Winterfest 2005 Crowns New Chowder Champ

By Susan BushPrint Story | Email Story
New Chowder Champ - Mountain View Restaurant
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North Adams - A first-time chowder cook-off entry captured the Winterfest 2005 Best Chowder crown on Feb. 26, and Mountain View Restaurant owner Michael Milazzo said he couldn't be happier. See Photo Slide Show Here "We entered mainly to get the exposure," Milazzo said during an interview following the event. "This feels awesome. I always knew we had one of the best chefs in the area." Chef Randy Beaudoin seasoned and simmered the winning New England-style clam chowder. Restaurant manager Joe Williamson and self-described "super-waiter" William Pikula dished steaming cups to dozens of chowder aficionados. The event was held at the Holiday Inn on Main Street. Victory meant besting the past chowder champion Boston Sea Foods restaurant; no small feat, since that eatery claimed the chowder title during the 2003 and 2004 Winterfests, as well as during a 1998 event. This year's entry scored a thumbs-up from 11-year-old Kayla Brown-Wood of Clarksburg, who said that she'd never before tried chowder and then scooped a spoonful of the Boston Sea Foods offering into her mouth. "Hey, I like it!" she said. The win wasn't a sweep; every competitor found a following. "The North Adams Hospital outdid themselves," said Elizabeth Ralston of North Adams. Kimberly Shand of Williamstown faced a tasty toss-up: "I liked the Purple Pub chowder, but I thought that Gringo's was really good." First-time chowderfest visitors George and Shirley Mullen of North Adams found themselves involved in a friendly debate about which chowder was the best but added that they weren't ready to vote. "We haven't gotten all the way around the room yet," Shirley Mullen said. And Lauren Holmes, a North Adams seven-year-old who said she's attended several Winterfest cook-offs, believed all the chowders were winners. "It's all good," she said. All those who tasted the entries were welcome to cast a ballot for their favorite chowder. Winterfest's mid-morning kick-off placed ice sculptors on Main Street and energetic children at the Northern Berkshire Early Intervention and Toy Library headquarters at 25 Marshall St.. By 11 a.m., over 60 people had joined the merriment at the toy library, said Mary Thigpen, a client services supervisor for the intervention agency. "And not many have left," she said. "The families really enjoy this." Afternoon events included horse-and-wagon rides along Main Street and special movie showings for children at the Western Gateway Heritage Park Visitor's Center. An evening Mayor's Skating Party was scheduled at the Viet Nam Veteran's Memorial skating rink. Chainsaws and chisels wielded by amateur ice artisans chinked and clattered against ice blocks for several hours as frozen water took form. A woman who identified herself as Walking Catamount worked diligently from a wheelchair and coaxed a feline shape out of an icy brick. "I'm making a cougar," she said. "You can say it's a big kitty with attitude." Sheri Simon of North Adams said that she was carving a Snoopy into shape in support of the Mill City Productions acting group. The company is planning to stage the musical "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" this spring. Simon has participated in previous Winterfest ice-sculpting events, and said the weather this time around was "perfect." She recalled past rain-soaked efforts as well as Winterfests that occurred during 40-to-50-degree temperatures. "This year it's just great," she said as few snow flurries tumbled from the sky. "People stop and talk, and this is such a wonderful event." There's little opportunity to maintain ice carving skills, she noted. "I actually only do this once a year," Simon said. "With ice sculpting, you don't get much chance to practice." Gramercy Bistro owner Sandy Smith praised the event from his station at the cook-off. "People come out, they visit the shops, they try the food," he said. "It's great."
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Letter: Is the Select Board Listening to Dalton Voters?

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

A reasonable expectation by the people of a community is that their Select Board rises above personal preference and represents the collective interests of the community. On Tuesday night [Nov. 12], what occurred is reason for concern that might not be true in Dalton.

This all began when a Select Board member submitted his resignation effective Oct. 1 to the Town Clerk. Wishing to fill the vacated Select Board seat, in good faith I followed the state law, prepared a petition, and collected the required 200-plus signatures of which the Town Clerk certified 223. The Town Manager, who already had a copy of the Select Board member's resignation, was notified of the certified petitions the following day. All required steps had been completed.

Or had they? At the Oct. 9 Select Board meeting when Board members discussed the submitted petition, there was no mention about how they were informed of the petition or that they had not seen the resignation letter. Then a month later at the Nov. 12 Select Board meeting we learn that providing the resignation letter and certified petitions to the Town Manager was insufficient. However, by informing the Town Manager back in October the Select Board had been informed. Thus, the contentions raised at the Nov. 12 meeting by John Boyle seem like a thinly veiled attempt to delay a decision until the end of January deadline to have a special election has passed.

If this is happening with the Special Election, can we realistically hope that the present Board will listen to the call by residents to halt the rapid increases in spending and our taxes that have been occurring the last few years and pass a level-funded budget for next year, or to not harness the taxpayers in town with the majority of the cost for a new police station? I am sure these issues are of concern to many in town. However, to make a change many people need to speak up.

Please reach out to a Select Board member and let them know you are concerned and want the Special Election issue addressed and finalized at their Nov. 25 meeting.

Robert E.W. Collins
Dalton, Mass.

 

 

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