Berkshire Tidbits: Easter Specials
Looking for a place to dine on Easter Sunday, March 27?
Here are some restaurants I know of that are serving special Easter brunches or dinners or are open for a festive meal, but there are still more. Some have given me more information than others. All the meals are plus tax and gratuity unless otherwise noted.
Aegean Breeze, 327 Stockbridge Road/Route 7 in Great Barrington, 413-528-4001, the traditional Greek restaurant, will be open their regular hours, 11 to 9, serving their regular menus with specials of lamb soup, ham and stuffed sole.
Barrington Brewery, 420 Stockbridge Road/Route 7 in the Jenifer House Commons in Great Barrington, 413-528-8282, will add three Easter specials to its menu all day: a glazed baked ham dinner or a roast turkey dinner for $15 and prime rib for $20. The three specials will be served with Brewery ale bread, salad, garlic mashed potatoes and fresh asparagus.
Alta Restaurant & Wine Bar, 34 Church St. in Lenox, 413-637-0003, will be open its regular hours, from 11:30 to 2:30 for lunch and from 5 to 9 for dinner, serving its regular menus plus some Easter specials as yet unspecified. Reservations would not hurt.
Aroma Bar & Grill Indian restaurant, 485 Main St./Route 7 in Great Barrington, 413-528-3116 or 3992, will be open its usual hours with the usual menus: 11:30 to 3 for an Indian lunch buffet, $13.95 for adults, children under 10 $6.95; and 4:30 to 10 for dinner.
Bistro Zinc, 56 Church St. in Lenox, 413 637-8800, will be open regular hours: 11:30 to 3 for lunch; 5:30 to 10 for dinner. It will be serving the regular menu plus "a few specials as yet to be determined."
Reservations are also a good idea at Zinc.
Bombay Grill Indian restaurant, 435 Laurel St./Route 20 with windows on three sides facing Laurel Lake in Lee, 413-243-6731, serves an extensive Indian buffet lunch from noon to 3 every Sunday, $15.99.
Diners get naan/soft grilled Indian flatbread and dosas/potato-stuffed chickpea flour crepes in addition to the buffet of appetizers, salads, condiments, chicken, lamb, seafood and many interesting South Indian/Kerela and other regional vegetarian entrées, fresh seasonal fruit, carrot and rice puddings.
While drinks are not included in the buffet price, Bombay makes a delicious mango lassi/mango and yogurt sort of smoothie in a tall stemmed glass and outstanding cup of unsweetened spiced milk tea/chai.
Bombay is also open for dinner from 5 on Easter.
Bounti-Fare Restaurant, 200 Howland Ave./Route 2 in Adams, 413-743-0193, has an extensive brunch every Sunday which couples and parties of 50 both enjoy. Easter, Mother's Day and Father's Day, are more festive but I have no details.
The regular brunch starts with an omelet station and a waffle station and includes breakfast items like scrambled eggs, hickory smoked sausages, homefries, biscuits and gravy, bagels, muffins, toast and coffee cake. There's a carving station and entrées including pasta, a praised salad bar with peel-and-eat shrimp, a dessert table with many choices and all the appropriate beverages.
Regular prices are $12.95 for adults, $11.95 for seniors and $7.95 for children 10 and younger. The Easter brunch may cost more.
Chef Michael Ballon, who owns Castle Street Café, 10 Castle St. next to the Mahaiwe Theater in Great Barrington, 413-528-5244, always participates.
Yes. He is making an Easter brunch. He's included many of his most popular dishes plus holiday specials.He's included many of his most popular dishes plus holiday specials. From noon to 5.
A dozen appetizers. A baker's dozen main courses.
10 desserts garnished with sauces, ice cream, sorbet and fruit. It's too much to go into. Because here, at Castle Street, they're all made from scratch.
OK. Ballon serves SoCo ice cream, not housemade, and he buys his breads from Richard Bourdon of Berkshire Mountain Bakery, but other than that ...
So when you're paying $35 and you're paying $12.50 for your under age 12 child who can have child food of a burger or chicken fingers or pasta and red sauce plus a hot fudge sundae, you're getting good food. Real food.
The French onion soup and the tomato soup with smoked Gouda do not come from a can.
Vegetarians will have their best choices from the many appetizers — eggplant, portabellas, antipasto, scallion and mung bean sprout pancake, beet and walnut salad with Berkshire Blue cheese, Caesar salad with or without anchovies, an iceberg wedge with Neiman ranch uncured bacon — no nitrates, feta from Cricket Creek Farm and chevre from Rawson Brook. And there's a seasonal vegetable platter and a gluten-free mixed mushroom risotto.
