fatheryod's Profile
Restaurant Near Rt. 91 between Chicopee and Greenfield?
well, if it's a quiet lunch you want, i suggest hope & olive. you can check their menu at their site <>. people's pint in greenfield is solid for lunch as well, but it's a pretty noisy room and cash only as well.
Grub Sandwich Shop in N'hampton
unless there's some kind of posted/stated policy, it seems like asking for trouble. of course, i would applaud your efforts, but not sure how you'd do it without getting people upset. best idea might be to just NOT HAVE available electrical outlets. ha.
Coco's in Easthampton MA
i went by today and they said it would be a couple of months until dinner started up again. unmi joked that she preferred the just-lunch hours so much she might just keep them a lunch spot. thankfully, that won't be the case, but the lunch selections for friday and saturday were awesome -- fried buttermilk chicken sandwich, pork and fish tacos. very drool inducing.
Restaurant Near Rt. 91 between Chicopee and Greenfield?
i very much like alina's in south deerfield. it's higher end italian and conversation friendly, but dinner only. don't know which meal you were after. hope & olive in greenfield is also quite good, although it can be a bit noisier towards dinner time. always nice & quiet at lunch, however. chandler's (at yankee candle) is also quite decent for wither lunch or dinner. a couple more bucks than it should be, but they deal with tourists for the most part. all these places use local stuff as much as they can, so perhaps one will suit your needs. they all have easier parking than you'd find in some other places as well.
Catered Barbeque in Western MA?
i'm not on facebook either, but you can visit their facebook page. not sure how that works, but it does.
Greenfield MA food alert -- the fiddlehead soup is ready
just drove by the place today and the sign is up that soup's on this year. a little earlier than usual.
Visiting Northampton Next Month - Restaurants and Grinders
there are a couple of great places in easthampton these days. capt. jack's roadside shack has great roadstand food with burgers, dogs, tacos, etc. they are also working on perfecting a cheeseburger eggroll that is perversely fantastic. also, if you haven't been here since the '80s, you missed Cha Cha Cha and Unmi in northampton, but the woman who ran them is back with a place called coco's that is excellent. right now they;'re not doing dinners because of licensing stuff, but they are doing lunches on friday and saturday with tacos, buttermilk fried chicken sandwiches and other stuff. also in noho, serio's should be doing their friday afternoon grilling at the side of the store again soon. those are always great.
some of the better food action has moved up to franklin county since yr time as well. there's hope & olve in greenfield, gypsy apple in shelburne falls and the night kitchen in montague. all of these are well reported upon and argued about on chowhound, so a search should turn up opinions aplenty on any of them.
good luck to you
Catered Barbeque in Western MA?
the electric cocktail party in easthampton does bbq catering. and what i've had of theirs is mighty fine.
Mission Cantina South Amherst anyone been?
I recall this place got sort of written off when it opened, but a few people have been really talking it up to me lately. South Amherst is a bit off my regular route these days, so I was curious if the tacos were as worth the drive as I've heard.
FY
Looking for a flexible, offbeat caterer in or near Northampton, MA?
i'd suggest checking out electric cocktail party in easthampton <>. same folks that run capt. jack's clam shack, which i linked to elsewhere. i've never hired them, but ive had parties where some of the principals attended and brought food, and it was always great.
FY
Grub Sandwich Shop in N'hampton
i tried that frito pie double dog a while back, and although it was not really eatable "as a dog" (you needed a fork and knife), it was quite delicious. but the bun definitely was a little large and heavy.
FY
Gourmet Hotdogs/Hamburgers close to Western, Massachusetts?
Capt. Jack's in Easthampton<> does a variety of dogs -- Vindaloo, Chicago, Chili, Thai, etc. But usually only one special at a time. And they do catering. Very superior stuff in my opinion.
FY
Good place for lunch with kids around Deerfield? (Perfect Pint / Hope and Olive are current contenders)
people's pint and hope & olive are both good. they are both geared a bit more towards adult eaters, however. of the two, only people's pint has an actual kid's menu, although i imagine h&o would happily accommodate requests. brick wall is good also, and they have a very basic kid's menu. you didn't mention if you're talking dinner or lunch. if dinner, i am also very fond of alina's in south deerfield, which is a very good upscale italian place with a small basic kid's menu. don't think they do lunch. for a more extensive kid's menu, your best best is chandler's at yankee candle. they rarely get mentioned here, but their food is generally pretty solid -- it's basic new england with some continental flourishes, but they do a good job of it. and they're very kid friendly.
