NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — It's been five years but local favorite Desperados is back. The Mexican restaurant will reopen downtown on Monday.

After purchasing the 23 Eagle St. location in September, owner David Atwell only has to wait for a few more permits and a little fine tuning before opening to the public.

"Monday we did a meet and greet with some of my vendors, some people from town, City Hall and friends and family to show them what we did to the place," Atwell said on Wednesday. "We'll have a soft opening to the public on Monday, Tuesday at the latest."

Confident the final licenses will be approved in the next couple of days, Atwell expects to fire up the kitchen this weekend. The North Adams location will feature the same menu as the one in the Colonial Shopping Center in Williamstown. It will be open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. and 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It will be closed on Sundays.

Atwell previously said that his first North Adams attempt, on Ashland Street, failed partly because of rental costs. This time, he owns it. Atwell closed with Legacy Bank to purchase the 4,200-square-foot property and its contents for $156,000 in September.

Despite taking over a location that has hosted a string of failed businesses, most recently The Alley which shut down abruptly in January, Atwell expects to stay for a long time.

"We've got 19 years of history in Williamstown so we finally got it right," Atwell said. "It's a small place, easy to manage and we've got a good following in North Adams. We expect to be in this location for a long time."

Atwell also said being one of the few Mexican dining places in the county will help him succeed where others have not.

My travels for iBerkshires are taking me all over the map, literally. One day it’s an early morning volunteer breakfast, the next it’s a nighttime extravaganza complete with jazz and fireworks. On these trips (which can get pretty lengthy since I live in the farm country of Sheffield) I make it a point to stop at cafes and diners, some familiar, some not. The point is, I love coffee, and I love watching the different crowds at different coffee shops.  It’s almost like watching a cartoon or a French film circa 1940s.

Yesterday’s journey to Cheshire was broken up by a stop at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge on 444 North Street in Pittsfield. I’ve heard about Dottie’s from friends and colleagues and, of course, the infamous cyber social world of Facebook.

Just stepping through the door at Dottie’s was impressive. It was packed and people were chatting away at the wooden tables. A family of three lounged couch side in the “upper level” of the café. How can you not feel comfortable, the architecture is amazing? High tin ceilings, whirring black ceiling fans, lots and lots of natural light, wide wooden floors, plush velvet chairs, glinting machinery all dedicated to the art of making coffee.

I was in heaven.

I set down my gear (i.e. camera, pad, pen, cell phone, purse) and wandered up to the counter. Behind the glass were delicious-looking confections (including carrot cake). I placed my order for a curried chicken sandwich and bottled water. I would’ve gotten a coffee but I was still a little shaky from the way-too-strong French press I made myself that morning. The total came to $8.40. I was a little taken aback but then thought, well, this is going to be one awesome sandwich.

Not so much. When the waitress (barista?) brought me my plate I couldn’t help but notice that the sandwich was very small and made with (it appeared) store-bought bread. I also couldn’t help but notice that the majority of its insides was salad. Not lettuce but actually salad mix, again, the same kind you can get at the grocery store. Adorning the plate was a floppy pickle, presumably from a jar.

The first bite was exactly the same as the last. The curried chicken salad, the very thing I’d been coveting, was a little dry and not seasoned at all. There were a few raisins here and there and some bits of apple. That’s about it. I did have to rip some of the crust off because it was stale and too hard to eat (not because I’m in first grade and hate crust).

But I couldn’t get over the ambiance of the place. People were pouring in (it was around lunch time) and smiling and chatting. I sipped at my water, watching the buzz around me. It was comforting.

Clearly, Dottie’s needs another visit and clearly I need to order my heart’s true love, coffee (maybe a macchiato) and a croissant. It is, after all, a coffee lounge.
 

It sounds a little weird and it wasn't what I expected when I walked into Nana's Country Market in Adams. What caught me was the sandwich board outside that said "Ham and cole slaw."

It was about 4 p.m. ; going back to the office meant no dinner until after a city council meeting and a ham sandwich sounded pretty good. I've been meaning to stop in at Nana's and this seemed a good a time as any.

 Jill Richardson and Frank Willis opened the tiny market and deli a few months ago. I'd watched the progress on the building just down from Angelina's as I'd sped by on my way up and down Route 8.

Getting there isn't all that easy. Columbia Street can be tough to cross at that time of day, so I turned around in the carwash and found a parking spot right in front.

Richardson was manning the counter as I perused the sandwich offerings, all around $5. The turkey with cranberry sounded good, so did the roast beef. (The market also offers sliced meat to go along with the staples of bread and milk.) But I came in for ham.

What's on the sandwich, I asked. "Ham, cheese, a slice of tomato and cole slaw on white, wheat or rye," she responded. Cole slaw on the sandwich? Yes, cole slaw on the sandwich.

 This I had to try. My only change was the addition of some lettuce to hopefully help hold the dripping to a minimum. "You'll need a napkin," said Richardson.

Honestly, it wasn't that drippy. It was a nice mix of regular and red cabbage with carrots — not to vinegary and not mayo-gloppy. It went well with the sliced ham in between two slabs of homemade rye bread. Really good rye bread.

I could get used to having my side order on my main course and I'll definitely be trying Nana's next interesting concoction.

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.