The main courses are rich and holidayish. Rack of lamb, filet mignon, filet of sole with artichoke hearts, salmon with roasted asparagus, shrimp, pecan-crusted chicken breast and I have seen Michael bone his own chickens, duck breast, calf's liver, porterhouse pork, a couple of pastas, steamed mussels.
Just looking at all that will get you full.
Then, Ballon's desserts: worth eating and not overly sweet. Berry trifle, chocolate mousse cake, ice cream concoctions, warm apple crisp, warm banana tart and frozen lemon soufflé, creamy and crunchy crème brulée and crispy and fruity hazelnut dacquoise.
There! I did tell you most of it.
The Cornell Inn, 203 Main St. in Lenox, 413-637-0048, co-owner and innkeeper, with his wife Nell, Tim McCaffery said they will be serving their usual breakfast buffet on Easter Sunday, "But we might go a little later into the morning," he thought.
The buffet is quite lovely and made from scratch by chef Karen Saunders in the visible kitchen. There's usually a frittata, tasty potatoes, bacon, sausages, a fruit crisp, muffins, good (Rudi's) gluten-free bread beside the toaster. butter, jam, Stonyfield yogurt, dry cereals, cut fruit, fresh coffee, choices of teas, High Lawn Farm half and half and big cups.
The dining room is bright yet intimate with views, from the windows and sliding glass doors at the back of the room, of what is coming up in the gardens this early spring.
Non-inn guests are welcomed for breakfast by reservation. The cost is $13. Breakfast is from 8 to 10:30 and Nell stressed that the inn is happy to have visiting diners as long as they call a few days before to let them know they are coming.
Cranwell Resort & Spa, 55 Lee Road/Route 20, Lenox, 413-637-1364 ext. 0, will serve a lavish Easter brunch buffet by reservation in the Ballroom from 11 to 4
There will be freshly baked breads and pastries, bacon, sausage, potatoes, a create-your-own omelet and assorted pasta (including gluten-free pasta) station, a create-your-own-waffles station, a smoked fish station, a raw bar, an antipasto station, soup and salad, entrées of cod, chicken, ham, beef sirloin and lamb and a dessert table including a number of gluten-free options.
Brunch costs are $47 for adults, $15 for children ages 5 to 12. There is no charge for children under 5.
Eat on North at Hotel on North, 297 North St. in Pittsfield, 413-553-4210, will be serving an Easter brunch — time, menu and price as yet to be decided at the time of this writing.
Gould Farm Harvest Barn, 100 Gould Road off Route 23 in Monterey, 413-644-9718 will be open 9 to 4 Saturday and Sunday, March 26 and 27, serving the usual soup, salad, quiche and elegant baked goods, teas and coffee.
"We will just add hot cross buns," baker-manager Nathan Yaple said, as his bow to Easter.
Gala Steakhouse & Bistro at The Orchards Hotel, 222 Adams Road/Route 2 in Williamstown, 413-458-9611, will be serving a 3-course prix fixe Easter brunch with choices from 11 to 4, prepared by executive chef Bill Sheridan, sous chef Zach Braman and pastry chef Chris Winslow.
Appetizer choices include lobster bisque and spinach and fennel salad with fresh raspberries, sun-dried tomatoes and pistachios. Entrées include a duck egg frittata, Belgian waffles with maple syrup and fresh fruit, wild mushroom ravioli, trout, ham and lamb.
The desserts sound so creative: maple panna cotta with whiskey-smoked candied cashews and maple syrup shards; blueberry mousse with Meyer lemon curd; as well as flourless chocolate cake and strawberry shortcake.
Go. And enjoy one for me.
The price for adults is $39, $20 for children ages 4 to 10. Call for reservations.
Koto Japanese Steakhouse, 795 Dalton Ave./Route 9 in Pittsfield, 413-770-7128, will be open from 11 to 10 serving their dinner menu all day.
The Mill on the Floss, 342 Route 7 in New Ashford, 413 458-9123, the inviting country French restaurant owned and run by the Champagne family — now mother Jane Champagne who is the dessert and pastry chef and daughter Suzanne Champagne Ivy who is the chef — will have a 3-course prix fixe Easter menu with no substitutions, $45, in addition to their regular à la carte menu.
Chef Suzanne continues the country French traditions she learned from her father, Maurice, who bought the restaurant in 1973, while she gently adds modern touches and dishes and creates new traditions her repeat diners enjoy.