i live in deerfield, and of the other places there, well jerry's has basic classic lunch counter stuff. wolfies has fair family restaurant fodder. new golden china has okay chinese. the deerfield inn is okay heavy trad new england food. their champney's tavern off-shoot is decent pub food. savage's market has okay sandwiches to go -- the sausage is good. b&b market has pretty amazing polish take-out, but there' literally nowhere to eat around the place. and if you like smoked meats of any variety (to take and cook elsewhere), i highly suggest a visit to pekarski's smokehouse. neither pizza place in downtown south deerfield is worth a damn. and the restaurants attached to the butterfly place are both really pretty dire. hillside pizza -- open thurs to saturday -- has very nice pies, thin crust with gluten-free available. el jardin bakery has good bread and sandwiches. i think that's about it. i'll leave greenfiedl to someone else.
Flavorless, flaccid pizza at The Hungry Ghost Bakery, Northampton, MA
well, having read the bad review of the pizza at hungry ghost, i decided to try it again, since the last time we had it i thought it was pretty darn tasty. i work about a 5 minute walk from the place, so we ordered a 4 cheese tonight before clocking out. my daughter walked up and grabbed it, and i thought it was very good indeed. the crust was really dandy -- crunchy and fine tasting and really not soggy at all despite the extremely gooey topping. when they first started doing pizzas there i admit i didn't find them all that attractive, but it seemed like they sorta worked the kinks out after a couple of months. since we order at least one meal locally every day, the rotation sends us back there semi-regularly, and we have not really noticed problems with the pies at all. i'm not exactly sure where in northampton i can get a better one. i recall a decent one at paradiso many years ago, but i will only visit those hideous claudio joints if someone else absolutely insists. so my chances of revisiting are scant. i should add, perhaps, that i enjoy the bread there as well.
bread euphoria is a nice spot, i agree. but i'm only ever out that way for breakfast and usually horribly hungover, in which case their service and clientele always kinda bum me out. for that reason i generally end up breakfasting at the look when i've spent the night in norhampton. unless it's saturday and great wall is doing dim sum.
bu honestly, in northampton proper, where is there a better pie? as fond as i am of certain spots for certain instances (joe's, etc.) i'm having a hard time thinking of anywhere that matches them. on my last visit to magpie i felt they had made some mighty strides in terms of mastering the brick oven, but greenfield is only on my lunch schedule when i'm doing jury duty. and then i hit hope & olive religiously. although i am very curious to try the new spot -- belt buckle ot something like that -- which has just opened in the spot formerly held by cafe koko then syren. the cook there was the former second line guy at hope and olive. he's from texas and supposedly serves a bodacious corned beef taco. hoping to hit it soon.
but for now, when stuck in northampton, i find hungry ghost pizza mighty fine. maybe the fact that we're eating it within 5 minutes makes a difference. someone should invent a pizza box that releases steam without shedding heat. that would be excellent.
Fresh corn tortillas in or near PIoneer Valley?
the latin grocery in the christmas tree mall in hadley does not have fresh corn tortillas, but they do have a good deal on packaged ones -- 30 for $1.99. they also have an interestin selection of mexican/ecaudorian spices, cooking stuff and various sundries (CDs, boots, blood tonics, etc.. they also make food there -- small counter, mostly done for take-out -- and the pork tacos were quite solid. only thing i tried, but the meat was tasty, the green salsa was different and interesting, and the pickle radishes were a great compliment.
i'll try la veracruzana next.
Fresh corn tortillas in or near PIoneer Valley?
Long ago I could get 'em at Mi Tierra in Hadley. I seem to recall there were some other sources, however. Perhaps in Holyoke? Willing to drive a way if they're good. Any tips appreciated.
thanks
Dinner in South Hadley?
have not been for while, admittedly, but i've had a couple very decent meals at food 101. the bistro menu was pretty decent, i thought.
Any lunch recommendations in Amherst?
well, if stables is closed and you liked it, you might also like sully's, which is further down route 9. same kind of place. it's at 235 Russell Street Hadley sort of a family vibe breakfast/lunch spot with few pretensions, low prices and decent enough food.
for lunch a decent place -- i hate judie's -- with parking, is the harp at 163 sunderland rd. in north amherst. it's more or less a bar, but they have booths and food. the burgers are serviceable and the fish & chips are quite good. in amherst proper you can get a nice lunch at amherst chinese and moti (middle eastern cuisine) as well. and i have found miss saigon to be okay vietnamese as well, although i mention that on this list only in hushed tones.
another local breakfast spot i like is the roadhouse on route 9 in belchertown (176 Federal Street). it can be a bit more pricey than you;d hope, but their pancakes and waffles are quite good and they have a lot of gluten-free options.
eat hearty!
