Not far from the Hudson Valley, nestled amid the verdant rolling hills and heavily wooded country roads of western Massachusetts, the Berkshire region has long been known for its natural beauty, recreational activities, historic sites, and cultural offerings. In the late 19th century, during the Berkshires Gilded Age, towns such as Lenox, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Williamstown became havens for the hyperrich. Many of their stately mansions and estates, now open to the public, still grace the landscape and have become integral to the area's flourishing tourist trade.
 The main house of Blantyre's lavish estate. |
The Berkshires are home to many high-quality art, music, dance, and theater venues. Even North Adams, an old factory town once defined by its textile mills, has gained recognition as the home of MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary art in the country. The area supports no fewer than 20 museums, including the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, famous for its collection of French Impressionist paintings. Tanglewood, a favorite outdoor spot for world-class music performances, is situated on the Stockbridge-Lenox border.
For those wishing to indulge their palates, upscale restaurants and gourmet food shops of note have appeared in recent years, taking their place alongside long-venerated ones. Very good to extraordinary meals can be had in settings ranging from casual to elegant. Here is a guide to some of the best places to sate your appetite in the Berkshires.
Main Street in Lenox, known for its large and stunning Victorian inns, is just a block away from Café Lucia. The restaurant, owned by Jim Lucie and Nadine Atalla, has been a favorite with locals and tourists alike since it opened 22 years ago. Classic Italian offerings can be ordered in the spacious dining room or the garden-encircled outdoor patio of the attractive old house. The extensive menu contains a wide selection of cold and hot antipasti, including a carne all'albese. In this simple but flavorful dish, tender raw beef is thinly sliced and dressed with extra virgin olive oil, pungent arugula, and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. (This antipasto is mislabeled a "carpaccio" on the menu, but in truth a real carpaccio is a dish invented in 1950 by Giuseppe Cipriani, the founder of Harry's Bar in Venice. It is made with a small amount of a distinctively flavored mayonnaise sauce drizzled in a crosshatch pattern over the thinnest possible slices of raw shell of beef or beef filet.) Since the restaurant's inception, the house specialty has been its ossobuco alla milanese: A slowly braised veal shank, cooked until the meat almost comes off the bone, sits in a hearty wine sauce that complements the rich, saffron-laced risotto Milanese that accompanies the dish. The restaurant owes its success to its well-executed dishes, generous portions, and friendly ambience.
Just down the block is Bistro Zinc, which takes its name from a traditional French wet-bar style where the top and inside of the bar are made of pewter that takes on a beautiful silvery sheen over time. The cocktail lounge and the dining room are separated by a glass partition but are connected stylistically by their lemon-yellow walls, oak floors, red-leather banquettes, and light-gray painted tin ceilings. In the dining room, mirrors, large picture windows, and spotlighting create a light and airy atmosphere during the day and a more intimate, polished setting when the lights are dimmed in the evening. The traditional French bistro-style menu lists appetizers such as steamed mussels in a fragrant white wine, garlic, and rosemary broth; lightly fried bluepoint oysters with fennel coleslaw and vodka crème fraîche; and French onion soup garnished with the nutty, slightly sweet taste of melted Gruyère cheese over toasted bread slices. Among the entrées can be found a pepper-crusted yellowfin tuna, cooked appropriately rare in the center, accompanied by puréed potatoes, braised fennel, and a green peppercorn sauce. Beef lovers will find a juicy New York strip steak offered au poivre and served with crispy pommes frites. The urbane but unpretentious atmosphere, with its background buzz, adds an element of conviviality to the dining experience.
 The dining room of Pearls. |
Just across the street from Pearls is Verdura Cucina Rustica, a modest-size restaurant that prides itself on using fresh, seasonal ingredients in a creative and impressive manner. The executive chef and owner, William S. Webber V, infuses his cooking with the food and wine derivative of northern Italy. Solid dark wood tables sit in a low-lit dining room where earthy, Tuscan tones predominate, setting the stage for the hearty aromas emanating from the open kitchen. Among the primi selections, a Venetian-style lobster sweet pea risotto was wonderfully executed: the rice was tender and creamy but al dente; the small sweet green peas married well with the tender, bite-sized, succulent morsels of lobster meat. Most importantly, the subtle integrity of the lobster meat's flavor and fragrance retained its primacy. Among the irresistible secondi dishes can be found a gnocchi, served with spring vegetables, lemon, and basil. Gnocchi are small potato dumplings that are hard to make well because the dough mixture needs to be made light but resilient enough not to fall apart in boiling water. The handmade gnocchi in this dish achieved a silky smoothness and delicacy found only in the most impeccable of preparations. The generous application of fresh aromatic herbs and a judicious sprinkling of lemon provide flavor intensity.
