably priced at under $130 for 50 wings, my sandwich (only $7, which was insane considering how much food there was and its quality), an order of fish and chips, four desserts, plus about a dozen drinks between the five of us. I highly recommend it.
*****
Not so long ago, Allston's Sunset Grill and Tap was topped by Big City, one of the greatest beer bars in the northeast, with about 130 taps, good food, and great ambiance. Sadly, it is now Patron's Mexican Kitchen, a mediocre bar with a couple mediocre pool tables and seriously lacking staff. Our waiter was acceptable at best, but the manager was a major asshole, making rude and snide comments about a couple members of our party to some employees who were playing pool next to us. We ordered wings again (they were also served the following night at the rehearsal dinner, and ordered at Amherst Brewing Company when we went out after that...Dan really likes wings), which were decent, but nothing special. I ordered nachos, and instead of nachos, we received the $7 bowl of multicolored chips; absolutely pathetic. The beer list has been cut tremendously, to only a couple dozen options on draught and a similar number in bottles. I do not know what the reason for this is, as downstairs still offers over 130 taps and 380 bottle varieties. All in all, this is no longer worth going to; just have drinks and food down at Sunset Grill and Tap. That said, we had a good time, but only because it was a great group of people.
*****
Two of my best friends from college got married this weekend, and we had the bachelor party for the groom Thursday. We went for laid back, going to the F1 Boston kart racing track in Quincy, which was a blast, followed that with lunch, then went climbing at Central Rock Gym in Watertown, and finally drinks and some food in Boston at Patron's Mexican Kitchen. Both F1 Boston and Central Rock were a blast, though I highly recommend you have some cold water on hand for the kart racing, as it is pretty easy to get overheated in there.
Lunch was at The Fat Cat Restaurant in Quincy, a superb little pub with some of the best bone-in chicken wings I have ever had. I went for a Philly Cheesesteak, which was well made, on pretty standard bread, but with roasted peppers, caramelized onions, smoked shiitake mushrooms, and both cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. The steak was perfect, still juicy and delicious, and the vegetables were spectacular. It also came with hand cut french fries, which were really good and insanely crisp, but which I did not end up having much of because I was so full from the sandwich and a few wings.
Those wings were really the key to the meal; we ordered 50 for the table, as three people were having them for their primary meal, and one other person and I were just having a couple each. The wings are big, but not gigantic, cooked perfectly so the skin was crispy and crunchy, but the meat did not seem overcooked or dry. The exterior held the sauces well, so it did not just slough off and leave just a small amount on the wing or drumstick, but instead coated them completely and evenly. Those sauces were the best part, and we picked three: XXX, Cajun, and Qcity. The XXX is a buffalo style, made with house-infused habanero vodka; it had far, far more flavor than any other sauce of an equivalent heat level that I have ever had, including the Mango Habanero from Buffalo Wild Wings, a personal favorite. The Cajun comes as either a sauce or a dry rub, and we went dry; it was good, a little spicy, but nothing super incredible. Qcity was my top choice, and it was also probably the simplest; essentially, it was just honey and pepper, and it was just absolutely awesome, with intense honey flavor without being overly sweet.
For dessert, I had bread pudding, which was served in a giant ramekin. Essentially just big pieces of bread with a slightly sweet sauce, but so, so much more in flavor. It also had a giant mound of delicious homemade whipped cream, which was closer to clotted cream than the stuff that comes in a can, both in flavor and texture. By this point, I was so stuffed that I could not finish the bread pudding, which was very disappointing considering how incredibly good it was.
Fat Cat had a couple good options on draught, including Belhaven Scottish Ale, which I love, and Berkshire Brewing Company's Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale. They also have a handful of interesting looking cocktails and alcoholic coffee drinks. They do their own infusing, including the aforementioned habanero vodka. Since Dan, the groom, is obsessed with insanely spicy things (the table gifts at the wedding were bottles of various hot sauces) we got him a shot, and the waitress (an awesome Irish lady) added a second on the house to congratulate him on getting married. We each tried a tiny bit, and as soon as I took a very tiny sip, I felt an incredible burning sensation in my mouth and began to hiccup instantly, a phenomenon that has never occurred before. I think Dan enjoyed the vodka, but if not, it was at the very least a very cool concept and it makes one hell of a wing sauce.
All in all, this was a really good meal, and pretty reasonably priced at under $130 for 50 wings, my sandwich (only $7, which was insane considering how much food there was and its quality), an order of fish and chips, four desserts, plus about a dozen drinks between the five of us. I highly recommend it.
*****
Not so long ago, Allston's Sunset Grill and Tap was topped by Big City, one of the greatest beer bars in the northeast, with about 130 taps, good food, and great ambiance. Sadly, it is now Patron's Mexican Kitchen, a mediocre bar with a couple mediocre pool tables and seriously lacking staff. Our waiter was acceptable at best, but the manager was a major asshole, making rude and snide comments about a couple members of our party to some employees who were playing pool next to us. We ordered wings again (they were also served the following night at the rehearsal dinner, and ordered at Amherst Brewing Company when we went out after that...Dan really likes wings), which were decent, but nothing special. I ordered nachos, and instead of nachos, we received the $7 bowl of multicolored chips; absolutely pathetic. The beer list has been cut tremendously, to only a couple dozen options on draught and a similar number in bottles. I do not know what the reason for this is, as downstairs still offers over 130 taps and 380 bottle varieties. All in all, this is no longer worth going to; just have drinks and food down at Sunset Grill and Tap. That said, we had a good time, but only because it was a great group of people.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Kali B's Wings and Things (Turners Falls, Montague, MA)
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*****
In this area, all things wing related are judged against The Hangar Pub and Grill and their food arm, Wings Over, the rapidly growing franchise that originated in Amherst serving my fellow UMass alums. Famed for their boneless wings and dozens of sauces, it was a staple for us as college students and has remained so since graduating several years ago (albeit with some loss of quality of late, in my opinion). As such, anytime someone mentions that they had wings, the inevitable question is, "how did they compare to the Hangar?"
So, when Kali B's Wings and Things opened a restaurant in the former home of Ristorante DiPaolo in downtown Turners Falls, of course, everyone asked just that question. And incredibly, the resounding response was "they're better." That is high praise, and of course, it made me want to try the restaurant immediately; naturally, life got in the way of that, but I finally had the opportunity to try it the other day, dropping in for some wings and beer with my friend Jay.
The first thing I will say is, please, do not be put off by its location. Turners Falls is, to say the least, a broken village, but it will never get better without places like Kali B's; plus, with its private parking lot, you do not have to leave your car parked on the street or walk a ways down Avenue A to get to it (though I forgot about the lot, and did just that). Once you get near the restaurant, all you smell is the delicious odor of fried food. Inside, it is a nice set up, with a few seats at the bar, some small high tops (no more than two people can comfortably sit and eat at them, I would say), and a few booths in the main room, then several more tables and two large, comfortable looking semi-circular booths for larger parties. It is all very well lit, with some televisions in the main room that were tuned to the Red Sox post-game show, and while it does not have a dive-bar feel, it also is absolutely not going to be confused with being hoity-toity; I would say it is a perfect place for a family to have food or to go later in the evening for a drink and a snack, and everything in between. Clearly the owner/s did their hiring with the same basic criteria as the owner of The Hangar; young, pretty, and friendly, while also being competent...good mix for a sports bar type place.
Now, the important part; the food! Boneless wings are ordered by weight essentially, so Jay and I grabbed the "Over 1 lb" size, at a very reasonable $12 (same price as The Hangar; noticing a pattern here?), with their "hot" buffalo and honey mustard sauces, along with a large side of fried pickles. The wings were spectacular, giant white meat chunks of well cooked meat with a crispy breading that tasted delicious. While the buffalo sauce doused the three wings it was on, the honey mustard was less evenly coated, so there were parts of the chicken pieces that were not covered; I actually do not mind this, especially with a slightly sweet sauce like honey mustard, but it may not be everyone's favorite method. The sauces themselves were very good, with the buffalo sauce just a little spicy (neither Jay or I could figure out what their mild must be like, since this seemed very mild to both of us), but really flavorful, much better than most similar sauces that are all heat. This seemed very traditional, primarily just butter and a hot sauce like Frank's Red Hot, and it was delicious, among my favorite I've ever had. The honey mustard was fine, though it is a flavor that I think is a little played out, probably because I ate so much of it as an undergrad.
The fried pickles were huge, both the portion and the individual pieces, with thick slices of dill pickle coated in rather a large amount of batter. I really liked them, but I immediately regretted ordering the large, and we left nearly half of them uneaten as we were both stuffed and Jay didn't love them. The batter was relatively crunchy, they stayed very hot as the heat was trapped by the fried coating, and the pickles were sharp and crisp inside. I think a small order between two or three people would be fine, but the large was enough for at least four to six people.
So, it comes back to the question everyone must ask in this area: "how do the wings compare to The Hangar's?" Quite frankly, they do not. They are different, and not in a negative or a positive way; they are just different. I think to just grab a beer and some wings, I prefer Kali B's, but it will never replace The Hangar as the place where we gather to welcome back our friends when they return from Afghanistan, bid them farewell as they depart to start a new life (or just a summer) elsewhere, or congratulate them on a new job. It is just plain different. But, it is also highly recommended, and I hope it is just one of many new successful businesses in downtown Turners Falls.
*****
In this area, all things wing related are judged against The Hangar Pub and Grill and their food arm, Wings Over, the rapidly growing franchise that originated in Amherst serving my fellow UMass alums. Famed for their boneless wings and dozens of sauces, it was a staple for us as college students and has remained so since graduating several years ago (albeit with some loss of quality of late, in my opinion). As such, anytime someone mentions that they had wings, the inevitable question is, "how did they compare to the Hangar?"
So, when Kali B's Wings and Things opened a restaurant in the former home of Ristorante DiPaolo in downtown Turners Falls, of course, everyone asked just that question. And incredibly, the resounding response was "they're better." That is high praise, and of course, it made me want to try the restaurant immediately; naturally, life got in the way of that, but I finally had the opportunity to try it the other day, dropping in for some wings and beer with my friend Jay.