Coco's in Easthampton MA
great place. we went there the other night and i am eager to get back. the menu is small and precise; the seasoning, prep and presentation are solid; the prices were very reasonable (roughly $40 for all three courses). my daughter wanted to hit it tonight, but i called yesterday and they were all booked up. good for them. bummer for us! well, we'll get there next week!
i also really like the way they redid the space. venus was dark and close. the new setting is light and open. we'll be very curious to see how this place's story unfolds. it's certainly off to a great start.
Butterfly
i find them to be a bit inconsistent, but had a very swell meal there the other night with my s.o. she is particularly fond of the way they handle "mock" meats (especially with ginger sauce). and my own velvety chicken corn soup and pork with garlic sauce were as good as always. these are pretty standard orders, however. generally i have been more struck by the place's quality when i order off the gourmet menu. been regularly grabbing lunch to go from the northampton spot as well, as it's closer to work than great wall. so far, so good.
Coco's in Easthampton MA
i ate at cha cha cha almost daily the first few months they were open because so many of my pals worked there. and i liked that stuff a lot, but the "downstairs" restaurant was pretty amazing. not cheap, but i had a couple meals there that were as good as anything i've had anywhere. really looking forward to this new venture.
FY
Northampton Restaurant Recommendations
i'm very fond of mosiac cafe on masonic street. very nice middle eastern menu. you order at the counter then sit for service. reasonably priced and quite good.
Mad Jack's Barbque in Pittsfield, MA
made it to mad jack's this pat weekend. had the chopped chicken platter (which was indeed chopped, not pulled) and very tasty. as were the beans and slaw. very reasonably priced as well - less than 9 bucks. place was very small -- only 4 tables -- so most folks seemed to be doing take-out. i was there around lunch time. bbq sauce was a little sweeter than i prefer, but suited the chicken well. hopefully i can get back there soon with a few other folks so i can so some serious sampling. but thanks much for the tip!
Magpie Pizza Greenfield Ma
i was also there yesterday afternoon for a first visit & thought is was pretty dandy. i ordered the meatball appetizer (two lovely slices of foccacio + two large tasty meatballs with some sauce) and the field/herb salad which was enormous. my kids had a cheese pie and an artichoke/pesto pie, both of which were very good. crust was exceedingly well done i thought, thin and thick in the correct places, and charred very nicely. we were there on the early side, after catching a matinee at the greenfield garden cinema, maybe 5:30 or so. service was fast as could be. we skipped desserts 'cause we were stuffed and i -- for one -- liked the sliced beets quite a bit. admittedly, the crudites would have been more interesting if marinated, but the combo -- carrots, celery, beets -- was okay with me.
I need a little help from my springfield area friends
really? i've only been a few times, but i've enjoyed it enough to drive down from south deerfield to eat there. i've spent a lot of time in oaxaca, nayarit & jalisco and it has hit many of the right notes for me. have only managed for lunch, however. i found their use of elements like epazote and queso fresco very solid, and thought the pork dishes (especially) were really well done. obviously, everyone has different tastes, but i have a hard time thinking of an east coast mex place i've enjoyed more. but i'll check out hacienda on yr commendation. and if it's better, i will say a prayer to everyone i know!
Hotdogs in western MA
you might like the mini dogs they serve out in lee, just off the pike. hopefully someone can clarify this vague post. i'm in chicago right now & out of the mass dog loop. also, i noticed last week a street guy has again set-up in greenfield -- although about a half mile west of where the previous guy worked. could be worth a shot!
Williamsburg Snack Shack re-opening for season tomorrow
well, you can also wait 'til season's end. i think jack's is planning to be open year-round, and wiliamsburg when closed is gone for what always seems like too long. just a thought.
CAPTAIN JACK'S, EASTHAMPTON, MASS
last time i checked they were not planning to get into the lobster roll biz. and, frankly, i have a hard time imagining anyone beating the williamsburg shack at that game. how they manage to pull of that packed roll at that price is a source of wonderment. i don't eat the things myself, but my wife works some days in leeds and always takes work pals by there when it's on the menu. they talk about the things for days!
but at jack's, i am just waiting for this damn diet to end so i can once more devour their dogs -- charred beautifully with grilled rolls. mmm.... for now i have to stick with the salad topped with chicken breast -- a decent option (indeed they'll do any of their entrees atop a salad -- but scant solace.
Mad Jack's Barbque in Pittsfield, MA
well, fridays are a great day to hit places, but i'm glad to hear it's there. pittsfield is a town i've generally hit only for hotdogs.gonna be out that way next friday, so we'll put it on the list.
