At the A-Frame Bakery in Williamstown, Sharon Sutter is preparing pies — apple, pumpkin, cranberry and blueberry, pecan, maple apple mincemeat … and tarts, pumpkin rolls, and maple-glazed cheesecake. Later she will make Hanukkah treats, often for families wanting to send a holiday memory to students away from home. Christmas […]
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Public Eat + Drink serves purple potato chips and humor
Macaroni and cheese in the middle of a menu with mussels and fennel sausage in a rich broth, and sticky toffee pudding? When the cold snap came, my friend Sandy suggested we go out to dinner … at Public Eat + Drink in North Adams.
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Ruth Reichl finds soul in a homecooked meal
In Ruth Reichl’s family, cooking is generous, and it is healing. She holds onto its warmth in her memoir and cookbook, “My Kitchen Year,” recalling the hard time when without warning, Condé Nast closed Gourmet Magazine.
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Free-range pigs regenerate the land at Climbing Tree Farm
Half a dozen young pigs come trotting through the woods to see who has just stepped over the wire fence. They are sleek, fearless, coppery and black. They root against ankles and knees, pushing with firm noses, amiably curious.
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Elizabeth’s restaurant warms a cold night
On a winter night some time ago, friends gathered at Elizabeth’s in Pittsfield for a celebration, and as Tom Ellis, the proprietor, began thoughtfully explaining the specials, he added an extra: Henry Beston.
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Sharing a Winter weekend
Polenta smooth as softened butter with sausage crisp, tender and sharp. Thick-sliced ham with collard greens, biscuits and pickled cabbage. An apricot scone, somehow soft, warm and lightly dry, with butter and honey on the plate — we broke it into pieces with our fingers and dipped it in. On a […]
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Holiday wreathes keep winter green at Chatham Berry Farm
Chatham Berry Farm store in Chatham, N.Y., has opened its annual holiday market with natural ornaments and Douglas, balsam and Frasier fir trees from New York and Vermont, and beeswax candles from a local beekeeper.
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Shortbread blooms at Bakkerij Krijnen
The shortbread tulip on my plate holds chocolate ganache between cream-colored cookies flecked with orange peel, and the conversation behind me at the counter is running along with laughter.
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Ben Gable Savories turns farm eggs into deft dishes
It may be the smoothest quiche I’ve ever had. The egg custard is soft and set, the ham cut small, flavorful and abundant, and the cheese warmly present. Ben Gable Savories in Chatham, N.Y., is living up to its name.
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Local flavor and ingenuity combine at Oh Crêpe
Oh Crêpe in North Adams is a sunny space with colors that could have come from the crêpe of the month listed on the wall — lemon curd and whipped cream. The crêpe has raspberries and mint too.
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