The first thing I will say is, please, do not be put off by its location. Turners Falls is, to say the least, a broken village, but it will never get better without places like Kali B's; plus, with its private parking lot, you do not have to leave your car parked on the street or walk a ways down Avenue A to get to it (though I forgot about the lot, and did just that). Once you get near the restaurant, all you smell is the delicious odor of fried food. Inside, it is a nice set up, with a few seats at the bar, some small high tops (no more than two people can comfortably sit and eat at them, I would say), and a few booths in the main room, then several more tables and two large, comfortable looking semi-circular booths for larger parties. It is all very well lit, with some televisions in the main room that were tuned to the Red Sox post-game show, and while it does not have a dive-bar feel, it also is absolutely not going to be confused with being hoity-toity; I would say it is a perfect place for a family to have food or to go later in the evening for a drink and a snack, and everything in between. Clearly the owner/s did their hiring with the same basic criteria as the owner of The Hangar; young, pretty, and friendly, while also being competent...good mix for a sports bar type place.
Now, the important part; the food! Boneless wings are ordered by weight essentially, so Jay and I grabbed the "Over 1 lb" size, at a very reasonable $12 (same price as The Hangar; noticing a pattern here?), with their "hot" buffalo and honey mustard sauces, along with a large side of fried pickles. The wings were spectacular, giant white meat chunks of well cooked meat with a crispy breading that tasted delicious. While the buffalo sauce doused the three wings it was on, the honey mustard was less evenly coated, so there were parts of the chicken pieces that were not covered; I actually do not mind this, especially with a slightly sweet sauce like honey mustard, but it may not be everyone's favorite method. The sauces themselves were very good, with the buffalo sauce just a little spicy (neither Jay or I could figure out what their mild must be like, since this seemed very mild to both of us), but really flavorful, much better than most similar sauces that are all heat. This seemed very traditional, primarily just butter and a hot sauce like Frank's Red Hot, and it was delicious, among my favorite I've ever had. The honey mustard was fine, though it is a flavor that I think is a little played out, probably because I ate so much of it as an undergrad.
The fried pickles were huge, both the portion and the individual pieces, with thick slices of dill pickle coated in rather a large amount of batter. I really liked them, but I immediately regretted ordering the large, and we left nearly half of them uneaten as we were both stuffed and Jay didn't love them. The batter was relatively crunchy, they stayed very hot as the heat was trapped by the fried coating, and the pickles were sharp and crisp inside. I think a small order between two or three people would be fine, but the large was enough for at least four to six people.
So, it comes back to the question everyone must ask in this area: "how do the wings compare to The Hangar's?" Quite frankly, they do not. They are different, and not in a negative or a positive way; they are just different. I think to just grab a beer and some wings, I prefer Kali B's, but it will never replace The Hangar as the place where we gather to welcome back our friends when they return from Afghanistan, bid them farewell as they depart to start a new life (or just a summer) elsewhere, or congratulate them on a new job. It is just plain different. But, it is also highly recommended, and I hope it is just one of many new successful businesses in downtown Turners Falls.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
The Red House (Cambridge, MA), Machu Picchu (Somerville, MA) and Farmer Brown's Farm Stand (Middleton, MA)
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| Oysters and 18yr Glenfiddich |
The Red House is located a short walk from my other Cambridge favorites, Charlie's Kitchen and Crema Cafe (where I also stopped afterwards for a coffee to help wash down the beer and Scotch I had just consumed), down narrow Winthrop St. During the six hours after noon, your first dozen oysters per person cost just 50 cents a piece, and while that limit is not advertised, I suspect most people do not have more than a dozen by themselves. No worries for those of you like me who only stop eating oysters after you run out of money or stomach space; they are only one dollar apiece after that first dozen.
The oysters are currently Island Creek's, out of Duxbury, MA, and while they are no Kumamotos or Damariscottas, they are pretty damn good. Their failing in comparison to those two varietals, which are my favorites, is their lesser quality (and quantity) liquor, which is only a little briny in the Island Creeks. That said, you could never get Damariscottas or Kumamotos for this cheap even in a good fish shop like Harbor Fish, much less in a restaurant. I paid $12 for the dozen and a half oysters I ate, a tremendous deal beaten only by J's Oyster's freebies, but for those you have to wait until the waiter comes to you with more on their timetable, instead of just ordering them up as you want. They are served with some mild horseradish and a very ketchup-y cocktail sauce, along with a large slice of lemon and some mixed greens; not sure what the deal with the greens is, since they do not give you a fork. Maybe they are supposed to be eating with the oysters, but I have never heard of such a thing.
I sat at the small bar, which has maybe eight or nine seats; there are also a small handful of tables for about another dozen people in the bar area, while the dining room seats another 65 according to their website. The oyster deal is only available in the bar or on the patio (weather permitting, of course, which in New England means about four months out of the year), so do not go expecting to sit in the dining room and receive these prices. You can start out at the bar and then migrate to the dining room though, or eat from the dining room menu at the bar if you want. They have a solid list of draft beers available, including the ever more popular Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier from Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan, one of the highest rated beers on BeerAdvocate. I went with a Founders Brewing Company Breakfast Stout, which has a perfect rating. One of the best beers out there, it is strong, dark and heavy, without being overwhelming. It has a definite sweetness and the malt flavors are huge, with some oatmeal flavors that are just plain delightful. I do not taste quite as much coffee as some other people in it, but that could just be my palate. They serve it a little too cold, so I let it warm up for a couple of minutes before drinking it; as it warmed the flavors opened up a great deal, and it became better and better as I took my time drinking it.
After finishing my beer, I moved on to Scotch, since they have ridiculously good prices; the 18 Year Glenfiddich I had was just $11, much, much cheaper than I have ever seen it. Now, this is not the same as the 18 Year Ancient Reserve I reviewed at the beginning of January, but it is a very good, very smooth Scotch. It lacked the character of the Ancient Reserve, and seemed not to have taken on a great deal of flavor from whatever wood it was aged in. All in all, a good single malt, and worth trying, especially at such a reasonable price, but there are far better options out there, especially for those of us who like peaty, smoky whiskys, which this was certainly not.
*******
It is always a good sign when you show up at an ethnic restaurant to find a family who appears to be representative of the culture having a meal or event there; upon entering Machu Picchu in Somerville, MA, that was exactly what I saw, a giant table filled with what I deduced was several generations of a Peruvian descended family. My expectations were immediately raised, and eventually well met.
I went with my best friend from high school, and we decided to split the Yaquitas a la Huancaina (fried yucca with a creamy, slightly spicy sauce) and the Palta Primavera (halved avocados filled/topped with a chicken and nixtamal, or hominy, salad). Both were delicious, as the yucca was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, not unlike very good steak fries, and the avocado was firm but creamy, with a simple chicken salad topping it. My only complaint was the abundant use of mayonnaise in the salad, which was unnecessary. The hominy was a great touch, and definitely needs to be used more.
For my entree, I had the Bisteck a lo Pobre (poor man's steak, essentially; a large steak served with white rice topped by a sunny side up egg, french fries, and a few pieces of sweet plantains), and it was just flat out awesome. The steak was slightly more done than I like (which is basically not at all), but was a fine medium rare, incredibly tender, perfectly seasoned, with beautiful cross-hatched grill marks. The rice was fine, nothing special, but once the egg yolk was broken into it it definitely got more interesting. French fries are among my favorite things, but these were the only real miss for me, being rather limp and unseasoned; the platanos more than made up for that though, and they proved yet again why they are among my favorite things ever.
They have a few beers on the menu, including a couple from Peru, one of which I had, though I cannot remember its name; it was pretty good, but nothing super interesting, reminding me of a Czech pilsener. They also had a pan flute band playing, which, once I got over my initial reaction of amusement (thanks to South Park's Pandemic episodes) was actually kind of nice. All in all, this is a pretty great restaurant, and I look forward to going back in the future.
*******
I spent three days in Middleton, MA this past week as part of a training, and since it was close and cheap, I went to Farmer Brown's Farm Stand each day to pick up some lunch. They offer a large salad bar that appears to be filled with fresh vegetables and lettuce, as well as nearly a dozen soups, which is what I decided to partake in. Over the course of three days I had the Hungarian Mushroom, Cream of Broccoli with Aged Cheddar, and finally the Italian Wedding Soup. That last is served every day, one of four such, while they rotate through a dozen or so others; all are homemade, and you can really tell. The Italian Wedding Soup was my favorite, with delicious little meatballs in it, but all were great. Prices were spectacular, as a bowl of soup and a roll (all the soups were also good for dipping bread) ran about six bucks.
They also have some specialty items, including olive oils, balsamic vinegar, and dried pasta from Italy; I picked up a bag of cavatelli that looks great. Their deli is stocked with Boar's Head, which is about the peak of normal deli meats, and there was plenty of meat and fish portioned or marinated and ready for the grill or oven. If I lived close to this place, I would probably be a lot poorer and a lot fatter (the soups were pretty fattening) but it made my training days a lot better.
******
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Tuesday, December 3, 2013
La Fiorentina (Northampton, MA)
I have discussed a few of the cafes in Northampton before, including recent posts on The Roost and The Foundry, but nothing comes close to the quality of La Fiorentina. With three locations now (the others are in Springfield and the newly opened East Longmeadow shop), La Fiorentina presents perfect coffee, delicious pastries, ice cream and other sweets. Most items are, of course, Italian, though they have other pastries, including my personal favorite croissant. While I cannot speak to the authenticity of their coffees and sweets, having never been to Italy, I suspect that much of what they offer is true to its heritage, as they seem to have an attention to detail and quality that makes me think that anything less than doing things exactly right would not be acceptable.
I have been going to La Fiorentina since I was a little kid, getting hot chocolate, made with real steamed milk, which is really just so much better than the stuff you get elsewhere, and of course, the greatest treat of all, real marzipan. Made with almond paste and a lot of sugar, it is slightly sticky, very sweet, and just all in all delicious; as a kid it was my favorite, and today it is a treat that I cannot resist every time I find myself on Armory St. The marzipan is hand painted and absolutely beautiful, with bright, vibrant colors, shaped and colored to resemble various fruits and objects. I got a couple of the "banana" treats today, which were so perfectly painted that they looked just like miniature versions of the real thing. I am sorry to say that my new phone's camera, while pretty good, did not properly capture the colors, because these little treats really are a work of art. If you have never had marzipan and live or work in the Northampton area, you really need to stop in and try some; if you have tried it and like it, La Fiorentina's will take that to another level.
