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Berkshire Chefs To Show Off Skills At James Beard House
Photo courtesy of the James Beard Foundation.
The outside of the James Beard House. Beard is one the biggest names in culinary and the foundation was formed to preserve the country's culinary history. |
The James Beard Foundation is showing off the farm to table efforts of local chefs on March 2. The "Preserving the Berkshire Harvest" will feature chefs from the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, Mezze Bistro in Williamstown, Great Barrington's allium, Route 7 Grill and The Meat Market, and John Andrews in South Egremont.
The chefs will discuss every step from charcuterie or butchery and the preservation of fruits and vegetables to the full meal with a wide range of cured, dried and pickled meats including lardo, pickled pig's feet, porchetta de testa, hickory-smoked jowl, lamb'cetta and crispy pig ear. The demonstration will include ways to preserve fresh food through the winter.
The event was organized by Executive Chef at the Red Lion Inn and President of Berkshire Grown Brian Alberg, who also owns his own farm. This is Alberg's ninth appearance at the Beard House.
"The food culture of Berkshires has been embracing preservation long before the farm-to-table movement became a national story. Here in New England, maintaining and creating nutritional value, texture and flavor, have been imperative to extending our limited growing season. This dinner celebrates our time-honored tradition of preservation and pays homage to the farmer, producer and grower, as well as to the animal itself," Alberg said in a press release.
The reception and dinner is a collaboration among a variety of Berkshire chefs, farmers and producers. The participating chefs are: Alberg, Joji Sumi and Nicholas Moulton of Mezze, Lester Blumenthal of Route 7 Grill, Daniel Hardy of Allium Restaurant, Jeremy Stanton of The Meat Market and Dan Smith of John Andrews. Red Lion Inn Sommelier Dan Thomas selected the wines that accompany the dinner’s reception and six courses.
The chefs sourced menu ingredients from many Berkshire region farms and artisans including Bacon on the Side Farm, Berkshire Blue Cheese, Berkshire Mountain Distillers, Berle Farm, Blue Hill Farm, Community Cooperative Farm, East Mountain Farm, Farm Girl Farm, Foggy River Farms, High Lawn Farm, Hilltop Orchards, Howden Farm, Indian Line Farm, Lakeview Orchard, Mighty Food Farm, North Plain Farm, Peace Valley Farm, Taft Farms, Wanabea Farm, West County Cider and Zehr and Sons Mushroom Farm.
The evening begins at 7 p.m. with a reception in the Beard House's Greenhouse Gallery with assortment of hors d'oeuvres. A seated tasting menu begins around 8 p.m. The price is $130 per person for James Beard Foundation members and $170 per person for the general public.
Beginning at noon a team from The Red Lion Inn and Berkshire Farm and Table will be streaming live behind-the-scenes coverage of Berkshire chefs in the James Beard kitchen. Media coverage will include blog posts, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter updates for up-to-the-minute storytelling as it takes place onsite in New York.
More information can be found here.
Here's the menu:
Rosemary Flatbread with East Mountain Farm Lardo and Lakeview Orchard Jam
Cured Sardines with Preserved Citrus
East Mountain Farm Fried Pork Croutons with Dried Peace Valley Farm Cherry Tomatoes, Mighty Food Farm Winter Kale, and Mayonnaise
East Mountain Farm Pickled Pigs’ Feet with Toasted Bread and Parsley Salad
Mighty Food Farm Potato–Parsnip Latkes with Applesauce
North Plain Farm and Blue Hill Farm Pigs’ Heads Three Ways > Porchetta di Testa, Hickory-Smoked Jowl, and Pickled Tongue with Salt-Cured Lemon, Indian Line Farm Pickled Green Tomatoes, Community Cooperative Farms Pickled Cucumbers, Farm Girl Farm Pickled Beets, and Chef’s Garden Quince Preserves
Arctic Char Crudo with Farm Girl Farm Bok Choy Kimchi, Zehr & Son’s Mushroom Farm Shiitake Velouté, and Shiitake Chips
Roasted Foggy River Farms Blue Hubbard Squash and High Lawn Farm Ricotta Ravioli with Lila’s Mountain Smoked Lambcetta, Taft Farms Pickled Green Zebra Tomatoes, and Oven-Dried Beefsteak Tomato Purée
Berkshire Sauerkraut-Braised Wanabea Farm Rabbit with Smoked Foggy River Farms Squash Purée and Squash Butter
East Mountain Farm Pork Roulade with Garlic Sausage, Pork Confit, Crispy Pig’s Ear, Mighty Food Farm Root Vegetable Purée, and Pickled Vegetables
Howden Farm Sweet Corn Panna Cotta with Candied Bacon on the Side Farm Bacon and Berkshire Blue Cheese–Dusted Berle Farm Organic Popcorn
Baba Louie's Facebook Special
So it's Friday afternoon. Your energy is used up for the week and there's still a dinner to be made or bought or found. You find yourself idly scrolling through Facebook at 4 p.m. When you notice it — Baba Louie's is offering a special deal!
This happened to us last week and it's one of the reasons why it pays to "Like" your favorite restaurants on Facebook.
The Berkshires may not have a Groupon of its own yet but last week Baba Louie's offered a special as good as any you'll find on the major coupon sites. Come in, mention the key words from the Facebook post and you got 50 percent off your dinner tab. Not 50 percent off an entree — 50 percent off the whole bill.
I grabbed my partner in life and we left for Baba Louie's. Once there we sat at the bar and had the best gluten-free pizza I've ever tasted as well as a generous dish of linguine with chicken and artichokes and "Dawn's Delight," a small salad that was plenty for two and was so delicious I would happily eat it every Friday until the summer (at least).
