Allium

44 Railroad Street
Great Barrington, MA 01230
413-528-2118

This was probably the single best three course meal I have had thus far since writing this blog. I have been here once before and had a very nice meal, but this time all three courses hit it out of the park.

First off, if you make a reservation, and you are a party of three or four, ask to sit in the window. There are two tables for four in window nooks - great for people watching if you are so inclined. We were seated in the window by chance and it was fun to see the goings on in the center of Great Barrington on beautiful late spring evening.

Allium is one of the many Berkshire restaurants that tries to build its menu around seasonally available local produce. So two of us tried the spring vegetables with goat cheese as an appetizer - turnips, beets, broccoli were blanched and cooled, and then radishes were on a generous bed of fresh local goat cheese - incredibly flavoful. My dad had the spring lettuces, which he said were uncommonly crisp.

For an entree, I had a soft shell crab po boy on toasted ciabatta with greens and lightly fried onion rings on the side. The crab was delectable, with a slightly spicy remoullade on the bread. I disassembled the po boy and the reassembled the components in smaller bits - the salty, crispy, spicy, crunchy sandwich all surrounding the soft crab - excellent. I also ordered a side of hand-cut fries which were the kind of fries that make you realize you eat most fries mostly out of habit. These were generously sliced, cooked to a crisp golden brown with just the right amount of salt. The size of the entrees is not overwhelming, so splitting an additional side is a nice compliment to your meals.

My parents had grilled salmon and a slow-roasted chicken - they reported both were excellent.

For dessert, my mom and I both had maple pot de creme. This was the kind of dessert that I kept scraping the sides of the bowl to make sure I had retrieved every last bit. My dad got an almond and apricot bakewell tart, which was served with ice cream but the tart itself was also cold, which he found disappointing.

I would have those three courses again in heartbeat! And the decor is interesting as well - we sat in front of a large, weird painting that was a topic of conversation, and many of the light fixtures are artisan-made.

Route 7 Grill

999 Main Street (rte 7)
Grewat Barrington, MA 01230
www.route7grill.com

Don't always stop in the center of Great Barrington, although there are many alluring eating opportunities in town. Drive a little further south on Route 7 and you will come upon the charming Route 7 Grill, a restaurant built around an impressive two-sided open stone fireplace. They specialize in BBQ-d meats smoked in-house and all the items on the menu originate from local farms, all at a reasonable price.

The atmosphere is definitely cozy, simple and family friendly. This is all about comfort food, not about fine dining.

I went to the Rt 7 Grill last Saturday with my friends M and C. M is a vegetarian and when she simply wondered out loud what the pasta of the day might be, both the waitress and the host came over to point out all the vegetarian options on the menu. We started with freshly made chips and salsa - the chips were hot and crispy and the salsa was flavorful with a slight kick. Then they put down corn bread that was crumbly, corn-y, not too sweet. I started with the house salad which featured fresh greens (some of which looked like seaweed but weren't - we couldn't ID what variety of green it was), apples, cheddar, and almonds with a maple-bacon vinaigrette that had real chucks of bacon. Delicious. M. ended up ordering four sides - beets, mac and cheese, fresh homemade applesauce and... I can't remember. But there are fish options and there is always a pasta of the day.

I ordered the brisket with mac and cheese and onion strings - the meat was tender enough to cut with a fork but a tiny bit on the fatty side. C. ordered the pot roast cooked in Guinness, which was so rich and tender, I think I would opt for that over the brisket next time.

For you mac and cheese fans, the side is served in individual ramekins with crusty crispy cheese melted over the top. Gooey with a bit of cheddar sharpness - very satisfying. Sometimes I regret ordering onion rings/strings but these were thin and crunchy without being greasy.

For dessert, we had chocolate pecan pie with SoCo Creamery Dirty Chocolate ice cream. The pie was an excellent balance of pecans and chocolate.

The restaurant wasn't very full when we arrived early, about 5:30, but as we left around 7, it was filling up. I would suggest getting there early during the high season.

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!

Jacks Grill

Main Street
Housatonic, MA
www.jacksgrill.com

Jacks (no apostrophe) Grill - I love the idea. It has a comfort food menu - pot roast, fried chicken, mac and cheese, chocolate pudding, Toll House cookies. It's decorated with old board games, toys, and lunchboxes. What is not amusing about dining next to Welcome Back Kotter lunch box? There are twinkly white lights on the walls and a model train circling overhead, with a real whistle kids can blow if they ask the waitstaff.

I love the idea. But the reality? Unfortunately, another mediocre story.