Beyond the marzipan, they have great fruit tarts, croissant, cheesecake that is to die for, and a lot of really good Italian desserts, including the classic cannoli. All of their cakes that I have tried are tremendous, and I look forward to trying more, despite my general aversion to very sweet desserts, because they just do such an incredibly good job with all of their food.
The coffee is, as I said, spectacular; it being a rather warm day today (47 degrees is warm in December), I went for an iced latte, and as I took my first long sip of it, all I could think was "if everyone tried this, no one would drink flavored coffee." The espresso is amazing, rich and flavorful, perfectly roasted, and the milk mixes perfectly with just the right ratio to the coffee. Their regular coffee is great as well; when I had a few trainings last year in Northampton, their hot coffee was the perfect thing to warm me, and as I struggled to stay awake through 24 hours of boring-ness over three days it kept me awake. After drinking La Fiorentina coffee I cannot drink Dunkin Donuts' swill for at least a week.
All in all, I cannot recommend La Fiorentina highly enough, and they are truly my favorite cafe in not just Northampton, but anywhere. If anyone has a place they think could challenge it, please let me know, but it is a long shot that I will find somewhere that I love more. FYI, though, their hours suck, not opening until 9am Sunday through Friday, and 8am on Saturday. I want coffee at 6am, dammit!
******
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| "Banana" Marzipan; the cell phone camera does not do the beauty of it justice |
Beyond the marzipan, they have great fruit tarts, croissant, cheesecake that is to die for, and a lot of really good Italian desserts, including the classic cannoli. All of their cakes that I have tried are tremendous, and I look forward to trying more, despite my general aversion to very sweet desserts, because they just do such an incredibly good job with all of their food.
The coffee is, as I said, spectacular; it being a rather warm day today (47 degrees is warm in December), I went for an iced latte, and as I took my first long sip of it, all I could think was "if everyone tried this, no one would drink flavored coffee." The espresso is amazing, rich and flavorful, perfectly roasted, and the milk mixes perfectly with just the right ratio to the coffee. Their regular coffee is great as well; when I had a few trainings last year in Northampton, their hot coffee was the perfect thing to warm me, and as I struggled to stay awake through 24 hours of boring-ness over three days it kept me awake. After drinking La Fiorentina coffee I cannot drink Dunkin Donuts' swill for at least a week.
All in all, I cannot recommend La Fiorentina highly enough, and they are truly my favorite cafe in not just Northampton, but anywhere. If anyone has a place they think could challenge it, please let me know, but it is a long shot that I will find somewhere that I love more. FYI, though, their hours suck, not opening until 9am Sunday through Friday, and 8am on Saturday. I want coffee at 6am, dammit!
******
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Tuesday, November 26, 2013
The Roost (Northampton, MA)
The Roost is one of many cafes in Northampton, MA, fighting for supremacy in a market that should be able to support them all. Similar to last week's review, this is a place that I had seen a few times but never thought to drop in, as I did not really appreciate what it was and what it offered. My friend Sean and I were going out to grab a beer, but wanted somewhere different than our normal haunts, so he suggested The Roost.
Offering breakfast foods like waffles, egg sandwiches, and bagels, along with soups, sandwiches and salads, they have a rather interesting menu. Their soups and quiches change daily, but the rest of the menu stays essentially the same. They serve several beers in the bottle and have about half a dozen taps, all but one of which were stocked with local or semi-local beers, and prices are extremely reasonable. They had Brewmaster Jack's IPA for $12 pitchers, so we grabbed one of those to go along with a cup of soup each and the Mixed Board.
Sean had the New England Clam Chowder and I had the Butternut Squash and Yam Bisque. The chowder was gluten free, and the bisque was vegetarian, and there are several items on the menu that satisfy each of those requirements for those with limited diets or dietary restrictions. My bisque was tremendous, slightly sweet and definitely more distinctly recognizable as having butternut squash than yam, with a heat that was very subtle at first but built as time went on. It was very creamy, and the texture was just right. Dipping the bread and some of the cheese from the Mixed Board was the perfect way to eat both.
The Mixed Board itself was quite good as well, with a small, house-made baguette, ample piles of hummus and peanut noodles (served cold), a side salad, some berries, a few thick slices of cheddar cheese, and some olive oil based dressing that was probably 95% oil. The baguette was delicious, but there was not enough of it, so we bought a second one; they make them daily, and you can really tell, so kudos to them. Hummus is something I tend to enjoy, but not love, and this was no different, as it was very good but not something I would ever really crave. The peanut noodles, on the contrary, were definitely crave worthy, and I do not tend to be a huge fan of cold peanut noodles, but these had little chunks of actual peanut in the sauce and it did not taste like someone had just thinned out some mediocre peanut butter. The side salad and berries deserve no more mention other than to say they seemed relatively fresh, I guess. Cheddar cheese being among my favorite things on Earth, I was really happy to find it on the plate, but really disappointed to find only a small pile, since it was really good stuff. The dressing was good with the bread, but nothing exciting; they can do better there. Overall, this was very good and I was very impressed.
If you need a quick, tasty, fresh made bite to eat and a beer or coffee, The Roost is definitely a good option, and I would recommend it a bit more than I would The Foundry, and the prices are a bit better as well. FYI, the desserts look AMAZING.
******
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Offering breakfast foods like waffles, egg sandwiches, and bagels, along with soups, sandwiches and salads, they have a rather interesting menu. Their soups and quiches change daily, but the rest of the menu stays essentially the same. They serve several beers in the bottle and have about half a dozen taps, all but one of which were stocked with local or semi-local beers, and prices are extremely reasonable. They had Brewmaster Jack's IPA for $12 pitchers, so we grabbed one of those to go along with a cup of soup each and the Mixed Board.
Sean had the New England Clam Chowder and I had the Butternut Squash and Yam Bisque. The chowder was gluten free, and the bisque was vegetarian, and there are several items on the menu that satisfy each of those requirements for those with limited diets or dietary restrictions. My bisque was tremendous, slightly sweet and definitely more distinctly recognizable as having butternut squash than yam, with a heat that was very subtle at first but built as time went on. It was very creamy, and the texture was just right. Dipping the bread and some of the cheese from the Mixed Board was the perfect way to eat both.
The Mixed Board itself was quite good as well, with a small, house-made baguette, ample piles of hummus and peanut noodles (served cold), a side salad, some berries, a few thick slices of cheddar cheese, and some olive oil based dressing that was probably 95% oil. The baguette was delicious, but there was not enough of it, so we bought a second one; they make them daily, and you can really tell, so kudos to them. Hummus is something I tend to enjoy, but not love, and this was no different, as it was very good but not something I would ever really crave. The peanut noodles, on the contrary, were definitely crave worthy, and I do not tend to be a huge fan of cold peanut noodles, but these had little chunks of actual peanut in the sauce and it did not taste like someone had just thinned out some mediocre peanut butter. The side salad and berries deserve no more mention other than to say they seemed relatively fresh, I guess. Cheddar cheese being among my favorite things on Earth, I was really happy to find it on the plate, but really disappointed to find only a small pile, since it was really good stuff. The dressing was good with the bread, but nothing exciting; they can do better there. Overall, this was very good and I was very impressed.
If you need a quick, tasty, fresh made bite to eat and a beer or coffee, The Roost is definitely a good option, and I would recommend it a bit more than I would The Foundry, and the prices are a bit better as well. FYI, the desserts look AMAZING.
******
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Sunday, November 17, 2013
The Foundry (Northampton, MA)
Located across the street from my favorite Northampton spot, The Foundry is a sandwich/coffee shop, which also offers a few craft beers on tap, including a local brew or two. I had wandered by many a time since The Foundry opened, but never stopped in, thinking it more of a coffee bar than a place to have a meal or a drink, and figuring that if I were getting expensive coffee, I'd go to La Fiorentina, Western Massachusetts' best coffee and pastry shop. This past Tuesday, however, I found myself with a solid hour or two of down time while I waited for Town Fair Tire to put my new tires on my car, and, wanting to try something new that was not too heavy, I decided to stop in and have a sandwich and a beer. (**Shout out to Town Fair Tire; those guys rock. Great deals, good customer service, and nice people in general**)
I ordered one of their hot pressed sandwiches, The Anvil, which includes turkey, sun dried tomatoes, and pepperjack cheese. This was a very simple sandwich, but was quite tasty, with pretty decent turkey that did not taste like the processed crap you get at the supermarket, sun dried tomatoes that provided a great combination of sweet and savory, and a subtle spice from the cheese. It did not suffer from the standard issue I find with paninis, where the sandwich is pressed into an homogeneous blob with no character or ability to differentiate between textures and flavors. The sandwich was served with a small salad of micro-greens that was quite good, and a balsamic vinaigrette that was no better or worse than the ones I make when I'm in a rush or not motivated enough to make a good dressing.
The Foundry also has a few decent beers on their list, and I had a glass of Maine Beer Company's Mo, a great beer that deserves its own review. They also had something from The People's Pint, a fine local brewpub (though their service sucks horrifically at the restaurant), so it is good to see them supporting local breweries.
All in all, I will almost certainly go back, and I would say it is a good place to check out if you need a quick, light bite to eat.
******
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I ordered one of their hot pressed sandwiches, The Anvil, which includes turkey, sun dried tomatoes, and pepperjack cheese. This was a very simple sandwich, but was quite tasty, with pretty decent turkey that did not taste like the processed crap you get at the supermarket, sun dried tomatoes that provided a great combination of sweet and savory, and a subtle spice from the cheese. It did not suffer from the standard issue I find with paninis, where the sandwich is pressed into an homogeneous blob with no character or ability to differentiate between textures and flavors. The sandwich was served with a small salad of micro-greens that was quite good, and a balsamic vinaigrette that was no better or worse than the ones I make when I'm in a rush or not motivated enough to make a good dressing.
The Foundry also has a few decent beers on their list, and I had a glass of Maine Beer Company's Mo, a great beer that deserves its own review. They also had something from The People's Pint, a fine local brewpub (though their service sucks horrifically at the restaurant), so it is good to see them supporting local breweries.
