BerkshireTsarina's Profile
A Sour Cream Glut
Somehow every time I went to the supermarket I "remembered" I needed sour cream.
So now I have three pint containers of the stuff---- what am I going to do with them?????
Any interesting ideas?
Suggestions for best Chinese food in Southern New England?
Lao Sze Chuan (sp?) in Milford was terrific when we were there a while ago. It's just way too far away for us.
At Butterfly, if you ask for the Chinese gourmet menu they'll give it to you. But only if you ask! Problem is that the last couple of times even some of our favorite things off that menu had gone meh, and I don't know what the situation is these days.
I'm with you on American Chinese food. When we were in Tucson, there was a Cantonese American place some of whose dishes were outstandingly delicious! Authentic isn't everything in life, and anyway, these were authentic Cantonese American dishes.
But Tucson is also too far away from Western MA to be practical!
Suggestions for best Chinese food in Southern New England?
Well, bagelman, to quote: La di da!
I CANNOT get authentic Chinese in a 15 minute drive from home. I'm out here with meatyball in Western MA and need some kind of fix. What are Chowhounders' recent experiences with Butterfly in Hadley? It used to be good on certain dishes, but something happened, I don't know what, and it no longer was. We haven't been in a while and I wonder if it's recovered.
Also wonder what the situation is at Great Wall in Florence --
And if anyone has any opinions about Zen in Northampton.
Or, for the 15 minute drive --- well, half hour drive --- to Amherst, what is the word on Chi Am?
Suggestions for best Chinese food in Southern New England?
If you do, it will be a treasure as scarce as hens' teeth.
We adore Chinese food, but Western MA so far is a desert. Even the occasionally good places are more off than on. Perhaps someone will come up with a hidden jewel --- hope does spring eternal.
Breakfast that knocks your socks off
Find yourself some of these for your boiled eggs:
http://berkshireviews.wordpress.com/2012/03/19/weekly-photo-challenge-unusual-2/
And whatever else you serve, your company is already delighted!
(add-ons to the table: fresh fruit, berries or melon in season; muesli or granola and Greek yogurt; something toasted of whatever exotic or ordinary bread you like; great coffee or great tea: hey, simple does it too!)
Flavorless, flaccid pizza at The Hungry Ghost Bakery, Northampton, MA
Another comment from someone who grew up back in the day. (When bagels broke off a tooth if you weren't careful.) ((In Brooklyn. Authenticity.))
Great Barrington Bagels, a little south of the town of the same name in the Berkshires, has bagels that are closest to what I remember. They're somewhat smaller than the usual, and they give you more of a tussle.
That said (don't you hate that expression?) my favorite flavors, like tornado and blizzard, some with all the seedy goodies sprinkled on (gasp) an EGG bagel, are not in the least authentic. Just good.
Ideas for corn-based desserts?
The Cakebread Cellars Winery Cookbook (link here: http://www.amazon.com/Cakebread-Cellars-Napa-Valley-Cookbook/dp/1580085083?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225842270&sr=1-1 )has a recipe for a Polenta Cheesecake with Strawberries Macerated in Zinfandel.
Helped my hostess make it in California; it is to die for!
The Farm Table
It's been open long enough now, and Thanksgiving (a tough act) is over.
Has anyone been to The Farm Table recently? It does look good on paper, and a nurse at Cooley-Dickinson Hospital (Northampton) who lives up that way was singing its praises ---
Before shlepping up to Greenfield, I wondered if anyone has any recent reports?
Flavorless, flaccid pizza at The Hungry Ghost Bakery, Northampton, MA
A few of the breads at BE are definitely not sourdough --- but of course which they are eludes my aging brain right now. If it recovers, I'll post, but I'm sure of the facts. I dislike sourdough a lot, so I really stay away from it.
I'm sure noses will turn up, at least some, but I love the sperlonga bread at Whole Foods. I'd never heard of it before, it's light and airy yet chewy, and makes (to my mind) a substitute for ciabatta that beats the originals. I use some right away and freeze the rest.
How do you move your chopped vegetables?
My bench scraper is small but mighty --- and is constantly in use.
Unless I'm prepping complicated, like Chinese food, where I array it all on a round metal pizza pan, the bench scraper does the job.
Looking for breakfast, W. Stockbridge, MA area
Not omelets (I make my own and don't order 'em when I go out)
but corned beef hash and grits at Martin's are both supreme-o.
Coconut Sorbet?
Always looking for something new, different, light by way of dessert. So today I bought Ciao Bella's Coconut Sorbet. It tastes okay, I guess, but a little bit weird; and seems to need something else to go-with.
Does anyone have any ideas about what addition or side would showcase it better than just its naked self? TIA ---
Sugar Houses in Western MA
It's that time of year, and our first sugaring-off season living in the Pioneer Valley.
Chowhounds, what are your favorite sugar houses, and how do you suggest best to visit them? (i.e., breakfast or brunch or lunch, strictly pancakes, weekends only or weekdays, etc?) TIA ---
Heart Healthy Cookbook?
I think I posted this on the wrong board and it really belongs here ---
Having just been diagnosed with coronary artery disease after a smallish heart attack I need to change my delicious but fatty diet QUICK.
Does anyone have a favorite cookbook with EASY and DELICIOUS recipes for grains, fiber, veggies, all that heart healthy stuff? This is not my field of expertise! But it had better become so pronto. Many thanks for suggestions ---
Looking for breakfast, W. Stockbridge, MA area
Let me be clear, mom ---
It isn't that the food is so great. It's good, but not outstanding. It's just that the total experience --- the crowd, the crayons, the sometimes weird specials, the service -- for me adds up to --- The Berkshires. Not something that works for everybody.
(Reva's would be more manageable for me if my hub and I could ever agree on something to share! But alas, no.)
