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Italian Restaurant Closed in North Adams
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The Red Sauce sign has been removed from 139 Ashland St. The Italian restaurant closed Sept. 1 after six years of operation. Left, Eddie Ciccherini after winning the annual Winterfest Chowder Cookoff in 2008. |
The Italian restaurant had been operated by chef/owner Edward Ceccherini since 2006.
Scott Avery, whose family owns the building, said Friday morning that he was unsure of the exact reasons why the restaurant had closed but thought it may have been for personal reasons.
He said the Ceccherinis had been good clients and kept the restaurant in excellent condition.
A sign posted on the door by Avery stated the closing and noted "The Avery family would like to express best wishes to the Ceccherinis after operating a very well received, viable business for nearly 6 years at this location."
The Averys purchased the former Peno's bar in 2000 from Robert Pontier. Scott Avery, himself a restaurateur, remodeled the bar and opened Canteen. Desperados had a location there for several years (it has since reopened on Eagle Street) before Red Sauce opened in 2006.
The restaurant seats more than 100 and has a double kitchen. Avery said anyone interested in leasing the site for the "next talked about" restaurant or bar can contact him at 413-663-4374.
A Summer Place
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Perigee's mussels siam, mussels in a lovely coconut curry broth. | |
This summer, I noticed they had a $7 burger on the sandwich board outside.
Like many Berkshire residents, we don't have a huge disposable income, so I am pretty careful about where we choose to eat when we eat out. A place that delivers pasta and has a $7 burger seemed about right to me. So, on a recent Thursday night, my husband and I made a reservation and went to Perigee for dinner.
Perigee is a good place to take your grandparents when they come to visit. Your grandpa can have the steak and, if you check with them before you go, whatever your grandmother chooses off the menu might be half price (but I would be sure to check in advance).
As for the burger special? They don't mention it inside the restaurant and there really isn't anything else on the menu that gets close to that price so if you want a $7 burger from Perigee, call them first and confirm that the special is available before you go. It is not available on weekends.
On the positive side, we really enjoyed the mussels siam, a small serving of mussels in a lovely coconut curry broth. The sauce was, as promised, wonderful when soaked up with the bread provided. The calamari, as our server suggested, was also very good. It was perfectly cooked, tender inside, with a crisp, light golden crust coating it evenly.
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The host was very friendly and charming. She explained her favorites on the menu and encouraged us to give her feedback. Unfortunately, this was the place where we learned, if someone says they don't like duck but they like this duck because it doesn't taste like duck and you like duck — don't order the duck.
It was pretty apparent from the happy diners that the restaurant caters to an older crowd, and proudly so. One of their desserts: "The Brooklyn, just as you remember — yellow sponge cake in a paper push cup, topped with whipped cream and a cherry, served with a pretzel rod and a minature egg cream 'shot.'" I've never met anyone old enough to remember this and my husband lived in New York City for 30 years.
If you go to Perigee, the way to have a good time is to remember to double check the specials, be firm with your server, remember that they cater to a much older crowd, and stick to the steak.
Where Everybody Knows Your Name — In The Morning
 You can get a cold brew at Corner Lunch — they'll know your name, too. |
It was a TV show set in Boston where everyone at a local pub knew everyone else. People don't expect that kind of treatment anymore but if you live in the Berkshires and eat out for breakfast, there are plenty of places where it's true, "everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came."
Two of those places are Linda's Cafe at 178 Union St., North Adams, and The Corner Cafe at 50 Summer St., Adams.
Linda's is busy every day; they are an old-school diner doing a booming business in basic breakfasts. Pancakes are their specialty but they'll make you just about anything you can think of for breakfast.
The cafe has been a North Adams institution for the last 17 years.
Both places are open early — really early. They close early, too. If you want breakfast or lunch at Linda's you can eat at 6 a.m. but you'd better be done by 1 'cause that's when they close. On weekends, if you sleep in, forget it. Linda's closes at 11 a.m.
Linda's makes pancakes, big, huge, fluffy, moist pancakes. They make them with bananas or blueberries, lots of them or with strawberries and whipped cream if you prefer. Ask for them dry with butter on the side or you get margarine. They are not trying to wow anyone with the quality of their ingredients here. It's plain, homestyle food. But it is good and Linda's has my number for sure, because they make great corned beef hash
Corned beef hash is an American thing. I've never seen it on a menu in Canada or England, granted, my experience in England is limited, but I'm pretty sure it's strictly an American standby. If you like corned beef hash and eggs Linda's is your place.