All in all, I will almost certainly go back, and I would say it is a good place to check out if you need a quick, light bite to eat.
******
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Sunday, November 10, 2013
Tunnel Bar (Northampton, MA) and V-1 Vodka
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*****
Situated under the old Union Station, in--obviously--an old train tunnel, Northampton's Tunnel Bar is, on a quiet night, about the classiest place in the city, and on a Friday or Saturday, one of the most popular. Elegant and comfortable, with the bare walls of the tiled tunnel contrasted by the comfortable leather chairs situated around small wooden coffee tables, there is a bar about twenty feet long with some stools and space to stand. They have a few beers on tap at any given moment, but they really specialize in cocktails, and especially martinis. With a pretty decent selection of gins and vodkas, you can get just about any variety of martini, from my rather simple personal preference (V-One Vodka with extra olives) to any number of specialty and original drinks. Additionally, they have a wide selection of other spirits, including but not limited to Scotch (including the cheapest pour of Johnnie Walker Blue I've ever seen, at $23), bourbon, rum, and tequila. Prices are definitely not low, but considering the incredible potency of their cocktails, they are well worth the cost. If I am driving, I never have more than one martini at Tunnel Bar, and I make sure there's a little time and water before I get behind the wheel.
When Tunnel Bar is quiet, it is the perfect place for a drinking date, pre-meal cocktail, or after dinner nightcap, giving ample room to stretch out while still maintaining enough proximity to your accompaniment to have a real conversation without worrying about being overheard. On weekends, it gets too busy to have a quiet conversation, and you may well end up upstairs at a regular restaurant style table, as the tunnel itself cannot hold nearly so many people as want to crowd in. They will be crowded from about 8:00pm until close on Friday and Saturday, so plan accordingly.
***********
V-One Vodka is somewhat a product of Western Massachusetts, the brainchild of Hadley's own Paul Kozub. Produced in Poland, it is the winner of several awards in its short lifespan, and is my second favorite vodka, following only Cold River Vodka from Maine. Incredibly smooth, it makes a great martini, though like most grain vodkas it lacks the flavor of the potato based versions; it lies somewhere in between Cold River and Stolichnaya for me, and is actually unique in that is uses 100% spelt.
I cannot recommend either of these highly enough.
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*****
Situated under the old Union Station, in--obviously--an old train tunnel, Northampton's Tunnel Bar is, on a quiet night, about the classiest place in the city, and on a Friday or Saturday, one of the most popular. Elegant and comfortable, with the bare walls of the tiled tunnel contrasted by the comfortable leather chairs situated around small wooden coffee tables, there is a bar about twenty feet long with some stools and space to stand. They have a few beers on tap at any given moment, but they really specialize in cocktails, and especially martinis. With a pretty decent selection of gins and vodkas, you can get just about any variety of martini, from my rather simple personal preference (V-One Vodka with extra olives) to any number of specialty and original drinks. Additionally, they have a wide selection of other spirits, including but not limited to Scotch (including the cheapest pour of Johnnie Walker Blue I've ever seen, at $23), bourbon, rum, and tequila. Prices are definitely not low, but considering the incredible potency of their cocktails, they are well worth the cost. If I am driving, I never have more than one martini at Tunnel Bar, and I make sure there's a little time and water before I get behind the wheel.
When Tunnel Bar is quiet, it is the perfect place for a drinking date, pre-meal cocktail, or after dinner nightcap, giving ample room to stretch out while still maintaining enough proximity to your accompaniment to have a real conversation without worrying about being overheard. On weekends, it gets too busy to have a quiet conversation, and you may well end up upstairs at a regular restaurant style table, as the tunnel itself cannot hold nearly so many people as want to crowd in. They will be crowded from about 8:00pm until close on Friday and Saturday, so plan accordingly.
***********
V-One Vodka is somewhat a product of Western Massachusetts, the brainchild of Hadley's own Paul Kozub. Produced in Poland, it is the winner of several awards in its short lifespan, and is my second favorite vodka, following only Cold River Vodka from Maine. Incredibly smooth, it makes a great martini, though like most grain vodkas it lacks the flavor of the potato based versions; it lies somewhere in between Cold River and Stolichnaya for me, and is actually unique in that is uses 100% spelt.
I cannot recommend either of these highly enough.
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Monday, October 21, 2013
McLadden's Irish Publick House (Northampton, MA)
I first went to McLadden's Irish Publick House's Northampton location after a wedding at the nearby Hotel Northampton, already a bit tipsy from my part of a bottle of Buffalo Trace bourbon, and a shot of tequila was involved, so my opinion was not reliable that night. The second time I went was a much more memorable event, having a late dinner there with my cousin and her boyfriend a couple weeks back when they visited from New York City. My cousin's boyfriend is an up and coming beer fan, and I have enjoyed taking him to a few other local beer hotspots and trying some great beers with him over the last few years, so when my cousin said Rick wanted to go somewhere with good beer again, McLadden's came immediately to mind. With over 100 taps and nearly as many bottled varieties, not to mention a very solid list of Irish, Scotch, and American whisk(e)ys, I figured the food did not need to be that good to still be a good choice. Thankfully, the food held up well, and I suspect that this will be among my go-to options in Northampton in the near future.
McLadden's is a very small local chain, with just three locations (the others being in Hamden, MA and West Hartford, CT), Northampton being the newest. When they opened there was a decent amount of buzz about them, but I heard very mixed, at best, reviews about the food, and with The Dirty Truth a tenth of a mile away, I honestly did not see much need to go there. Following my post-wedding trip, which gave me a view of their thoroughly impressive array of taps, I figured it was worth a shot. They advertise having 105 taps, but not all of them are active at any given moment. When I went with my cousin and her boyfriend, they had 102 running, and because they change options so often they do not have a printed menu; rather, there is a display that rotates through the options, or you can use your smartphone to scan a UPC or to go to a website that provides a full list of the available beers on tap, bottle or can. You can select the beer and it will give you some information about the beer and brewery, as well as where it is available near you.
We arrived around 9pm and still had to wait about ten minutes or so to be seated at one of about ten booths; the place was packed, especially around the bar, but the wait was not a major issue as it allowed us to browse the beer list online and pick out what we each wanted. I went with Founders Brewing Company's Imperial Stout, a specialty beer available as a "winter warmer," while Rick had a Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits Sculpin IPA at my recommendation; I do not remember my cousin Hana's beer selection, but I believe it was a pretty solid choice. Mine was spectacular, similar to the Lagunitas Brewing Company Imperial Stout I had at the 2013 American Craft Beer Fest, but not quite as sour. It was sharp, heavy and deeply flavored, malty as can be, and very much an alcohol-heavy beer but without feeling like it was overpowering the hops and malt that make it such a tremendous beer. It is a 10.5% ABV beer, though, so they served a smaller (I believe 10oz) portion in a goblet, and that was just right to go with my food. The Sculpin was as good as ever, one of my top three IPAs, and really deserves its own review, which I will take care of in the near future.
The food did not quite live up to the beer, but that is by no means a negative; it is very difficult to match an insanely impressive beer list. We all went fairly simple, which the menu seems to do best, mixing some classically Irish dishes and some pretty standard American pub food. Hana had a Turkey Panini, which was delicious, with a small amount of spice, and a ton of flavor from both the bacon and the kale, which for once was not an unnecessary fad ingredient. Rick had the Shepherd's Pie, a childhood favorite of mine (though technically I always had Cottage Pie, I suppose, since it was made with beef), and he enjoyed it a great deal. I went with the Guinness Lamb Stew, served with two pieces of grilled bread, which is perfect for dipping in the gravy. The lamb was tender and delicious, the vegetables soft but not mushy, and the whole thing was just really delicious. My only complaint was that, unlike Hana's giant sandwich and Rick's generously sized dish, there did not seem to be a great deal of food in my bowl. Maybe that was because I had not eaten all day, but an order of truffle oil french fries at The Dirty Truth followed to ensure that I was full.
Prices were properly in line for the beer, nothing out of the ordinary, while the food was a little overpriced for such an establishment. That said, it was not so overpriced as to make me not go there again, I just may not pick it as my primary beer establishment. The service was fine, except that while we were waiting the waitress who said she would be back to get our beer orders never rematerialized, but since we were not waiting an insanely long time that is not much of a problem. All in all, I would highly recommend at least checking the place out, for the beer if nothing else, but the food is a good option as well.
******
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McLadden's is a very small local chain, with just three locations (the others being in Hamden, MA and West Hartford, CT), Northampton being the newest. When they opened there was a decent amount of buzz about them, but I heard very mixed, at best, reviews about the food, and with The Dirty Truth a tenth of a mile away, I honestly did not see much need to go there. Following my post-wedding trip, which gave me a view of their thoroughly impressive array of taps, I figured it was worth a shot. They advertise having 105 taps, but not all of them are active at any given moment. When I went with my cousin and her boyfriend, they had 102 running, and because they change options so often they do not have a printed menu; rather, there is a display that rotates through the options, or you can use your smartphone to scan a UPC or to go to a website that provides a full list of the available beers on tap, bottle or can. You can select the beer and it will give you some information about the beer and brewery, as well as where it is available near you.
We arrived around 9pm and still had to wait about ten minutes or so to be seated at one of about ten booths; the place was packed, especially around the bar, but the wait was not a major issue as it allowed us to browse the beer list online and pick out what we each wanted. I went with Founders Brewing Company's Imperial Stout, a specialty beer available as a "winter warmer," while Rick had a Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits Sculpin IPA at my recommendation; I do not remember my cousin Hana's beer selection, but I believe it was a pretty solid choice. Mine was spectacular, similar to the Lagunitas Brewing Company Imperial Stout I had at the 2013 American Craft Beer Fest, but not quite as sour. It was sharp, heavy and deeply flavored, malty as can be, and very much an alcohol-heavy beer but without feeling like it was overpowering the hops and malt that make it such a tremendous beer. It is a 10.5% ABV beer, though, so they served a smaller (I believe 10oz) portion in a goblet, and that was just right to go with my food. The Sculpin was as good as ever, one of my top three IPAs, and really deserves its own review, which I will take care of in the near future.
 |
| Guinness Lamb Stew, with Rick's and Hana's dishes in the background |
Prices were properly in line for the beer, nothing out of the ordinary, while the food was a little overpriced for such an establishment. That said, it was not so overpriced as to make me not go there again, I just may not pick it as my primary beer establishment. The service was fine, except that while we were waiting the waitress who said she would be back to get our beer orders never rematerialized, but since we were not waiting an insanely long time that is not much of a problem. All in all, I would highly recommend at least checking the place out, for the beer if nothing else, but the food is a good option as well.