I went to Jacks several weeks ago with my friends J and D, who recently bought a house around the corner. Perfect! Wine and cheese at their new home and then a quick walk down the street in the crisp autumn air to the warm and welcoming restaurant. The atmosphere is pleasant, no question. The service was quite friendly. But the food is just like most home cooking - this side of serviceable. I had the house speciality pot roast, which was good. I had the open-faced sandwich for $9 and I was very full. I am not shy, retiring and ladylike about portion sizes, so it was hard to imagine just how much more food you would get in the $18 entree portion and not end up with a large amount of leftovers. The sweet potato steak-cut were actually less delicious than the thin shoestring variety served in my school's dining hall. They pride themselves on local produce, but they seemed frozen to me - maybe it was fresh but tasted like frozen - ? Category = fine.

However, J's ordered the crab melt and I have to say I could have produced it in ten minutes in my kitchen, and it would have looked the same on the plate - an English muffin with crab salad and melted cheese in between, some fries thrown on the side. Home cooking and not in the best sense. J reported that it tasted like it looked - like lame-ish overpriced homecooking. D had the chicken pot pie and for some reason, there is a trend in the Berks of not presenting an actual pot pie, but putting chicken a la king in a bowl and putting a piece of puff pastry on top (this was the same presentation my dad had at the Morgan House in Lee). She also reported it was fine but overpriced for what it was.

I will say, in Jacks(no apostrophe)'s favor, the chocolate pudding was delicious. Much better than the stuff from a can. It might, MIGHT, just lure me back again.

Jacks is seasonal and it about to close for the winter. You can enjoy the chocolate pudding again next spring.

Crystal Essence

39 Railroad Street
Great Barrington

Next door to the scary La Pace is the peace and love monger Crystal Essence. This is the kind of place where you can buy crystals and self-help books and nice smelling candles. They also have a very nice selection of jewelery. However, the best aspect of this store is how lovely the staff is. They seem to love working there and they are delighted you have stopped by whether or not you buy anything.

I think the owner of La Pace should spend some time over in this store.

La Pace bed and bath

Railroad Street
Great Barrington, MA

I went into La Pace today to see if they ahd a tub caddy for my clawfoot tub. They have just moved from Main Street to Railroad St, into the space formerly occupied by Gatsby's. Apparently, something happened so that either the store owner only ended up renting half the space because she wanted to, or the building owner only wanted to rent her half the space and the store owner isn't happy about it. So the store looks like it is only sorta kinda unpacked, and there is a window display with some statuary (I think a Buddha) and colorful fabrics and a for rent sign in one of the front windows.

I went in and said what I was looking for and I was directed to a corner, not very charmingly. And then an older couple comes in, looking for a store that would have the fabrics and buddha. They get in a conversation with the owner who tells them what a jerk the building owner is, and when the husband tried to make a helpful suggestion about setting up the space, she bit his head off: "Great. I'll set up a suggestion box and you come back tomorrow and write that one down."

By that time another store clerk had come over to help me and I was in no mood to give this owner my business. But I didn't want the owner to yell at me if I left either. It's so pleasant to feel terrorized by a proprietor. Luckily, they didn't have th tub caddy I had in stock so I could leave legitimately.

I will not be returning there anytime soon...

Karen Allen Fiber Arts - great barrington

This store was featured on WCVB's Chronicle tonight and lo and behold, the proprietress is that Karen Allen of Raiders of the Lost Ark fame. I just wanted to put a plug in for the store because it has beautiful stuff - lots of cashmere and also gorgeous bags and other accessories. But if you want to buy, be prepared to spend some cash.

Obnoxiousness at SoCo Creamery 10-11-09

SoCo Creamery
5 Railroad Street
Great Barrington, MA
www.sococreamery.com

I wasn't even going to write about this, but the service drove me to it. I stopped into SoCo last Sunday when wandering around Great Barrington, lured by a sign promising pumpkin chip ice cream. I went in and asked the young man at the counter was pumpkin ice cream with chocolate chips and his charming answer was, "What else would it be?"

Now, I realize that perhaps this young man may well be a future world-reknown painter, or could be earning his PhD in astrophysics, but for the time being he has agreed to scoop my ice cream. We have all been tricked by peanut butter cup ice cream that has no Reece's, or that evil phenomenon "cinnamon chip" - muffins, bagels, etc. What are cinnamon chips anyway? Was my question so ridiculous?

Anyway, I proceeded to order my kiddie scoop and enjoy a very delicious pumpkin ice cream, but while eating I was forced to contemplate the lack of civility. Ironic from an ice cream store that features a t-shirt of a Buddha with a scoop of ice cream.