They will be serving a choice of clam chowder or mixed greens, rack of lamb entrée and choice of dessert from their regular menu; coffee or tea are included.
This is similar to the generous $30 midweek/Tuesday through Friday 3-course prix fixe dinner The Mill on the Floss offers winter and spring through May. The entrées are choices of menu dishes and change periodically. Right now they are pan-seared haddock with creamy leek sauce, boneless breast of chicken with artichoke hearts meunière sauce or lamb loin with caramelized onion and Bordelaise sauce.
The Mill on the Floss also offers a small $13.50 prix fixe children's menu with choices of pizza, pasta, chicken tenders or beef tenderloin that comes with a salad and dessert.
Dinner is served from 5 to 9 p.m. Call for reservations.
The Morgan House, 33 Main St./Routes 20 and 102 in Lee, 413-243-3661, will have a special menu for Easter in addition to their regular menu. Entrées will come with soup or salad, vegetables, bread and coffee or tea. The choices will be ham, salmon, roast beef, roast lamb, tuna and more. Prices vary but are in the mid-$20 range. Dinner hours are 11:30 to 5 Call for reservations.
The Old Inn on the Green, 134 Hartsville-New Marlborough Road/Route 57 in New Marlborough, 413-229-7924, oldinn.com, serve a prix fixe with choices Easter dinner by reservation, from 3 to 8, $55 per person.
The Old Mill, 53 Main St./Routes 22 and 41 in South Egremont, 413-528-1421, which is usually open for dinner only and does not take reservations for small parties, will be serving from 12 to 8 from their regular menu plus Easter brunch specials as yet unspecified, between 12 and 2, and will accept all reservations.
One West Restaurant on the 2nd floor at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1 West St., in Pittsfield, 413 -553-2251 or 499-2000, will be serving a prix fixe Easter brunch buffet with stations from 11 to 4 created with seasonal flair by chef Mike Mongeon and his staff. Reservations are appreciated.
Pho Sai Gon Vietnamese Restaurant, 5 Railroad St. in Lee, 413 243-6288, will be open 12 to 3 and 5 to 8 serving their regular menu.
Pleasant & Main Café & General Store, 1063 Main St. in Housatonic, 413-274-6303, will serve an Easter brunch by reservation from 8 to 3 Saturday, Sunday and Monday as well as a 3-course prix fixe maple and cider glazed ham dinner with all the fixings for $25.
Breakfast starts at 8, brunch around noon, dinner in the late afternoon until 8.
Rainbow Restaurant, 109 First St. in Pittsfield, 413-443-0004, will serve an Easter brunch from 10 to 3 for $23.99 for adults, $13.99 for children.
The menu will be their usual Sunday brunch plus a carving station with beef prime rib, ham and turkey.
Diners can expect eggs Benedict and Florentine, French toast, pancakes, homefries, bacon, sausage, quiches, pastas, pizzas from their wood-fired oven, a variety of entrées and vegetable sides, a salad bar, fresh fruit, a dessert bar, tea and coffee.
Call for reservations.
From 12 to 4, the Red Lion Inn, 30 Main St./Routes 7 and 102 in Stockbridge, 413-298-1690 or -5545, reservations@redlioninn.com, and executive chef Brian Alberg present a rich and festive 4-course prix fixe Easter dinner with choices, many local ingredients and vegetarian selections for $59, children 12 and younger $29.50 Seating can be in the dining rooms or private rooms at your request.
There will be lobster bisque, carrot and parsnip soup, country paté or duck confit from the Hudson Valley. Next, a spring green salad, then entrée choices including ham glazed with local honey, shepherd's pie with local lamb and cheese, local chicken breast, baked haddock from New England waters, and a vegetarian risotto made of farro with asparagus, local mushrooms and local feta cheese.
Desserts will be a lemon tart, pecan balls with ice cream, blueberry cobbler with blueberries and High Lawn Farm cream and a chocolate truffle tart. There has to be at least one chocolate dessert and this one is not same-old, same-old.
Call or email for reservations or any questions.
The Southfield Store, 163 Norfolk Road in Southfield a village of New Marlborough, 413 229- 5050, a branch of The Old Inn on the Green down the road, will be serving its usual Sunday breakfast/brunch from 9 to 2.
Usual, but what a brunch!
In addition to à la carte items Southfield Store serves a fabulous prix fixe breakfast with choices, $24, prepared by Southfield Store chef Gustavo Perez.
