Halfway up Eagle Street I found a ring of dancers with wings. North Adams was bright on a cold night with the lights for LumiNAMA, and in the vest pocket park near Heart’s Place, a group of friendly angels seem to have come out to join hands and spin in the frost.
Looking for gifts in these days before the holiday can feel like a quest. Something about making a discovery can fizz even in a quiet day and give a zing and a comfort — like trying Roberto’s Pizza for the first time after hearing about it for months.
The crust is the crisp melting Neapolitan I grew up with, and the flavors blend, prosciutto and red peppers with a shimmer of a kick, and a touch of sweetness from local honey.
I would usually be looking for more in these few days before the holidays. I’d be wandering back roads on my way back from checking out a museum show, and looking for greenhouses sweet and sharp with balsam fir, and barns full of chocolate molds and glass jars with bulb bottoms …
But I’ve been under the weather this past week, and I’ve had to stay home. So instead, I’ve been looking for local possibilities from here and thinking about where I may be soon. Here are some of the places I’d be wandering — and will be when I can.
Iron bottle openers fan out on a table beside a clove-studded orange. Press photo courtesy of Hammer on Steel
Exploring before the holidays
Mill River General Store — On the southern edge of the Berkshires, this quiet downtown shop is full of local flavors, ice cream and offee and baked goods and all sorts — and Berkshire Wildflower Honey makes candles from their own beeswax. It’s one of the few places I can find beeswax candles now.
Peace Love and Chocolate — Their chocolate covered cherries are unique filled with ganache, thick dark chocolate … and you can check out vintage vinyl at Seven Arts Music next door.
Lost Lamb Bakery — Seasonal tarts and pumpkin pie with whipped cream, breakfast sandwiches on brioche … their comfort food comes from the banks of the Seine.
The Lost Lamb bakery and cafe in Stockbridge serves chocolate peppermint tarts on a winter day.
Chocolate Springs — Because the chocolate Joshua Needleman makes can bring a holiday on its own … last winter (or the one before) I walked in on the day he was making dark chocolate over mint white chocolate ganache, one he may only make at the holidays …
The Bookstore — Matt Tannenbaum has felt the pulse of the community for more than 40 years. And he tells a great story. The shelves are rich in poetry, history, contemporary fiction and voices from many parts of the world. This is where I discovered Robin Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetrass and Saidiya Hartman’s newest books …
Dottie’s Coffee Lounge — along with a fresh hot cup of coffee and a muffin, the coffee shop carries local and handmade goods, candles, t-shirts, journals for writing in while you linger over your latte … this week, womyn makers will be there every day to share their work.
A blueberry muffin glistens with sugar at Dottie's Coffee Lounge.
Belltower records — I come here for a glimpse of some of the most unique music I know anywhere around — women singing among the Tuareg, songs recorded in Nigeria by iphone, creative people around the world, and the early Beatles too.
Bear and Bee Bookshop — A warm place on a winter night, North Adams’ new hub of stories invites me in. The shelves around their central branching tree pay attention to the world with generous curiosity, and science fiction and fantasy are exploring possible futures … some of them hopeful ones.
Hammer on Steel — Blacksmith Benjamin Westbrook forges tools on his anvil at Walkaway House in North Adams. Some he makes from found iron railroad spikes, beautifully curved and curled into new forms.
Cheshire Glassworks — Handmade beads glimmer like ice, and marbles like planets you can cup in the palm of your hand.
The Bear and Bee Bookshop gleams at dusk on a cool night in North Adams.
Cricket Creek Farm — For holiday gatherings, local cheeses can give an extra sense of good will and good company … sharp cheddary Maggie’s Round, brie-like Berkshire Bloom. If I get there at milking time, I can even see the cows coming in. I live up north, but if you’re near the pike, High Lawn Farm’s farm store is open too.
Heart’s Place tea shop — Another new warm place to gather in North Adams, and a comforting place to sit on a fall day with a tea pot warmed over a candle … They have their own loose tea too, by the ounce, from jasmine green to apricot, and I’m wondering about the origins of Oliie in Paris …
Plant Connector — Hexagon Bagels is coming for a popup on December 23, at 73 Main Street of North Adams, and I remember them from the farmers market, herbed and chewey and freshly made. The shop around them is green and alive on winter days, bright with begonias and hanging baskets and winter blooms. They also have a popup on North Street in Pittsfield through December 30
Wild Soul River — My neighbors make their own herbal teas, to take home or to sip hot while you’re stretching out at a corner table, or rambling gently through books about the earth and the people we live among, with a gentle appreciation for all that grows. They partner with local artists too, including in their own handmade Nature Tarot deck …
A handmade glass ornament glows warmly at Cheshire Glassworks.
