Mezze Bistro and Bar got a shoutout this morning from The Boston Globe for its "cultural cocktails."

The bistro, now in its new location in the former Le Jardin on Route 7, is offering drinks to go with the Clark Art Institutes current exhibition "Picasso Looks at Degas."

Globe correspondent Luke O'Neil used nearly as many words on Mezze as he did on his review of the Clark exhibit, saying "nearby Mezze Bistro and Bar is a work of art in its own right."

Owner Nancy Thomas told him that the restaurant's cultural cocktails are in support of the local cultural venues and many have ingredients from here in the Berkshires, including from Berkshire Distillers. "Mezze Bistro is trying to help tell the story of our region, the Berkshires, and offer a sense of place," Thomas told the Globe.

Berkshire Living caught the reference and passed it on to readers in its daily e-letter group.

Mezze Group has been committed to supporting locally grown produce and inventive with the beverages. Its "Carhartts & Cocktails" dinners are becoming an annual event to bring together diners and the people who grow the food. Thomas' restaurants have also tried to stay on cutting edge of sophisticated cocktails. We tip our glass to her.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Northern Berkshire Food Festival on Sunday had easily its best showing in years, if not best ever. There were more restaurants, more variety, more music and more people — many more people — than the past few years.

The 9-year-old event has had its ups and downs, plagued by rain or searing temperatures and inconsistent participation. Some of the eateries from that first fest don't even exist anymore.

But there's always been a hardcore dozen or so restaurants and food vendors that set up under tents for an afternoon of dining.

Shish kabob & chicken jambalaya

This year, hundreds, likely well more than a thousand, packed Main Street from 1 to 4 to sample from 17 food purveyors. Rod Bunt of the Office of Tourism, which organizes the event, said more than 18,000 tickets (at 50 cents apiece) had been sold by 1:30. That's compared to nearly 15,000 total last year.

"I don't know how many people that is but I'd say it's a lot," said Bunt.

The new setup certainly helped the event's success. Instead of clumping the tents at the east end of the street the entire south side of Main Street was closed off and the tents spread down from about Hoosac Bank past Holden Street. The layout also offered far more seating than before and kept people walking along the street between the tents. The new benches also offered a spot to sit and listen to the musicians playing.

Councilor Lisa Blackmer, chairman of the Community Development Committee, said the idea was to include the galleries at the west end of the street and open the way to grow it next year.

"This was much better," said Kate Schilling of The Hub, whose booth was just a hop away. "It's much more spread along the street and it's a better layout."

The foot traffic also helped Creations, which owner and City Councilor Keith Bona had opened for the afternoon. (Sadder was the "almost free stuff" being picked over in front of Tangiers, which is closing at the end of the month.)

There was a lot of variety, too. Along with the usual pizza suspects, attendees could chose from Spanish, Italian, diner, fine dining, vegan and Indian. And, what seems an obvious addition, fresh root and early garden greens from Square Roots Farm in Clarksburg. I picked up bok choy and some nice-looking radishes; Bona was spotted munching on a stalk of romaine.

Being a regular customer of most of the downtown eateries, I opted to try something different: a beef shish kabob from Lucia's Latin Homestyle Spanish Cooking washed down with a pale ale from Girardi Distributors. The sausage tasted a lot like kielbasa. The beef was great — rare, moist and tender. I also tried some chicken jambalaya from Wild Oats Market that was a lot lighter than expected and had a nice spicy kick.

A half pan of jambalaya was all that was left, said chef Greg Roach, who figured he'd gone through more than 200 servings. The cookies were long gone. Many of the vendors ran out of one or more items by the end of the afternoon; Schilling was cleaned out and the final few bread puddings were given away.

Seven Blakeman of the Elf Parlor said she'd run out of everything by around 3 p.m. "I never did anything like this before," she said. "I didn't know what expect."

Overall, the restaurant owners as well as the organizers were pleased with the turnout. There were plenty of politicians on hand, too. Both candidates for sheriff, Dan Bosley and Tom Bowler, were there with their T-shirted posses; all three candidates for 1st Berkshire District, Gailanne Cariddi, David Bissaillon and Edward MacDonald, were schmoozing. Also spotted in the crowd were a number Clark Art and Mass Moca stickers, a very good sign.

Organizers are hoping for even bigger and better next year. One suggestion, encourage the vendors to offer more small bites for fewer tickets: think amuse bouche. Supreme Pizza was offering its version of Bananas Foster (very sweet) on a toothpick ("That was perfect," said Blackmer,)  for a ticket. Lickety Split had peewee cones (Blue Blazer) for two. I had both, and would tried more if I hadn't been full of shish kabob and jambalaya (mostly shish kabob). I forgot to go back and get a mango lassi from Spice Root but I'm not sure I could've fit it in.

What was the best dish in your opinion? Post here or on our Facebook page.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city's main drag is going to be turned into a gourmet thoroughfare this Sunday, June 27, for the ninth annual Northern Berkshire Food Festival.

From noon to 4, visitors can sample a wide variety of cuisines from local restaurants along with micro brew beer and wine. Tickets will be sold at kiosks for 50 cents each, and most of the food items served will cost between $1 and $4.

This year's participating restaurants include Big Shirl's Kitchen, Boston Sea Foods Restaurant, Bounti-Fare, Christo's Famous Pizza, Elf Parlor, Freight Yard Pub and Taylor's Restaurant, Gramercy Bistro, Lickety Split, Petrino's Cafe, Spice Root Modern Indian Cuisine, Supreme Pizza and Wings, Tastefully Simple, The Hub Restaurant, Red Herring, Village Pizza, Lucia's Latin Foods and Zucchero Dolce.

Berkshire Brewing, Girardi Distributors and West Fine Wines will provide the beer and wine sampling.

Tom Corrigan and the Reformers will provide music along with local band Miss Guided.

For more information, contact the North Adams Office of Tourism at 413-664-6180 or tourism@northadams-ma.gov.
 

CHARLEMONT, Mass. — The grill's getting fired up at the Warfield House Inn after being cold for nearly three years.

Pam Gerry, one of the managers, said the restaurant's reopening will take advantage of a lot of the activity taking place along the rivers and mountains in the area.

"With the new zip line and the kayaking, there's a lot going on here," said Gerry. "We had reason to reopen it."

The restaurant has a full bar and wine list and two dining rooms overlooking Berkshire East and some of the 530 acres of Valley View Farm. It's about a half-hour drive from North Adams.

The kitchen wasn't completely closed since the inn has continued to serve functions such as weddings and parties. Warfield and the farm host "Your Wedding Your Way" with overnight accommodations in the seven rooms at the bed & breakfast at the Main House and Whippoorwill Lodge's five bedrooms.

The farm has an outdoor pavilion that can hold 200 guests, gardens and gazebo for a wedding ceremony. It includes a water garden, maple house, antique sawmill and a functioning farm with horses, cows, chickens, llamas, goats and ducks, along with Mollie, the farm's border collie.

Gerry said the restaurant's new Chef Adrian hails from Georgia and brings old-fashioned Southern barbecue to the New England setting along with an emphasis on local produce from the farm, including meat and dairy.

"We are looking forward to having the restaurant open again," she said. "It needs some loving and people to get it alive again."

The grand opening will be held on Friday, June 4, at 5. Hours are Fridays from 5 to 9, Saturdays from 11 to 9 and Sundays from 10 to 3.

For reservations, call 413-339-6600 or 888-339-8439 or go to www.warfieldhouseinn.com.