It starts with freshly squeezed orange or grapefruit juice and Barrington Roasters' coffee or a Rishi tea. Then a piece of housemade pastry — a croissant, a muffin, a scone. The Southfield Store houses the bakery for The Old Inn on the Green up the road so the pastry is the epitome.
The next course is Shirl's granola — my current favorite with big crunchy chunks — with yogurt and fruit or just fruit salad. Shirl is Shirl Gard who was The Old Inn's longtime pastry chef.
Then your breakfast main: challah French toast, huevos rancheros or eggs Benedict of smoked ham or smoked salmon with saffron hollandaise.
Such a good time to try this, in such a pleasant atmosphere.
Spice Root Indian restaurant, 23 Spring St. in Williamstown, 413-458-5200, is open regular hours for lunch, 11:30 to 3, and dinner, 5 to 10 with their regular menu. Sunday lunch is a buffet with a couple of appetizers, a couple of salads, some chutneys and condiments, rice, a couple of chicken dishes, five or six vegetarian dishes and finishes with rice pudding or carrot pudding for $12.95.
The Stagecoach Tavern, 854 South Undermountain Road/Route 41 in Sheffield, 413-229-8585, plans to be open 5 to 9 serving its usual menu but they always have a delightful choice of seasonal specials. Call to reserve.
Table Six, the elegant restaurant in the Kemble Inn, 2 Kemble St. in Lenox, 413-637-4113, will be serving a $57, 3-course prix fixe Easter dinner from 5 to 9 by reservation.
Executive chef Ron Reda will serve his renditions of a traditional spring menu, including ring pea soup, grilled asparagus, leg of lamb, ham, salmon, vegetarian polenta and more.
Chef Jeffrey Thompson and pastry chef Thim Yee will create an elegant 3- or 4-course prix fixe Easter dinner with choices at Wheatleigh, 11 Hawthorne Road in Lenox, 413-637-0610, from 1 to 6.
There will be salad course choices of goat cheese tart with asparagus or tuna tartare with beets, cucumber and radishes. First course choices are scallops with lentils, rutabaga and spinach or gnocchi with maitake mushrooms, asparagus and carrots. Main courses are Arctic char, beef short ribs or lamb chops. Dessert choices are carrot cake or flourless chocolate cake.
Three courses cost $65, four courses cost $78 including tax and gratuity. Call for reservations.
The Williams Inn, 1090 Main St./Route 7 in Williamstown at that little tucked away point where Route 7 comes up from South County but makes a sharp left to go north into Vermont, 413 458-9371, is having an Easter brunch buffet reminiscent of their tradition of blowout Sunday brunches in the past. So many choices.
Two soups including cream of asparagus; four salads including an iceberg wedge sprinkled with veggies, blue cheese and ranch dressing; a carving station with lamb and ham; an omelet station; the five entrées range from housemade cider bread French toast with Ioka Valley Farm maple syrup to baked haddock filet with crumbs, capers and lemon.
There are nine desserts including the inn's own brand of peeps.
The buffet is $37, $19 for children ages 6 to 10, children under 5 eat free. It's a big place but reservations are suggested.
In addition to restaurant meals, Easter means sweets. Chocolate bunnies and eggs, jelly beans, peeps, cookies and hot cross buns that are difficult to find these days. Of course, Easter and spring also inspire beautiful fancy desserts and cakes. Carrot cake, cheesecakes, lemon curd and berries.
Look for all these at A-Frame Bakery on Cold Spring Road/Route 7 in Williamstown, especially those cute, cute peeps cookies. Patisserie Lenox in Great Barrington and Lenox has lots of whipped cream and custard and cheesecake and puff pastry but, also mousse-filled chocolate eggs in lots of flavors. And there are cute Easter cookies baked at Taft Farms in Great Barrington along with gorgeous spring flowers in the greenhouse.
Rubiner's Cheesemonger and Grocer in Great Barrington has delicate little boxes of chocolate eggs in various forms. Chocolate Springs in Lenox has chocolate bunnies, eggs and chickens in countless sizes and form. I love those chocolate peeps in grass nests.
But Catherine's Chocolate Shop in Great Barrington has to be the happiest home of the Easter Bunny in all Berkshire County. Name it. It is there. Including those little old fashioned decorated white sugar eggs with a scene inside. And chocolate Easter trains. An entire room of Easter sweets including sugarless selections.
Tags: berkshire tidbits, Easter, holiday event, judith lerner,
