LWF&D returns to the country

Over the weekend of the 4th, I ducked out of the city for a brief jaunt to the Berkshires to see the parents. After I arrived on Saturday afternoon, Mom and Dad headed out to the James Taylor concert, so I was left to fend for myself for dinner (and dessert). Off to Great Barrington I went.

First up, a visit to Napa, which I'd been to once last year. I took a seat at the bar and ordered their beet and goat cheese salad. It was quite good: a layer of thinly-sliced, tender red beets covered in a lightly dressed tangle of mesclun, all accompanied by two small pucks of fried goat cheese. The most remarkable part of this salad was actually the mesclun-- it had flavor. Bitter, sharp flavor. Guess that's what real fresh lettuce can do!

Vivid salad

After dinner, I ducked across the street to SoCo Creamery for some of the best ice cream in the world. I've been craving their cookies & cream ice cream ever since the last time I had it, and a small portion (which is huge) this time didn't disappoint. It's pure, fresh, sweet cream, packed with huge chunks of Oreos-- pretty much the perfect combination. SoCo is neck and neck with Thomas Sweet in my own personal Best Ice Cream rankings. Which are highly prestigious, of course.

Heavenly

To round out my Berkshire food tour, the next day Dad and I stopped into the newest sensation in town: Barrington Bites, a tiny little cupcake kiosk tucked into a kitchen supply store on Railroad Street. It's provisioned and staffed by one woman-- Wendy Weinberg, as the business card states-- and it traffics exclusively in mini cupcakes. Dad and I shared a "blue velvet," each getting one bite of the cream-cheese-frosting-covered red velvet knockoff. The frosting here was quite good, definitely tangy and not too sweet. The cake was very moist, which is sometimes hard to pull off when making mini cupcakes (they tend to dry out very quickly in the oven), but it didn't taste at all like cocoa. It seemed pretty much like an oil-based plain vanilla cake, but regardless, it was a suitable vehicle for the delicious frosting.

It's patriotic, on account of the birth of our nation

And there you have it. Less than 48 hours in the country, and I was back in the sweltering, 98-degree city. Back to reality!

Napa Wine Bar and Eatery
293 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA
413-528-4311

SoCo Creamery
5 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, MA
413-528-9420

Barrington Bites
33 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, MA
413-528-0660

Visiting Napa while in Great Barrington

I mentioned in my Best Ice Cream Ever post a few days ago that last weekend AV and I enjoyed a quick getaway to the Berkshires in Massachusetts. While that getaway was chock-full of delicious ice cream, it also had regular food-- including a delightful dinner at Napa Wine Bar and Eatery in Great Barrington, just a few steps from the fateful SoCo Creamery.

Napa recently replaced a restaurant we didn't like very much, so its presence in Great Barrington was welcome. And the owners have turned the space on Great Barrington's main drag into a pleasant place to be-- bright and airy, with a ton of space between each of the tables. It reminded me that in Manhattan, there would likely be twice or even three times the number of tables in the same space, merely to make rent. Ahh, the real world.

We started with a beer (AV) and the bread basket (both of us). Two warm white rolls came nestled in a napkin. Crackly outsides gave way to warm insides, and when slathered with butter, it was just the right treat to start off a dinner for two hungry people.

Warm bread in blanket

AV started with the bruschetta, with marinated tomatoes and fennel. He found the fennel to be too strong-- it was a notably anise-y fennel-- but the rest of the bruschetta to be delicious. I eagerly gobbled up the rest of the fennel and the odd tomato he discarded to be enjoyed with my salad.

A tangle of ingredients

Speaking of salad, I had ordered the field greens salad, asking for the onions to be replaced by beets. Even though the roasted beets are obviously a more expensive ingredient than a bit of shaved onion, they didn't charge us any extra, which was quite nice. And this salad was delicious, especially the beets-- tangy and marinated and sweet. AV also ordered the same salad, sans beets and plus onions, which he enjoyed. My only gripe with the salad is that the ricotta salata was in tiny shavings over the top of the greens, which meant it was nearly tasteless. If you're going to put cheese on a salad, put it in thick slabs or crumbles, so at least the tastebuds can get a foothold, you know? Otherwise there's no point.

Onions

Beets

We obviously had other plans for dessert, so we zipped out of there once our food was done. It's worth noting that while it doesn't have Manhattan seating arrangements, Napa definitely does have Manhattan prices-- it's not cheap. But the food was good and the experience was enjoyable, so if you're ever in the area, it's a three Offset Spatula restaurant that's worth traveling to.

Napa Wine Bar and Eatery
293 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA
413-528-4311

I'm back! And I bring you ice cream

Dearest readers, I have been shamefully MIA recently-- the last few weeks were a bit rough both health-wise and work-wise, but I'm slowly getting back on track and should be back with reports on the four meals currently sitting in my camera very soon. But in the meantime, I bring you a brief report on the Best Ice Cream I've Had In A Long, Long Time.

I eat ice cream relatively frequently, but usually when I have it I go for frozen yogurt or light ice cream or some watered-down version of the real thing. But every now and then, I get a taste of the true life-- not sorbet, sherbet, granita, or even gelato (which is delicious, don't get me wrong, just not as rich as ice cream), but real, true, honest-to-goodness ice cream. And it's like when you've switched completely to diet soda and then have a sip of full-sugar Sprite-- it tastes impossibly rich and sweet and decadent. Anyway, this past weekend, when AV and I escaped the city for a quick weekend away in Western Massachusetts, I tasted the Best Ice Cream, certainly in a Long, Long Time, but possibly Ever.

It was at the SoCo Creamery in Great Barrington, a place I've been to many, many times throughout my life, even when it was called Bev's in its previous incarnation several years ago. We went after dinner on Saturday night (report on that to come...), and I got my usual soft serve twist with rainbow sprinkles, while AV got a cup of cookies & cream with sprinkles. I tried a taste of his ice cream. Fast forward 16 hours and we were there again, eating ice cream in the middle of the day in an effort to stem the rising out-of-control yearning I had for that cookies & cream. Sitting there, with my own small cup of the black and white ambrosia, I savored each indulgent spoonful. The cream was unbelieveably creamy-- like sticking your tongue directly into a bucket of fresh cream, much creamier even than whipped cream, which I eat regularly. And the big chunks of cookies were judiciously scattered about, taking a suitable backseat to the pure canvas of the cream. I didn't even bother with sprinkles.

Pure beauty

SoCo Creamery
5 Railroad Street, Great Barrington
413-528-9420