In 2002, Peter Platt, the highly acclaimed executive chef at the illustrious Wheatleigh mansion in Lenox, became the executive chef at the Old Inn on the Green in New Marlborough. When Platt took over the kitchen, the Inn had already established a reputation as one of the Berkshires' finest (and most romantic) places to dine. Platt's arrival raised the cooking to a world-class level. The original structure was built around 1760. It served over the years as an inn, a tavern, a store, and by 1806 a post office and stagecoach stop. After eventually falling into disrepair, restoration work began in the 1970s and the old inn was reborn as an upscale place to lodge and dine. In this historic setting, Platt offers new American cuisine with an emphasis on regional fare stylishly prepared with European flair. His dishes include a seared La Belle Farm foie gras with fresh huckleberry sauce atop a truffle-laced lentil salad; Maine diver scallops, butter-poached lobster, and gooseneck barnacles with caramelized fennel; a sautéed New England shad roe accompanied by wild Berkshire ramps topped with a lemon, caper, and brown butter sauce; and a roast double-rib Colorado lamb chop, sitting on a rosemary infused lamb reduction, with a crispy slice of polenta. Platt masterfully flavors his food in a simple, clean, and balanced manner, and the results are often sublime.
 Locke Larkin of Locke, Stock & Barrel |
Blantyre, built during the Berkshires' Gilded Age in 1902, is a Tudor-style manor on 100 acres of some of the most splendid lawns and woodland in Lenox. Everything about the place, from the service to the furnishings, bespeaks European elegance, taste, and class. Once a private home, its current owners, the Fitzpatrick family, have restored the building and grounds to their previous grandeur and turned the property into a world-renowned country-house hotel with a restaurant comparable to a two-Michelin-star establishment. Chef Christopher Brooks uses modern French cooking techniques (tours de main) and seasonal ingredients native to New England to create artfully arranged, deftly prepared dishes. The meal commences in the impressive parlor of the mansion with cocktails and a delectable assortment of bite-size hors d'oeuvres. From there the diner moves to the luxuriously appointed dining room, where choices range between various prix-fixe options or a five-course tasting menu. The tasting menu opens with a generous portion of American Hackleback caviar artfully placed on the horizontally sliced side of half a hard-boiled egg arranged on the plate alongside toast points and crème fraîche. The beautiful, glistening, velvety black caviar eggs have an intense, sweet, nutty flavor. They look dramatic when contrasted with the egg's yellow-orange yolk and surrounding white. Thus does the meal begin with a simple but beautifully presented classic dish that is full of rich and complex flavor, contrasting textures, and stunning color. Among the four courses still to come is a fricassee of Maine lobster and a truffle-roasted rack of lamb. The meal ended with a delicious strawberry syllabub with rhubarb compote. The bright cherry-red rhubarb is slowly cooked in a liqueur-infused sugar syrup and then chilled. The compote is covered by a thick, frothy syllabub concocted by beating egg whites with strawberry liqueur, cream, sugar, and spices. If you are seeking a memorable culinary experience in a regal setting or wish to celebrate any special occasion in an extraordinary manner, Blantyre is it.
Suppose, however, that you are only looking for a quick bite or some wine and cheese. Two stores in Great Barrington should not be missed, even if you visit them just for the pleasure of browsing. Originating as a natural food store, Locke, Stock & Barrel, owned by Locke and Pat Larkin, expanded into a gourmet grocery and wine store. It stocks a broad diversity of bottled oils, sauces and marinades, herbs and spices, specialty foods, and grains from around the world. The store also sells many fine cheeses and take-out items. The wine offerings are varied and outstanding, covering all price ranges and significant wine-growing regions. Locke Larkin, a wine connoisseur who happens to resemble the late Jerry Garcia, will patiently answer questions and point out some great bargains.
Rubiner's Cheesemongers and Grocers, housed in what was once an imposing bank, sells the finest cheeses, both regional and international, and outstanding gourmet specialty items (applewood- smoked Niman Ranch hams, Bolude smoked salmon, Bonnat chocolate from France, Spanish bonito tuna, cultured butter from Vermont Butter & Cheese, glace de viande, and other stocks and sauces, fresh organic eggs, and more). In the rear of the building, Rubi's Coffee and Sandwiches offers hot and cold sandwiches and salads made from the grocery's storehouse of exceptional ingredients. So even if you only wish to spend a couple of bucks, you can still bite off a piece of culinary heaven in the Berkshires.