******
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Sunday, October 20, 2013
Boston Trip #3 (Cambridge, MA)
So I have been to Crema Cafe a couple times before, and wrote briefly about it back in March, but after going again at the end of September, I decided to add a quick post about my last trip there. I was meeting a couple old friends in Boston, and had some time to kill so I figured a stop in Cambridge at my favorite little cafe was a good idea. One cold brewed iced coffee and an English muffin with jam later, and I was happy as a pig in...well, you know. The iced coffee was spectacular, even better than their regular iced coffee which is already better than most, and the English muffin was to die for. I know what you're thinking, how good can an English muffin really be? When made at Crema Cafe, pretty damn good. Homemade, a little sweeter than a traditional (aka Thomas') variety, it was served warm with butter and raspberry jam that was delicious; I strongly considered ordering another, but decided that it would ruin my appetite. It was a poor decision.
A quick walk to Charlie's Kitchen followed, where I had a couple beers and some appetizers, and introduced a friend to the glory that are their burgers. Nothing crazy to report, just another plug for a great little bar.
******************
Dinner at Chilli Duck Thai followed a few hours later, after wandering around the area of the Park Plaza hotel netted no positive results and Yelp suggested it and my friend wanted to have Thai, Viet, or some other eastern Asian food. I had the Panang Curry with chicken, and my friend had the Tom Yum Noodle Soup. Mine was very tasty, subtly flavorful and just a little bit spicy. The soup was apparently good as well, with just the right amount of spice. I introduced my friend to Singha, which is one of my guilty pleasure beers; sort of like a Thai PBR, it has a little too much sweetness and not enough real beer flavor, but for some reason I just love drinking it nonetheless. Sadly, I do not really remember much more about the meal, but it was quite tasty and not unreasonably priced.
******************
The night concluded at Penguin Pizza in Brigham Circle, and while I cannot speak to the pizza (which looked pretty good), their beer list is insanely good. Hundreds of beers, many of which I had never heard of, including a lot of foreign options, made decision making very difficult. I ended up with a Warsteiner, which was a light Westphalian beer, similar to a Czech lager but with a little bit more body. I had ordered something else, but they were out, so I told the waiter, a friendly Irishman with a thick brogue, to pick me something light and refreshing, and he brought this and something else that I do not recall. I am glad that I went with this, and I really want to go back to this place to try their pizza and start making my way through their beer list.
******
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A quick walk to Charlie's Kitchen followed, where I had a couple beers and some appetizers, and introduced a friend to the glory that are their burgers. Nothing crazy to report, just another plug for a great little bar.
******************
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| Singha |
******************
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| Warsteiner |
******
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The Brass Buckle Cafe (Greenfield, MA)
Located at the corner of Main and Chapman Sts. in Greenfield, The Brass Buckle Cafe is just one of many small cafes or coffee shops that have existed in this location over the last fifteen years; some have been good, some bad, but none has managed to last more than a few years. The Brass Buckle hopefully will not break that trend.
In the interest of full disclosure, apparently my step-dad and the owner of the cafe have a bit of a feud going on after an extremely negative post on Yelp or one of those sites, which the owner saw and ended up confronting my step-dad and screaming profanity at him, and then banished him from the cafe. I figured I should give it a shot however, and I was really hoping that my step-dad simply had a bad experience, and while mine was not nearly so negative as his, I was really not pleased.
To start, you walk in and the place is actually nicely set up, very clean looking and with enough room everywhere. It has a pretty standard cafe set up at the counter, with some cookies and other pastry types behind glass next to where you order, and a couple of giant blackboards behind the counter list what your options for drinks and food are. The "kitchen" is open and you can watch your food be made if you are so inclined. The prices are very reasonable, and their coffee menu is pretty good, including a few things that I do not often see, such as Vietnamese Iced Coffee. So far, so good.
From there things went down hill. I waited several minutes to order despite having just one person ahead of me in line, and while the young man who took my order was perfectly friendly (which goes a long way with me), I hope for his sake he is new because his lack of familiarity with the cafe's offerings was a serious problem. I ordered the chilaquiles, a classic Mexican breakfast dish which typically uses leftover corn tortillas which are fried in quarters and then baked with a sauce and topped with crema or queso fresco, and of course served with the requisite refried beans. This iteration of the dish lacked the beans, had some crema (they say queso blanco on their website, but I am really doubtful about that) drizzled on the top of a giant pile of fried tortilla. The red and green salsas they used were fine, nicely spicy, but nothing special. Adding radish, which may have been pickled, was a nice touch, but none of the other vegetables were particularly good, and the tortillas were inconsistent as far as texture, which had some appeal to me in that I like contrast of textures, but it was too inconsistent, with some pieces completely soggy and others completely brittle. The crema, or whatever it was, was actually the best part, but there wasn't enough to get on every bite, and while drowning the dish in it would not have been good either as far as presentation or to eat, adding a bit more would be a good idea.
Coffee being a big part of any cafe, and it being morning when I went, I had myself an iced coffee, served black, and it was...okay. I drank the whole thing, and it was fine, but it was not great, certainly not up to the level of Greenfield Coffee, much less Cambridge's Crema Cafe or Northampton's La Fiorentina or Haymarket Cafe. If the food was better, the coffee would be more than good enough, and if the coffee was better I could probably deal with the food that was not up to my standards. The service is an issue, but again, if it were not one of multiple problems I could get over it and return. Sadly, I do not believe that I will return.
******
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In the interest of full disclosure, apparently my step-dad and the owner of the cafe have a bit of a feud going on after an extremely negative post on Yelp or one of those sites, which the owner saw and ended up confronting my step-dad and screaming profanity at him, and then banished him from the cafe. I figured I should give it a shot however, and I was really hoping that my step-dad simply had a bad experience, and while mine was not nearly so negative as his, I was really not pleased.
To start, you walk in and the place is actually nicely set up, very clean looking and with enough room everywhere. It has a pretty standard cafe set up at the counter, with some cookies and other pastry types behind glass next to where you order, and a couple of giant blackboards behind the counter list what your options for drinks and food are. The "kitchen" is open and you can watch your food be made if you are so inclined. The prices are very reasonable, and their coffee menu is pretty good, including a few things that I do not often see, such as Vietnamese Iced Coffee. So far, so good.
 | |
| Chilaquiles and an iced coffee |
Coffee being a big part of any cafe, and it being morning when I went, I had myself an iced coffee, served black, and it was...okay. I drank the whole thing, and it was fine, but it was not great, certainly not up to the level of Greenfield Coffee, much less Cambridge's Crema Cafe or Northampton's La Fiorentina or Haymarket Cafe. If the food was better, the coffee would be more than good enough, and if the coffee was better I could probably deal with the food that was not up to my standards. The service is an issue, but again, if it were not one of multiple problems I could get over it and return. Sadly, I do not believe that I will return.
******
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Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Ferrara's Kitchen + Bar (Boston, MA)
Some of the better meals of my life have been in Boston, including the best I'd ever had prior to going to Bouchon Bistro at Mamma Maria in North Square, and now I've been fortunate enough to add another hit to the list. Ferrara's Kitchen + Bar, located a short walk from the Haymarket MBTA stop on the Green Line, and just down the street from the famous Neptune Oyster Bar, is but one of many fine examples of Italian cuisine in Boston's North End, but there are a few things that set them apart.
The first thing that drew my dinner companion and I to Ferrara's was its open front; they have a large bay window that opens out onto Salem St., and in nice weather they open it up and allow the place to breathe a bit, a feature that I thoroughly enjoy. Upon entering, I noticed that, while it was not bright inside by any means, it was not so dim as to nearly require a flashlight to even read the menu, a trend that I cannot stand. It was, in fact, perfectly lit, allowing a good view of the entire dining room and bar, where we sat, but without any glaring lights. Behind the bar are a pair of flat screen televisions, which offered a chance to watch Peyton Manning kick his little brother's butt all over the field; always an enjoyable experience.
Our bartender was friendly, knew at least a bit about beer and was happy to engage with us without ever becoming, in my mind, overly intrusive or omnipresent. Speaking of beer, they had only a few options on tap, including a Sam Adams seasonal and the Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, which had just been added. Since there was nothing new or exciting, we both went with the Dogfish.
As for food, the kitchen kept up well with the positive impression the layout and bartender had given initially. I ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara, among my favorite dishes in the world, and my date
ordered the Gnocchi alla Sorrentina. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals, which were prepared very well, but there were a couple critiques that I had. My Carbonara was delicious, though the menu describes it as being in a cream sauce; I do not know if that means they actually used cream in the preparation, or if they are simply describing the sauce as creamy. It tasted right, and felt right, as an egg and cheese only sauce, and at least the bartender knew that a proper Carbonara lacks cream, but it is something that I am left wondering about. The pasta was perfect, and the flavor and texture of the sauce was spectacular, with the taste of the Parmesan (not sure if it was actual Parmiggiano-Reggiano or if it was the impostor we usually find here in the USA, but the menu says Parmesan) and some garlic coming through beautifully. The pancetta was delicious, but served in very large chunks, which was unwieldy; I like my pancetta cubed to about one centimeter, because it keeps a better texture that way I have found, but that is about my only real critique of this dish.
The gnocchi in my date's dish were sublime, perfect little pillows, with just enough density that they felt substantial but not nearly so much that they felt heavy. The mozzarella in the dish was solid, but nothing amazing, though it worked well in combination with the sauce and the gnocchi. The sauce itself was a little sweet for me, so when I first tasted it, with just the gnocchi and no cheese, I was not super thrilled. After adding some mozzarella, I enjoyed it more, as the salt of the cheese did help balance the sweetness of the sauce, but if you are not going to have cheese in every bite (which you will not with this dish) then that is not a saving grace.