 Baba Louie's Facebook page has mouth-watering pictures. |
"Dawn's Delight" is described as "Gorgonzola, pears, dried cranberries and toasted walnuts served on a bed of organic mixed greens with our balsamic vinaigrette." Yup, that's the stuff. The combination is completely delicious.
For a pizza we chose the unusual combo of shrimp, pineapple, and coconut on a gluten-free crust. It was a refreshing change from our usual traditional pizza and the crust was surprisingly good.
Baba Louie's uses local organic ingredients whenever possible and has plenty of vegetarian, even vegan, options for those who want them.
Our entire meal, a feast really, with wine, beer and a $10 tip, came to $45. Definitely more than cooking at home but a real bargain for a night out. (It's always nice, if you can manage it, to tip on the amount the meal would have been if you got it at the regular price since your server does the same amount of work and sometimes more.)
So if you're wondering what to do for dinner, go online, check out who says what on Facebook or Twitter — more and more restaurants are making use of social networking to announce specials that aren't available anywhere else, count yourself in and give yourself a treat. You'll be glad you did.
Baba Louie's has restaurants in Pittsfield, Great Barrington and in Hudson, N.Y.
February Is Chocolate Month in the Berkshires
 Joshua Needleman of Chocolate Springs in Lenox pulls out a tray of sweets. |
February is "Chocolate Month" in the Berkshires. This is the second year for the countywide effort to sweeten the winter doldrums.
The event kicked off with a low-key party at Chocolate Springs in Lenox on Saturday. Citing the success of last year's event, well-known chocolatier Joshua Needleman hopes people will join in as the month progresses.
So far, Essencials Salon and Medi-spa will be participating with a special "sweet and salty chocolate facial scrub" available for the month of February.
More special offers and events will be posted on the website as they are announced.
If Chocolate Springs offers a special on its fabulous hot chocolate, you'd be smart to get in on it. Joshua's hot chocolate is the best you've ever had, pure bliss in a cup.
We may have another month or two to get through before the Spring arrives but Chocolate Berkshires is doing its best to be sure this month is a sweet one. For more information, chocolateberkshires.com.
New Cafe to Open in North Adams
 Fahri Karakaya is renovating and updating the former Petrino's on Main Street and plans to reopen it as The Local cafe this spring. |
"There was no place to really sit down, have a coffee, relax," said the West Palm Beach, Fla., transplant on Friday. Plenty of restaurants, pizza places, but no casual coffeehouse on the main drag. That, he decided, was his opportunity.
He plans on opening a cafe, The Local, with coffees, espresso, sandwiches on fresh-baked breads, light breakfast, homemade soups and some hot offerings for dinner. Karakaya described his vision as similar to a Panera.
"When you come in for coffee, you're going to smell the bagels and the fresh-baked bread," he said.
Not surprisingly, Karakaya turned to the empty Boston Store location on the corner of Holden and Main streets, a prime spot that's hosted coffeehouses and a sandwich shop over the past dozen years or so. The last in there was Petrino's, which closed in March after owner Mark Petrino took a job offer in Colorado.
That's left a hole on Main Street that Karakaya is hoping to fill.
"This is my commitment to do something nice, good service, simple, fresh food," said Karakaya, who's confidant — but still a little anxious — over this new venture.
He's got 25 years in food service, but that's managing in high-end resorts and five-star restaurants, most recently at the Breakers in Palm Beach. "There aren't many of those around here," he laughed.
Karakaya and his family moved to Williamstown earlier this year after his wife, Melahat Karakaya, took the position as innkeeper at the Porches after falling in love with the area, especially Williamstown Elementary School for their 5-year-old daughter Ece Lina.
Now he's planning to take his experience in five-star food and exemplary service and simplify it for more casual — but high quality — family friendly offerings. A comfortable cafe where people can meet and relax.
The former Petrino's will be renovated and updated with a mix of booths, couches and high tables along with the popular counter seating in the storefront window. Wi-fi will be available. The stage area in the back will be turned into a kids' zone.
"If your kids are happy, you are happy," explained Karakaya, who's considering hosting children's parties and other family gatherings. "I want to do something unique."
He said building owner Scarafoni Associates has been very helpful with his plans.
New equipment will be installed and the counters and display cases will allow customers to see and select their fare. Offerings will include coffees (light, dark, roasted, decaf and seasonal flavors), espresso, fresh fruit smoothies, salads, panini and deli sandwiches, bagels, danish, and four soups daily.
The cafe will be open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Karakaya hopes to open in March.
Wild Oats Brings You Down on Mighty Food Farm
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Wild Oats Market is offering an opportunity to find out where your food comes from.The market cooperative is planning a tour of Mighty Food Farm, a certified organic farm in Pownal, Vt., on Friday, Sept. 30, from 3 to 4:30. The Community Supported Sgriculture farm specializes in local and organic foods.
Lisa MacDougall and her crew will lead a tour of the farm's fields, barns, chickens, the CSA room and the high tunnel for growing winter CSA crops. It will conclude in the barn with cider and doughnuts and a short question-and-answer session with MacDougall, who has owned and operated Mighty Food Farm for five years.
Wild Oats purchases much of its organic produce from Mighty Food Farm, including eggplant, cabbage, carrots, melons, tomatoes, strawberries, kale, rainbow and Swiss chard, and more.
Anyone interested in learning more about organic farming in the Northeast or in visiting a small family farm is encouraged to attend. The tour is free but children younger than 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
Participants should meet at the farm at 3 p.m. It's about 8 miles north of Wild Oats and directions are available at the market's service desk or on the website.
Stephanie Farrington of