NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Downtown now has its own sushi restaurant. 

The Sushi House opened with a full menu and bar Sunday at 45 Main St.

A grand opening event is yet to be planned but the restaurant is now welcoming customers.

GREAT BARRNGTON, Mass. – I like to try new things, for the most part. New colors, new smells, new hairstyles, they all seem so nonthreatening and impermanent, and therefore, safe, maybe even fun. However, when it comes to food, I am a dictator. Not of presentation or even ambiance, but of taste. And this is why, when I had dinner at the Hong Kong Buffet which recently opened on Main Street, I was faced with that one adjective that no restaurant should be; odd. Not quirky and fun, not eclectic or New York deli rude (which would’ve been fine) or uppity or gross, but just odd.

It doesn’t help matters that the Hong Kong Buffet occupies the space that was the once-legendary Deli with its legendary bagel sandwiches and even more legendary cook, Frank Tortoriello. I’m not sure how long ago the Deli closed but it is so near and dear to us southerners that there is even a Facebook page dedicated to its memory. The location has switched hands several times, and each time with little success. I was hoping HKB would be different.

To its credit, it is a genuine buffet that offers several dozen dishes and sides and desserts; and it is all-you-can-eat for $11. That’s where the perks end. This is clearly a case where quality suffers (immensely) at the feet of quantity. Sure, I can eat a lot of the mayonnaise shrimp but why would I want to? Yes, I can pile my plate high with General Tso’s chicken, but after the first two sickeningly sweet bites even my iron palette wavers.

I know, I know, it’s standard Americanized Chinese food served buffet style, you get what you pay for, right? But would it hurt to have more than one vegetable dish amidst a sea of meat and shellfish? And where is the brown rice? And the one tofu dish that seems universally to be known as “Buddha’s Delight” or something along those lines.

This is not even the standard fare that I would gladly wolf down straight from the take-out cartons on a gluttonous Friday night. This food is unfamiliar, even to me, and seems to be comprised of three ingredients: thick, syrupy brown sauce, mayonnaise and/or soggy panko breading.

Not to mention, the tea was bitter. Even more so than the run-of-the-mill Oolong you get at most Chinese eateries. This tea had been sitting and waiting, perhaps just for me, for a long, long time.

I certainly don’t want to wish ill on anyone brave enough to open a restaurant in downtown Great Barrington, but rest assured, the competition is fierce and having a niche is crucial. Perhaps HKB will develop a following like its predecessor. Or, perhaps, it too will succumb to the curse of the Deli.
 

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Lindsey Tuller's got a good thing going and she knows it.

For the last eight years, the 31-year-old owner of the Riverbend Cafe (formerly Uncommon Grounds) at 403 Stockbridge Road has been serving up organic coffee, vegan biscotti and specialty smoothies to customers looking for a healthier food experience. And for eight years, they keep coming back for more. The secret to her success, she said, is not being afraid to try something new.

"I get a lot of suggestions from customers and from my employees. I take their input seriously," she said.

The cafe offers up several specialty fair trade coffees.

Art, statuary and good food make Riverbend home to a diverse crowd of skiers, writers, builders and most importantly, locals.

Tuller's place at the head of the family table was hard-earned. At 23, she bought the business (that she managed for two years prior to the sale) and became an instant entrepreneur. While most people were supportive of her endeavor, Tuller said she would have done a few things differently.

"For the first four years, I wish I'd asked for more support. I learned that over the years," she said. "A lot of business owners, especially women, have come forward and given me things that they think I need and that's been great. This isn't the kind of business that will pay you while you're not here. I'm not a vacationer. I'm here, every day, right alongside my employees. I'm in it."

The Riverbend Cafe is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 413-528-0858.

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Berkshire Mountain Bakery has been a main staple (literally) of South County’s "foodie" life for nearly 35 years. According to owner and bread master Richard Bourdon, each of those years has been dedicated to perfecting that art of good bread and bringing good food to the world.

Bourdon's near scientific perfection of the sourdough process has earned the bakery impressive mention in the January 2011 volume of Bon Appetit magazine. Berkshire Mountain Bakery, along with nine other bakeries nationwide, shares the distinction of being among the "Top 10 Best Bakeries in America." Of course, if you ask Bourdon about the honor, he just smiles and brushes his flour-covered hands across his apron.

"I was surprised, of course I was surprised," he said. "It's good; I'll take it. I'm always up for another adventure."

Bourdon's own adventures have carried him from Ville-Marie in Quebec to Amsterdam and finally, in 1985, to the Berkshires. When the bakery first started up, Bourdon spent several months perfecting the fermentation process that he had taken for granted in Europe. The challenge; a new set of U.S. born ingredients, including wheat.

"I'm good at troubleshooting," he said. "I've been doing this for a long time; I know when I see something going on. A lot of people [bakers] call me for advice. I bring it out there to help. It's endless hours making bread."

While bread is still the focus of the bakery, Bourdon said he has been venturing out into other baked goods and pastries, which he sells only from the Housatonic location (and at the summer farmers' markets). The result of his efforts is a mouth-watering array of artisan cakes, breads and pastries that tend to fly off of the shelves, especially around the holidays.

"My goal is to keep a little more money here in the house," he said. "That way I can provide a more luxurious product; we don't ever cut corners. I have room to move."

As customers crowd the tiny front shelf of the bakery exclaiming over the rich panettone and holiday bread, it is hard to imagine a time when Bourdon was not rushing from the kitchen to cash register, his arms always laden with baguettes, sunny flax, ciabatta and even a little Stollen. Here's to another 35 years of perfection.

By the way, you cannot live one more day of your life without trying the apple cake. Better hurry, it may only be a holiday whim.

For more information on Berkshire Mountain Bakery, visit www.berkshiremountainbakery.com.
 

ADAMS, Mass. — Gringos owner David Nicholas did not advertise that he was reopening at the former Firehouse Cafe on Park Street in hopes to have a quiet time to work out any kinks. That did not happen.

"It was the talk to the town for about six months and when we opened it was mobbed. Absolutely mobbed," he said.

Gringos, a longtime North Adams staple, was forced to close four years ago when the city sold the North Adams Plaza. When the Firehouse Cafe closed, Nicholas and his friend Burton Kirk, owner of the firehouse that once housed the Adams Ambulance, teamed up to reopen. Despite being closed for four years, Gringos was not forgotten.

"I think it'll be successful. It'll make money," he said. "It's just been a great response."

The former Firehouse Cafe recently closed down because of a lack of business. Kirk was leasing it out but when the cafe closed, it seemed it would sit empty.

The building is filled with history and character, Nicholas said. It was built in 1890 and served as the town's first firehouse. The restaurant seats patrons where the trucks used to be. The only drawback, he said, is that it is smaller than the North Adams location.

The restaurant has a smaller but similar menu with mostly Mexican but also some American food. It is open Monday through Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m., and on Friday through Sunday, from 4 to 11 p.m.