The last thing to say about the food is that I must comment on how they serve it, supposedly in the dish it was cooked in. While I highly doubt this, as the pan mine was served in was far too clean along the sides to have really cooked such a messy meal (trust me, I've been trying for a while now to make a proper version; I'm at about a D+ right now, passing but nothing to be proud of), but it looks neat. It is a gimmick, but sometimes gimmicks work, and I must say, I really liked this one. The price was ridiculously reasonable as well; before tip, we were at $39, which for two entrees and two beers is insanely cheap in this neighborhood, especially when the food is so good. Admittedly, we did get the two cheapest entrees, but that was purely accidental, as they just happened to be what we wanted. I would have gladly paid significantly more for the same meal, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the check. All in all, I highly recommend Ferrara's, and I will absolutely consider a return, though with the incredible breadth of options in the North End, it may be hard to justify not trying something else.
******
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The first thing that drew my dinner companion and I to Ferrara's was its open front; they have a large bay window that opens out onto Salem St., and in nice weather they open it up and allow the place to breathe a bit, a feature that I thoroughly enjoy. Upon entering, I noticed that, while it was not bright inside by any means, it was not so dim as to nearly require a flashlight to even read the menu, a trend that I cannot stand. It was, in fact, perfectly lit, allowing a good view of the entire dining room and bar, where we sat, but without any glaring lights. Behind the bar are a pair of flat screen televisions, which offered a chance to watch Peyton Manning kick his little brother's butt all over the field; always an enjoyable experience.
Our bartender was friendly, knew at least a bit about beer and was happy to engage with us without ever becoming, in my mind, overly intrusive or omnipresent. Speaking of beer, they had only a few options on tap, including a Sam Adams seasonal and the Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, which had just been added. Since there was nothing new or exciting, we both went with the Dogfish.
As for food, the kitchen kept up well with the positive impression the layout and bartender had given initially. I ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara, among my favorite dishes in the world, and my date
 |
| Spaghetti Carbonara served in a stainless pan |
The gnocchi in my date's dish were sublime, perfect little pillows, with just enough density that they felt substantial but not nearly so much that they felt heavy. The mozzarella in the dish was solid, but nothing amazing, though it worked well in combination with the sauce and the gnocchi. The sauce itself was a little sweet for me, so when I first tasted it, with just the gnocchi and no cheese, I was not super thrilled. After adding some mozzarella, I enjoyed it more, as the salt of the cheese did help balance the sweetness of the sauce, but if you are not going to have cheese in every bite (which you will not with this dish) then that is not a saving grace.
The last thing to say about the food is that I must comment on how they serve it, supposedly in the dish it was cooked in. While I highly doubt this, as the pan mine was served in was far too clean along the sides to have really cooked such a messy meal (trust me, I've been trying for a while now to make a proper version; I'm at about a D+ right now, passing but nothing to be proud of), but it looks neat. It is a gimmick, but sometimes gimmicks work, and I must say, I really liked this one. The price was ridiculously reasonable as well; before tip, we were at $39, which for two entrees and two beers is insanely cheap in this neighborhood, especially when the food is so good. Admittedly, we did get the two cheapest entrees, but that was purely accidental, as they just happened to be what we wanted. I would have gladly paid significantly more for the same meal, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the check. All in all, I highly recommend Ferrara's, and I will absolutely consider a return, though with the incredible breadth of options in the North End, it may be hard to justify not trying something else.
******
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Monday, August 26, 2013
J&M Diner (Framingham, MA)
I am always searching for good new breakfast joints, but they are unfortunately few and far between, and especially rare are good old fashioned diners. J&M Diner fits both to a "T," providing very good, and incredibly generously portioned, food in a classic diner atmosphere.
I drove past the diner on my way to pick up my friend I was having breakfast with at about 10am, and there was an extensive line of people waiting outside; sadly, this line had not dissipated at all, and in fact probably had grown, by the time we arrived about an hour later. Another hour of waiting passed, and I was glad for the mimosa I had had prior to heading to the diner; I was starving anyways, but at least there was something in my stomach. The wait, however, was completely worth it.
Sadly, they were out of Sauce Hollandaise, which they make only on Saturdays and Sundays for Eggs Benedict, and when they run out, they're just out for the day. Since my preferred breakfast was off the table, I went with the special, a "Jack Daniels Omelette," which consisted of a gigantic omelette stuffed with pulled pork and a maple syrup and Jack Daniels reduction, along with a large portion of home fries and four thick slices of toast. The egg was good, though it was not as fluffy as some I have had, but it was the pulled pork that was clearly the focus of the dish. I went away with mixed feelings about it, but they were mostly because of the maple syrup glaze, which was, in my opinion, far too sweet. The pork itself was tender, fairly juicy, and had great flavor, and the glaze was tasty until the super sweetness hit me, at which point it became cloying. The toast and home fries were perfect however, and while I left a significant amount of omelette on the plate when I left (not because it was unpleasant, but simply because I am not a sumo wrestler and cannot eat my body weight in a single sitting), I ate all of the toast and just about all of the home fries. I cannot recall better home fries being served to me in all my life; in fact, I cannot recall better potatoes of any variety! Crispy outsides, tender and fluffy insides, perfectly salted and seasoned, and really just perfect, I cannot imagine how home fries could be better. The toast, which was cinnamon swirl, was either homemade or from a top of the line bakery. The crumb was exactly what you expect the variety to have, with a crisp exterior and, like the home fries, a tender and fluffy interior, with gooey, drippy, sweet cinnamon filling pouring out of of the swirls. This was tremendous, and as a self-confirmed connoisseur of cinnamon swirl bread, I can confidently say that this is as good as any you will ever have. Along with my own meal, my companion for breakfast had a pancake with fresh strawberries, blueberries and banana, and whipped cream and powdered sugar (aka the "USA" toppings), and she said they lived up to their billing as some of the best pancakes ever.
There was one negative aspect, and that was somewhat unavoidable with a place this busy. While very friendly, the waitresses were a bit scatterbrained. While my coffee (which was...well, coffee...nothing special there) was brought quickly and refilled often, my breakfast companion was delivered a glass of orange juice she did not order and it took several more minutes until she got the water she had actually requested, and the hot sauce I asked for was never delivered at all. Not the worst offenses ever, but if you are super concerned about the wait staff, you should prepare yourself for disappointment on that front.
This boils down to one simple thing for me; I will drive 90 minutes and wait another 60 in line...to have home fries and toast. I cannot recommend this diner enough.
******
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I drove past the diner on my way to pick up my friend I was having breakfast with at about 10am, and there was an extensive line of people waiting outside; sadly, this line had not dissipated at all, and in fact probably had grown, by the time we arrived about an hour later. Another hour of waiting passed, and I was glad for the mimosa I had had prior to heading to the diner; I was starving anyways, but at least there was something in my stomach. The wait, however, was completely worth it.
Sadly, they were out of Sauce Hollandaise, which they make only on Saturdays and Sundays for Eggs Benedict, and when they run out, they're just out for the day. Since my preferred breakfast was off the table, I went with the special, a "Jack Daniels Omelette," which consisted of a gigantic omelette stuffed with pulled pork and a maple syrup and Jack Daniels reduction, along with a large portion of home fries and four thick slices of toast. The egg was good, though it was not as fluffy as some I have had, but it was the pulled pork that was clearly the focus of the dish. I went away with mixed feelings about it, but they were mostly because of the maple syrup glaze, which was, in my opinion, far too sweet. The pork itself was tender, fairly juicy, and had great flavor, and the glaze was tasty until the super sweetness hit me, at which point it became cloying. The toast and home fries were perfect however, and while I left a significant amount of omelette on the plate when I left (not because it was unpleasant, but simply because I am not a sumo wrestler and cannot eat my body weight in a single sitting), I ate all of the toast and just about all of the home fries. I cannot recall better home fries being served to me in all my life; in fact, I cannot recall better potatoes of any variety! Crispy outsides, tender and fluffy insides, perfectly salted and seasoned, and really just perfect, I cannot imagine how home fries could be better. The toast, which was cinnamon swirl, was either homemade or from a top of the line bakery. The crumb was exactly what you expect the variety to have, with a crisp exterior and, like the home fries, a tender and fluffy interior, with gooey, drippy, sweet cinnamon filling pouring out of of the swirls. This was tremendous, and as a self-confirmed connoisseur of cinnamon swirl bread, I can confidently say that this is as good as any you will ever have. Along with my own meal, my companion for breakfast had a pancake with fresh strawberries, blueberries and banana, and whipped cream and powdered sugar (aka the "USA" toppings), and she said they lived up to their billing as some of the best pancakes ever.
There was one negative aspect, and that was somewhat unavoidable with a place this busy. While very friendly, the waitresses were a bit scatterbrained. While my coffee (which was...well, coffee...nothing special there) was brought quickly and refilled often, my breakfast companion was delivered a glass of orange juice she did not order and it took several more minutes until she got the water she had actually requested, and the hot sauce I asked for was never delivered at all. Not the worst offenses ever, but if you are super concerned about the wait staff, you should prepare yourself for disappointment on that front.
This boils down to one simple thing for me; I will drive 90 minutes and wait another 60 in line...to have home fries and toast. I cannot recommend this diner enough.
******
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Wednesday, August 21, 2013
La Veracruzana (Northampton, MA and Amherst, MA)
With two locations in western Massachusetts, La Veracruzana serves up a mix of fairly standard American style Mexican food and some dishes more specific to the owners' native state of Veracruz, from which the restaurants derive their name. The primary and original location is on Main St. in Northampton, conveniently right next to my favorite spot in the city, The Dirty Truth, while the second is in downtown Amherst on South Pleasant St. As a kid, going to the Northampton location was a fun treat, and in college (and after) the Amherst location has provided me with a fix for occasional cravings for enchiladas, tamales, or chiles rellenos.
La Veracruzana is best known for its salsa bar, where over a half dozen homemade salsas are available to serve yourself. From mild to burning hot, tomatillo to borracha, the options are plentiful and delicious, enough to make anyone happy and accompany any dish they serve. Chips are available--a change from when the restaurant opened-- and are a great way to try the salsas, but they are expensive at $3 a serving, though they are fresh made; no Tostitos here.
