Today I walked out of the cold drizzle into Dottie’s Coffee Lounge and thought it must be about the warmest place in Pittsfield. I was downtown between errands and feeling bedraggled in the drizzle, and it was soothing, coming into a room full of music and conversation.
Mid-winter can feel quiet here, especially now, when we’re all trying to find our feet. On a wet, raw day, when January is pretending to be April, where can we go to thaw out?
I’ve always liked Dottie’s sense of color and humor. And they’re still one of the few places I know of where I can get a real, strong Americano. (It goes well with a cheese biscuit that comes with a tang of chives.)
This can be a good time of year for quiet comforts. When I have time to sit over a book or a talk, I might be cupping melted thick-enough-to-stand-up-a-spoon hot chocolate at Chocolate Springs, or cocoa at Lenox Coffee … or grinding beans from No. 6 Depot, or brewing hot herbal tea from Wild Soul River, with a feel of roots in the earth.
Or maybe I’ll share a muffin at BrewHaHa, molasses cookies from Bohemian Nouveau Bakery, chocolate bread at Berkshire Mountain Bakery, croissants at the Lost Lamb in Stockbridge …
Sip and stretch
A woman laughs in a drawing on the brick wall at Dottie's Coffee Lounge.
An old lighted marquee from a fair booth spells out 'Coffee' over the espresso bar at Dottie's Coffee Lounge.
Bright handmade journals sit near the door at Dottie's Coffee Lounge, in support of Multicultoral Bridge.
Berkshire Mountain Bakery offers fresh sourdough bread near the bank of the Housatonic River.
Chocolate Springs in Lenox forms own dark chocolate into snowmen and holiday shapes.
Chocolate biscotti from Bohemian Nouveau tempt the eye. Press photo courtesy of the artist
The Lost Lamb bakery and cafe in Stockbridge serves chocolate peppermint tarts on a winter day.
Croissants wait on the counter in the sun at the Lost Lamb bakery and cafe in Stockbridge.
Coffee shops and bakeries give warmth on cold afternoons, from Dottie’s Coffee Lounge in Pittsfield (above) to the Lost Lamb Bakery and Chocolate Springs.
Events coming up …
Find more art and performance, outdoors and food in the BTW events calendar.