For the benefit of the team, however, I had the pancakes that were excellent. They come served with extra crispy, not burnt, bacon. Absolutely yummy if you're not busy being envious over your tablemate's home fries, hash browns (Linda's has both) or corned beef hash, and reasonably priced.
Breakfast for two with bottomless coffee served to you at a table by the owner, comes in under $15 at its most extravagant. A bargain.
| Clockwise from right: Linda's blueberry pancakes; diners; english muffin sandwich at Corner Lunch; Dick & Joan's menu; western on rye. |
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My husband ordered their special, an english muffin topped with sausage, egg and cheese, served with home fries, coffee or tea for $5.75. From our seat at the counter, we could see Dick making our breakfast, using a spatula to flip the home fries until they were all an even golden brown.
Everything arrived hot, fresh and well seasoned. I chose a western sandwich, a personal favorite. It arrived as ordered on two buttery slices of rye toast. I would have added more onion but we're all different in our tastes and this was clearly a very respectable western with all the right things in all the right places. The home fries were delicious.
As we sat and ate, owners Dick and Joan Carrigan were happy to answer our questions about the fish on the walls and their trips to Canada. Working alongside Joan was our waitress, (whose name I did not get). She greeted everyone, most of them by name and everyone seemed very glad to see her. One customer went so far as to lean out over the counter and take her hand. While she served, Joan was busy washing dishes in a sink behind the counter.
The atmosphere is plain. The service is great. The food is like home cooking, fresh, hot, and unpretentious. And I'm pretty sure, the next time we go to either place, they'll remember our names — pretty great way to start your day.
Berkshire Grown's Harvest Supper To Highlight Local Food
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The feast features delicious dishes prepared by local Berkshire Grown member chefs using fresh ingredients from local farms. The evening will feature a video and sound projection by artist Joe Wheaton featuring images of local farms. The evening also includes a silent auction and a drawing for shopping sprees and gift certificates to Berkshire Grown member stores and restaurants.
"The Harvest Supper celebrates our local farms and gives us a chance to show why we support eating locally grown food," said Barbara Zheutlin, executive director of Berkshire Grown. "Locally grown food is delicious and when we buy food directly from local farmers we’re strengthening our local economy."
Participating restaurants include: Allium Restaurant + Bar, Baba Louie's, Café Reva, Canyon Ranch, Castle Street Café, Eastover Hotel and Resort, Gala Steakhouse & Bistro at Orchards Hotel, Gramercy Bistro, Guido's Fresh Marketplace, HR Zeppelin Find Handmade Chocolates, John Andrews: A Farmhouse Restaurant, Marketplace Kitchen, Martin's Restaurant, Mezze Bistro + Bar, The Old Inn on the Green, The Red Lion Inn, Route 7 Grill, Savory Harvest Catering, Spice Dragon, Wild Oats Market and Williams College Dining. Beverages will be provided by Barrington Brewery and Riverbend Café.
New in 2012, sculptor Joe Wheaton, who has just returned from the Burning Man celebration of arts, will be creating a projection installation inspired by Berkshire farms.
The dinner is by reservation only and will take place Monday, Sept. 24 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $65 for members and $75 for non-members. Tickets are expected to sell out so people are encouraged to call 413-528-0041 for reservations. All proceeds benefit Berkshire Grown, supporting its "Buy Local" campaign as well as its "Share the Bounty" project, which buys shares in local farms and distributes the fresh food to pantries benefiting low-income people throughout the region.
A drawing will be held at the Harvest Supper with tickets priced at $10 (six for $50). Drawing prizes include fabulous dining packages at Berkshire Grown member restaurants, and shopping sprees at Berkshire Co-op Market and Guido's Fresh Marketplace.
A silent auction will offer the chance to bid on and win a variety of items including dinner for two at Blue Hill in New York City, dinner at Blantyre, a Cheese 101 class for two at Rubiner's Cheesemongers, a day pass for two at Canyon Ranch, a one-night stay with dinner at The Old Inn on the Green, compost from Holiday Brook Farm, a guided mushroom foraging walk from MycoLodge B& B, and a class at The Meat Market.
Berkshire Grown will create a Zero Waste Event. Bob Daley of Daley & Sons in Lee will donate his services to take the waste to Holiday Brook Farm in Dalton, where it will be added to their compost along with the compostable plates, spoons and glasses and will become part of Holiday Brook Farm’s famous "black gold" compost.
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Stephanie Farrington of