The menu is written on large blackboards at both locations, and is rather varied; you can get anything from a quesadilla to pupusas, the delicious Salvadoran stuffed masa cakes. I love their mole, that most spectacular of sauces, slightly sweet with chocolate, slightly spicy, and just overall so delectable that it improves anything and everything it touches; served on their enchiladas con pollo (chicken) it
is absolute perfection. Tender, flavorful chicken wrapped in corn tortillas, topped with melted cheese and a sauce (mole, a slightly spicy red "enchilada sauce," or a tomatillo sauce), and served with refried beans and rice. The rice and beans are fine, though they do not stack up with the addictively spectacular varieties at Tacos Lupita in Lynn, MA. The beans are pretty standard, like you would get just about anywhere, but the rice is actually pretty good; I tend to mix them together with some salsa, and it tastes just fine.
Along with the enchiladas I had horchata, my favorite Central American drink, rice based and sweet without ever being cloying. They also serve really great lemonade, a variety of aguas frescas, and during the winter, Mexican hot chocolate. Their flan is supposedly good if you are in the mood for dessert, though I have not had it and I only know one person who has, though he enjoyed it.
All in all, La Veracruzana is an old favorite making solid if mostly unspectacular food; there are a few things on the menu that you may not recognize, and if your exposure to Mexican food is Taco Bell, you probably will be pretty shocked by what comes out. As far as Mexican/Central American restaurants in the area, it is about as good as you will get, except possibly Mi Tierra, a Salvadoran owned eatery in neighboring Hadley.
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La Veracruzana is best known for its salsa bar, where over a half dozen homemade salsas are available to serve yourself. From mild to burning hot, tomatillo to borracha, the options are plentiful and delicious, enough to make anyone happy and accompany any dish they serve. Chips are available--a change from when the restaurant opened-- and are a great way to try the salsas, but they are expensive at $3 a serving, though they are fresh made; no Tostitos here.
The menu is written on large blackboards at both locations, and is rather varied; you can get anything from a quesadilla to pupusas, the delicious Salvadoran stuffed masa cakes. I love their mole, that most spectacular of sauces, slightly sweet with chocolate, slightly spicy, and just overall so delectable that it improves anything and everything it touches; served on their enchiladas con pollo (chicken) it
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| Enchiladas con pollo y mole |
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| Horchata |
All in all, La Veracruzana is an old favorite making solid if mostly unspectacular food; there are a few things on the menu that you may not recognize, and if your exposure to Mexican food is Taco Bell, you probably will be pretty shocked by what comes out. As far as Mexican/Central American restaurants in the area, it is about as good as you will get, except possibly Mi Tierra, a Salvadoran owned eatery in neighboring Hadley.
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Monday, July 15, 2013
The Farm Table at Kringle Candle (Bernardston, MA)
Having grown up in Bernardston, a small town that until a few years ago was best known for being the last exit on Interstate 91 before Vermont (aka, not known at all), I was extremely excited when Kringle Candle Company came into being, adding a major business to a town that otherwise lacked for them, especially following the closure of the much beloved Aldo's Harley Davidson. Kringle, which is the brainchild of Yankee Candle Company founder Michael Kittredge, was opened almost as soon as the non-compete agreement Kittredge signed when he sold Yankee Candle expired. In building it, along with his son, Kittredge brought not just a factory, but a showroom and a fine dining restaurant, following a similar path to the Yankee Candle flagship store in South Deerfield, MA.
The Farm Table at Kringle Candle, colloquially "Farm Table" follows the theory espoused by its name, where ingredients are sourced locally and the food has very little diversion between the farm and your table. Like Chandler's Restaurant at Yankee Candle, Farm Table is a high end restaurant, and thus expensive; unlike Chandler's, Farm Table will allow you to get in and out without spending your entire paycheck if you order properly. Farm Table's menu includes a half dozen brick oven pizzas, all of which are somewhat reasonably priced ($12-16), and the entrees include several relatively affordable options. The appetizers are somewhat expensive, but a few of them can be ordered as a smaller, and thus cheaper, portion. Since I was going with my mother, who does not have nearly the appetite I do, I had both my own entree and a couple slices of her pizza.
I went with the Summer Pasta, which can also be ordered as a small or large portion (though at just a $3 difference, I question why anyone would order the small), and it was a little disappointing. It is a simple dish, just some penne pasta, nut free pesto, grilled chicken and confit cherry tomatoes with Pecorino Romano shaved on top, and some aspects of it worked exceptionally well, but it was completely undone by the chicken. Cut into bite sized and smaller pieces, the chicken was overcooked and dry, making it completely unappetizing and hard to eat. The pesto, which tasted quite good, was far too oily, leaving a greasy feel to the chicken and pasta at the bottom of the dish. The pasta itself was good, well cooked, though I strongly suspect it was not homemade. The best part of the dish was the tomato; as a huge fan of cherry tomatoes in general, and of almost anything confit, it was a really nice addition, as the sweetness set off the earthiness of the pesto and pasta, and almost made up for the failure of the chicken. Overall, I'd say this is a dish I would not order again, simply because of the chicken, but if they could rectify that issue it would be solid, and at $18, it is the cheapest entree on the menu, and not out of line with what you would pay at many other, less "fancy" places.
My mother's pizza, on the other hand, was very good, likely the best north of The Hungry Ghost in Northampton; in fact, I suspect that most people would prefer Farm Table's, as it is a little further from true Neapolitan. The crust is a little thicker than my ideal, but is very tasty, and the texture is just right for its thickness, crisp on the bottom and chewy on the inside. The Spanish Pizza that my mom got has house made chorizo, fresh garlic, egg, smoked local mozzarella, Manchego and fresh herbs over a roasted tomato sauce. I'll admit that I could not really taste the egg, even when I knew I was biting directly into it, as I felt it was overshadowed by the sauce and especially the chorizo, and I would never have guessed that the mozzarella was smoked, but it tasted delicious nonetheless. The chorizo is great, though not spicy as I expect with that sausage variety, but it does not suffer for that. Overall the pizza is very well done, and I would strongly suggest getting one of them, either as an appetizer to share, or as a meal. Be aware, however, that they are not large, around six to eight small pieces; I would have eaten the entire thing easily, and as it was we finished it despite the fact that I only had two pieces.
Farm Table's beer list is decent, with a good mix of local and national craft breweries represented at the taps and some very good bottle options. The growing number of gluten free eaters will be pleased to know that many of the items on the menu either come gluten free or can be made gluten free for a small up-charge, including the pizza. The spirits list is fine, and includes some higher end whisky, like the massively overpriced Johnny Walker Blue ($50, despite going for only about $200 wholesale, or less) and Macallan 25 Year ($75; this is an exceptionally rare scotch, and I have seen it as high as $125 a shot, but still, this is absurd, as it takes about a third of the bottle, at most, to recoup the cost), and some really good options on the more affordable end like BenRiach 16 ($10) and Talisker Distillers Edition ($19). Whistle Pig Rye ($10) is probably the most intriguing American whiskey option, but there are several good ones to choose from.
All in all, for the price you are paying, I think there are probably better options food-wise in the area, but the ambiance is nice, the location is beautiful, and the option to sit outside in nice weather is not to be under-appreciated. I will likely go again, as I would like to try some more things, but it is not somewhere that I will find myself drooling over.
******
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The Farm Table at Kringle Candle, colloquially "Farm Table" follows the theory espoused by its name, where ingredients are sourced locally and the food has very little diversion between the farm and your table. Like Chandler's Restaurant at Yankee Candle, Farm Table is a high end restaurant, and thus expensive; unlike Chandler's, Farm Table will allow you to get in and out without spending your entire paycheck if you order properly. Farm Table's menu includes a half dozen brick oven pizzas, all of which are somewhat reasonably priced ($12-16), and the entrees include several relatively affordable options. The appetizers are somewhat expensive, but a few of them can be ordered as a smaller, and thus cheaper, portion. Since I was going with my mother, who does not have nearly the appetite I do, I had both my own entree and a couple slices of her pizza.
I went with the Summer Pasta, which can also be ordered as a small or large portion (though at just a $3 difference, I question why anyone would order the small), and it was a little disappointing. It is a simple dish, just some penne pasta, nut free pesto, grilled chicken and confit cherry tomatoes with Pecorino Romano shaved on top, and some aspects of it worked exceptionally well, but it was completely undone by the chicken. Cut into bite sized and smaller pieces, the chicken was overcooked and dry, making it completely unappetizing and hard to eat. The pesto, which tasted quite good, was far too oily, leaving a greasy feel to the chicken and pasta at the bottom of the dish. The pasta itself was good, well cooked, though I strongly suspect it was not homemade. The best part of the dish was the tomato; as a huge fan of cherry tomatoes in general, and of almost anything confit, it was a really nice addition, as the sweetness set off the earthiness of the pesto and pasta, and almost made up for the failure of the chicken. Overall, I'd say this is a dish I would not order again, simply because of the chicken, but if they could rectify that issue it would be solid, and at $18, it is the cheapest entree on the menu, and not out of line with what you would pay at many other, less "fancy" places.
My mother's pizza, on the other hand, was very good, likely the best north of The Hungry Ghost in Northampton; in fact, I suspect that most people would prefer Farm Table's, as it is a little further from true Neapolitan. The crust is a little thicker than my ideal, but is very tasty, and the texture is just right for its thickness, crisp on the bottom and chewy on the inside. The Spanish Pizza that my mom got has house made chorizo, fresh garlic, egg, smoked local mozzarella, Manchego and fresh herbs over a roasted tomato sauce. I'll admit that I could not really taste the egg, even when I knew I was biting directly into it, as I felt it was overshadowed by the sauce and especially the chorizo, and I would never have guessed that the mozzarella was smoked, but it tasted delicious nonetheless. The chorizo is great, though not spicy as I expect with that sausage variety, but it does not suffer for that. Overall the pizza is very well done, and I would strongly suggest getting one of them, either as an appetizer to share, or as a meal. Be aware, however, that they are not large, around six to eight small pieces; I would have eaten the entire thing easily, and as it was we finished it despite the fact that I only had two pieces.