Looking for breakfast, W. Stockbridge, MA area
An odd complaint, perhaps --- but Reva's plates are simply TOO BIG, and TOO MUCH. Food is always good, yes, but I can't manage the portions. If big is your thing, you'll love it. It's at least as frenetic as Martin's.
Martin's remains my favorite --- corned beef hash, grits are terrific --- and there's just that community feel, it's all around you, this is the Berkshires, guys --- No puttin' on airs.
Grub Sandwich Shop in N'hampton
Is Mosaic more comfortable than Amanouz? I've wanted to try the latter, but it looks so small and scrunched I never have!
Any foodie book gift ideas?
What has happened to John Thorne? Is he still in the Pioneer Valley? Is he still writing his newsletter, or anything at all?
His books are fantastic, certainly make you want to run straight into the kitchen and cook ANYTHING.
Flavorless, flaccid pizza at The Hungry Ghost Bakery, Northampton, MA
No one has even mentioned Florence Pizza (a hop, skip and a jump away from downtown). Is it too old-fashioned? Does it stick to traditional pizza toppings? Is it best eaten right on the spot as Father says?
Well, yes to all those things --- but within its parameters, this is the pizza of my oldest memories, when there first WAS pizza in the US of A. Gooey stringy cheese, thin crispy crust, your choice of tomato and cheese or cheese and tomato.
Actually they also have pepperoni and sausage, onions and green peppers, you know, the usual. It freezes great and reheats great (when you learn the secret of proper reheating. But then again --- fancy pizza toppings leave me cold, and when I'm looking for pizza I'm not looking for ambiance.
Flavorless, flaccid pizza at The Hungry Ghost Bakery, Northampton, MA
Not to flog a dead (ghostly) horse, but I was always disappointed at Hungry Ghost when it was doing bread. There was this mystique about it which totally eluded me. I felt like the kid pointing out that the emperor was really naked, so I didn't. But I thought so.
Have not tried their pizza, have not intention of so doing, but am a HUGE fan of Bread Euphoria. No comparison. And the people at Bread Euphoria are actually really NICE. They're glad to have your business. What a relief
Least bad sushi in Northampton MA?
Thanks, MM --
I think lunch at Wagon Wheel and a nice drive might be do-able. Dinners anywhere have to wait for the return of the light in spring.
(Every time I go to Bread Euphoria I think maybe that's you waiting on line at the counter :-)
Least bad sushi in Northampton MA?
I AM surprised. Haven't been for six months, but before that went reasonably often and found it fine.
OTOH, sushi eating is undoubtedly best on the coasts! As is a lot of other eating. I console myself here with the produce in season which is great, with croissants at 40 Green Street Lunch, and with the Williamsburg Snack Shack when in season, for which I thank YOU!
Any other hidden tips or treats around the Pioneer Valley gratefully accepted!
Least bad sushi in Northampton MA?
For someone going so far afield --- I would certainly put Fin, in Lenox, ahead of Great Barrington. It's noisy and cramped --- then again, unless you go to the tatami rooms, so is Bizen --- and I have always felt the sushi and sashimi quality was superior.
Alas --- we're now far away from the Berkshires in Northampton, and find ourselves in the same dilemma as the original poster!
Bouche Noel in WMass or N. CT?
As it happens --- yes! :-)
Bread Euphoria, on Route 9 in Haydenville (to the west of Northampton) has a wonderful looking buche de Noel. I think it's $35.00, not sure about that. But it's a good size, would serve many, and is complete with meringue mushrooms!
They have a website, check 'em out. I'm almost positive you have to order in advance.
Zoe's Fish House, Hadley?
We're constantly passing by Zoe's Fish House on Route 9 in Hadley. But in all the months since we moved here, we haven't heard a single comment from anyone about it.
Good? Bad? Indifferent? What's the story?
Butterfly
One of our greatest joys since moving to Northampton has been the Chinese food at Butterfly in Hadley.
But the last several times, it feels like something has changed. First, the whole staff seems to have changed --- I don't recognize anyone, not greeter, waiters, nor busboys.
Second, the food is still good, but it's somehow been Less Than ---
Presentation not as attractive --
Food blander ---
Okay. But it used to be outstanding.
Has this been anyone else's experience, or have we just hit some bad timing?
Dining Changes in Amherst, MA
Is it possible that lunch provides a different experience from dinner at Chez Albert (in the old days or now)?
I only got to the restaurant once, last year for lunch, and was really disappointed after hearing so much about it. So I wonder if there it might be because lunch doesn't show it off. Or our experience was atypical. Or something ----
-----
Chez Albert
27 S Pleasant St, Amherst, MA 01002
Restaurants in or near Lenox
Having had many many really good meals at Alta --- I find jon's comment surprising. May have hit an off night, or perhaps the height of the season?
We had an incredibly rude waiter spoil our dining experience for 4 at Old Inn a while back --- but I wouldn't say Old Inn was necessarily terrible because of it.
And we just had a fine meal at John Andrews with excellent service.
Any specific night, one never knows.
Instant-Read Digital Meat Thermometers, HELP!
I've made a vow that I've overcooked my last pork chops!
My Williams-Sonoma thermometer-probe gave up the ghost; my analog little ProFreshional(?) doesn't work properly; it's time to bite the bullet although not for $85.00 and the fancy Thermopen.
I'm looking at these three:
-ThermoWorks RT 6000C Super-fast water-resistant Digital Pocket Thermometer, under $25.00
- Taylor Weekend Warrior (?)
- CDN Pro-Accurate Quick-Read Digital Thermometer, about $20.00
Help, advice, counsel, anyone?
Do you like any one of these enough to recommend?
Do you have any favorite under $25.00?
Thanks in advice to all.
