Guidos Marketplace (in Lenox and Great Barrinton) is a Berkshires institution. A combination of gourmet and organic, it's sort of a Whole Foods and Dean and Deluca combined. When I had an afternoon to myself today, I thought I would go to Guidos to get ingredients to make a new recipe for dinner.
Problem 1 - The cashier left an item out of the bag and I didn't realize it until I got home. And it was ice cream. :( I paid for it, and it was a fifteen minute drive to go back. Poo.
Problem 2 - The garlic looked like it had been harvested during the Clinton administration - dry and brown with rotted spots.
Problem 3 - The local apples I bought were mealy.
I haven't given up on Guido's but I'm not sure how soon it will be before I return.
Showing posts with label Food Shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food Shopping. Show all posts
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Berkshire Mountain Bakery
Route 183
Housatonic MA
www.berkshiremountainbakery.com
I love this bakery. I feel a little unfaithful to the Cakewalk, but they really are completely different animals. BMB supplies bread to farmer's markets and restaurants - the bakery itself it just a retail outlet, not the pleasant destination Cakewalk is.
However, their pain au chocolat (and I use that label specifically as they are related to their French cousins much more closely than those dense, powder sugar covered distant relatives sold in the US as chocolate croissants) is to die for (sorry, Cakewalk!). The baguette is also one of the finest - just the right balance of airiness and crispness. It also holds its own impressively for two days. Every single loaf I have tried has been excellent for what it is - chewy wheat bread, hearty rosemary potato (with real little soft potato chunks), and the fabulous ciabatta. The sourdour sandwich bread freezes wonderfully and is now makes my favorite toast in the world - there is something outstanding about the way it the hot crunchy bread absorbs the butter.
So run, don't walk, to the BMB. They are open seven days, so you have no excuse!
Housatonic MA
www.berkshiremountainbakery.com
I love this bakery. I feel a little unfaithful to the Cakewalk, but they really are completely different animals. BMB supplies bread to farmer's markets and restaurants - the bakery itself it just a retail outlet, not the pleasant destination Cakewalk is.
However, their pain au chocolat (and I use that label specifically as they are related to their French cousins much more closely than those dense, powder sugar covered distant relatives sold in the US as chocolate croissants) is to die for (sorry, Cakewalk!). The baguette is also one of the finest - just the right balance of airiness and crispness. It also holds its own impressively for two days. Every single loaf I have tried has been excellent for what it is - chewy wheat bread, hearty rosemary potato (with real little soft potato chunks), and the fabulous ciabatta. The sourdour sandwich bread freezes wonderfully and is now makes my favorite toast in the world - there is something outstanding about the way it the hot crunchy bread absorbs the butter.
So run, don't walk, to the BMB. They are open seven days, so you have no excuse!
Berkshire Green Grocer
42 Park Street
Lee, MA
www.berkshiregreengrocer.com
This little market is basically at the end of my street and I went in once right when I moved here and then promptly forgot about it. This is too bad! It is a charming little store (and I think the one issue is that it's small and thus limited) and I went in yesterday to pick up some eggs from a "real farm." I thought $4.25 was reasonable for a dozen eggs from a family farm. There is produce from local farms and a limited selection of fresh beef from Leahey Farm in Lee. Yesterday they only had some steaks on the large side, some lamb sausage, and for $8, a package of "real" hot dogs (which I'm sure is fabulous) - so it was nothing I was in the market for in the moment. They get Berkshire Mountain Bakery bread once a week (and I would say it would be Friday or Saturday as they still had some baguette left on Saturday). There is also an array of brands that will be familiar to anyone who has shopped at Whole Foods.
Claire's Cafe is attached to the store and it sells coffee, teas, and baked goods. Organic sandwiches and salads are served from 11:30-2:30. I haven't sampled anything from the cafe yet but I will report back when I have. Please stop in - I hope they are doing a good business but I don't see a lot of traffic going in and out.
Lee, MA
www.berkshiregreengrocer.com
This little market is basically at the end of my street and I went in once right when I moved here and then promptly forgot about it. This is too bad! It is a charming little store (and I think the one issue is that it's small and thus limited) and I went in yesterday to pick up some eggs from a "real farm." I thought $4.25 was reasonable for a dozen eggs from a family farm. There is produce from local farms and a limited selection of fresh beef from Leahey Farm in Lee. Yesterday they only had some steaks on the large side, some lamb sausage, and for $8, a package of "real" hot dogs (which I'm sure is fabulous) - so it was nothing I was in the market for in the moment. They get Berkshire Mountain Bakery bread once a week (and I would say it would be Friday or Saturday as they still had some baguette left on Saturday). There is also an array of brands that will be familiar to anyone who has shopped at Whole Foods.
Claire's Cafe is attached to the store and it sells coffee, teas, and baked goods. Organic sandwiches and salads are served from 11:30-2:30. I haven't sampled anything from the cafe yet but I will report back when I have. Please stop in - I hope they are doing a good business but I don't see a lot of traffic going in and out.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Shirl's Gelato/Old Inn on the Green
The Old Inn on the Green is selling their handmade gelato. The Old Inn, in New Marlborough, is an extremely charming place, recommended to me by the owner of Alta in Lenox as they were closed when I wanted to make a reservation in March. There is no electricity in the dining rooms so it is supremely romantic and evokes the original days of the Inn in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Stopping into the Berkshire Coop to pick up some Berkshire Mountain Bakery projects, I picked up a pint on a wim, and nearly had a stroke when it rang up at $7.99.
It is good gelato - creamy, and the pistacio had more nuts in it than I have ever experience before. But worth $7.99? No. Get a scoop at SoHo Creamery and hope the guy at the counter is having a better day.
Stopping into the Berkshire Coop to pick up some Berkshire Mountain Bakery projects, I picked up a pint on a wim, and nearly had a stroke when it rang up at $7.99.
It is good gelato - creamy, and the pistacio had more nuts in it than I have ever experience before. But worth $7.99? No. Get a scoop at SoHo Creamery and hope the guy at the counter is having a better day.
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