Farm Table's beer list is decent, with a good mix of local and national craft breweries represented at the taps and some very good bottle options. The growing number of gluten free eaters will be pleased to know that many of the items on the menu either come gluten free or can be made gluten free for a small up-charge, including the pizza. The spirits list is fine, and includes some higher end whisky, like the massively overpriced Johnny Walker Blue ($50, despite going for only about $200 wholesale, or less) and Macallan 25 Year ($75; this is an exceptionally rare scotch, and I have seen it as high as $125 a shot, but still, this is absurd, as it takes about a third of the bottle, at most, to recoup the cost), and some really good options on the more affordable end like BenRiach 16 ($10) and Talisker Distillers Edition ($19). Whistle Pig Rye ($10) is probably the most intriguing American whiskey option, but there are several good ones to choose from.
All in all, for the price you are paying, I think there are probably better options food-wise in the area, but the ambiance is nice, the location is beautiful, and the option to sit outside in nice weather is not to be under-appreciated. I will likely go again, as I would like to try some more things, but it is not somewhere that I will find myself drooling over.
******
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Sunday, June 9, 2013
Sweetfern Farm and Rutland Farm Day (Rutland, MA)
One of the things I love about living in rural Massachusetts is the incredible abundance of farms, most of them small and family owned. Rutland, which is a small town northwest of Worcester in central MA, has not only a large number of farms, but also a large number of very different types of farms. These run the gamut from a farm selling Angus beef, to an Alpaca farm, to a farm owned by Heifer International. Every year, the town sponsors a "Rutland Farm Day," and this year, its fifth, featured 17 farms all over town.
I went primarily because one of the featured farms, Sweetfern Farm, is owned by a friend of mine from college (who was also one of the first readers of this blog), and the farm is a great place to spend a little time relaxing, enjoying the countryside, and of course, enjoying some adorable baby animals. Sweetfern Farm at the moment sells fresh eggs, a product that so vastly outstrips the flavor and quality of store bought eggs that it is hardly even comparable, and by the end of the year is planning to sell seasonal vegetables, broiler chickens, turkeys, yarn/fleece from their ever growing flock of Shetland sheep, and if they quit naming the lambs, hopefully some delicious, tender lamb at some point. Fresh honey is also on the list for this fall.
The animals range from hilariously loud and needy (one sheep literally would push her head through the fence every time I got near until I would pet her) to tiny and adorable (the lambs, which were as young as a couple of weeks old, are almost as cute as a puppy, though not nearly so cuddly. I believe the current numbers are around 26 sheep (including this year's lambs), several dozen chickens, with a few dozen more chicks growing under the heat lamp, both egg layers and broilers, untold thousands of bees, and even two goats.
alpacas ever since I first saw one in Lincoln, MA, where the dog breeder my mom got her Chocolate Lab from was raising them. They have somewhat disturbingly human eyes, but are adorable as babies and rather amusing as adults; additionally, thier wool is pretty amazing, making some of the warmest, most comfortable knitted items you can find, including a pair of socks that I can only wear on super cold days. Sassawanna's flock are so friendly and docile that you can feed them out of your hand, something that a few kids took full advantage of, and most seemed to really enjoy the experience.
The farm sells yarn they make from these incredibly vocal animals, some of it pure, some a blend with sheep's wool, and some blended with sheeps wool and angora from their rabbits (which are adorably fluffy. Since my mom knits, I picked her up a couple skeins of it, and it is incredibly soft stuff.
I also learned some new things about alpacas from the owner, including that they, like sheep (also did not know this, but Kate, the owner of Sweetfern Farm, told me) do not have two rows of teeth, instead just having a bottom row, and a hard palate on top. They also hum pretty regularly, which is not necessarily a sign of stress, but is simply a reflex of theirs. They also breed pretty infrequently, with a gestational period lasting a full year, and rarely have more than one cria. They are also only shorn (at least at this farm) only once a year, and I must admit, a freshly shorn alpaca is pretty damned funny looking, with their super puffy legs and face.
Sassawanna Alpacas is located at 14 Sassawanna Rd, Rutland, MA.
The last farm I went to was Overlook Farm, technically the Learning Center at Overlook Farm, which at one time raised animals to be distributed by Heifer International, but currently operates to sell locally and act as a teaching resource, where groups that range from elementary school to adults can come learn how the farm works and operates, as well as get a glimpse of life in the various countries that Heifer International operates within.
When you pull into the farm, up a long driveway, you immediately see a pen full of sheep on one side of the parking lot, and some gorgeous views to the other, beyond the main buildings.
The pictures to either side show the twin pillars of the archway leading to the "global village," where the farm represents small aspects of the lives of some of Heifer International's clients. Signs at the entrance to each area
explain a little about how Heifer International operates there, and about the country or region itself.
Harlan County, KY, the setting for TNT's Justified, is an extremely poor (over 30% of the population lives below the "poverty" line; I think most would agree that being just north of that line doesn't really change much) county in
southeastern Kentucky.
Peru, with its llamas and alpacas, is an example of how Heifer International operates these days, providing locally available and appropriate animals.
Guatemala and the Tibetan region of China were also represented, with goats in Guatemala and large, shaggy oxen for Tibet. The structures at each were also intended to be representative of how people actually live in the
countries, including a rough stone hut and a yak hair tent that instantly reminded me of the steppe people of the Mongol period of domination.
The farm also features a gift shop, where you can purchase trinkets, promotional items, and some frozen meats from the lambs raised on the farm. The two farm employees I met were both extremely friendly, and clearly passionate about what they have going on there. Overlook Farm is located at 214 Wachusett Rd, Rutland, MA.
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| A few lambs |
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| One of the goats |
The animals range from hilariously loud and needy (one sheep literally would push her head through the fence every time I got near until I would pet her) to tiny and adorable (the lambs, which were as young as a couple of weeks old, are almost as cute as a puppy, though not nearly so cuddly. I believe the current numbers are around 26 sheep (including this year's lambs), several dozen chickens, with a few dozen more chicks growing under the heat lamp, both egg layers and broilers, untold thousands of bees, and even two goats.
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| Chicks under the heat lamp...adorable little future food! |
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| One of the rams grazing in his paddock |
The sheep are generally very friendly, albeit somewhat skittish in some cases, but there are a few that are attention hogs. This was a great opportunity for kids to come out and see the animals, and even hold one of the more outgoing lambs. Visitors ranged from locals who came by to check out the farm to one from out of town who came by because he is interested in seeing where his food comes from. There were numerous children, which is always nice to see, since few kids these days get to experience this kind of thing; I was lucky enough to grow up across the street from a small farm, but I never really appreciated that fact until recently. Hopefully children being exposed to farms like this will at least give them an appreciation that their food is not simply what they see in the grocery store.
Sweetfern Farm is located at 292 Pleasantdale Rd, Rutland, MA. Check them out on Facebook for some more pictures and information!
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I also visited Sassawanna Alpacas, aka Sassawanna Rabbitry, a small family owned, part time operation that includes raising and shearing alpacas, as well as making yarn from their wool, and also raising rabbits. The owners are extremely friendly and clearly passionate about their hilariously adorable charges, which are distinctly reminiscent of Dr. Seuss illustrations. I've been a big fan of
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| Newly weaned alpaca |
alpacas ever since I first saw one in Lincoln, MA, where the dog breeder my mom got her Chocolate Lab from was raising them. They have somewhat disturbingly human eyes, but are adorable as babies and rather amusing as adults; additionally, thier wool is pretty amazing, making some of the warmest, most comfortable knitted items you can find, including a pair of socks that I can only wear on super cold days. Sassawanna's flock are so friendly and docile that you can feed them out of your hand, something that a few kids took full advantage of, and most seemed to really enjoy the experience. The farm sells yarn they make from these incredibly vocal animals, some of it pure, some a blend with sheep's wool, and some blended with sheeps wool and angora from their rabbits (which are adorably fluffy. Since my mom knits, I picked her up a couple skeins of it, and it is incredibly soft stuff.
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| Fluffy angora rabbit |
I also learned some new things about alpacas from the owner, including that they, like sheep (also did not know this, but Kate, the owner of Sweetfern Farm, told me) do not have two rows of teeth, instead just having a bottom row, and a hard palate on top. They also hum pretty regularly, which is not necessarily a sign of stress, but is simply a reflex of theirs. They also breed pretty infrequently, with a gestational period lasting a full year, and rarely have more than one cria. They are also only shorn (at least at this farm) only once a year, and I must admit, a freshly shorn alpaca is pretty damned funny looking, with their super puffy legs and face.Sassawanna Alpacas is located at 14 Sassawanna Rd, Rutland, MA.
*******
The last farm I went to was Overlook Farm, technically the Learning Center at Overlook Farm, which at one time raised animals to be distributed by Heifer International, but currently operates to sell locally and act as a teaching resource, where groups that range from elementary school to adults can come learn how the farm works and operates, as well as get a glimpse of life in the various countries that Heifer International operates within.
When I visited, they were hosting a group of about 50 students, I believe middle schoolers, from Philadelphia, PA, who may have been seeing a farm like this for the first time. It was great to see how many of them (more than half) seemed really interested in what was going on.
When you pull into the farm, up a long driveway, you immediately see a pen full of sheep on one side of the parking lot, and some gorgeous views to the other, beyond the main buildings. |
| Small garden behind the main building |
explain a little about how Heifer International operates there, and about the country or region itself.
 |
| Signs explain each |
Harlan County, KY, the setting for TNT's Justified, is an extremely poor (over 30% of the population lives below the "poverty" line; I think most would agree that being just north of that line doesn't really change much) county in
southeastern Kentucky. 
Guatemala and the Tibetan region of China were also represented, with goats in Guatemala and large, shaggy oxen for Tibet. The structures at each were also intended to be representative of how people actually live in the
countries, including a rough stone hut and a yak hair tent that instantly reminded me of the steppe people of the Mongol period of domination. 
The farm also features a gift shop, where you can purchase trinkets, promotional items, and some frozen meats from the lambs raised on the farm. The two farm employees I met were both extremely friendly, and clearly passionate about what they have going on there. Overlook Farm is located at 214 Wachusett Rd, Rutland, MA. Check us out on Facebook!
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