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The Berkshires Wheatleigh Like
the European country-house hotels with which it has been likened, the
pride of Wheatleigh is its renowned main-floor restaurant – long a
destination for gourmands. It
includes a handsome chandeliered dining room and a large and glamorous,
truly cool glass-enclosed portico, pristine in white and with
floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides. Their round tables are set with
white linens, service plates in three patterns, delicate wine glasses,
flickering oil lamps and vases of fresh flowers. Off
the dining room is the intimate Library lounge, a sleek misnomer
(shelves of china rather than books) that offers a lighter menu for
lunch and supper and is favored by regulars who don’t care to eat
grandly every night. Executive
chef J. Bryce Whittlesey heads a kitchen brigade of fifteen that
prepares three prix-fixe tasting menus each evening – three-course
regular and four-course vegetarian (both $95) and six-course fish menu
($125). Wheatleigh's
kitchen uses exotic ingredients and is said to be labor-intensive. You
know why when you see the night's regular offerings. You might start as
we did with the golden ossetra caviar and oyster “progression,” the
first of several that evening and yielding three choice oysters in
various dress. Other starters, these from the fish tasting menu, were
truly exceptional bay scallops served with apple relish and blood orange
vinaigrette in large scallop shells and Maine sea urchins with Dungeness
crab salad and pearl tapioca froth. Next came a whole roasted lobster
with cardamom and star anise butter, followed by line-caught dover sole
roasted on the bone and served with sautéed chicken oysters and poultry
jus. Our other main course from the regular menu was described simply as
“local young lamb with variation on butternut squash.” That turned
out to be two simultaneous “progressions” – lamb shoulder, confit
and rack, each of the three with a different version of squash, about
the only vegetables we saw all evening. Desserts
were an ethereal lemon soufflé with lemoncillo sauce and apple tart
normande, two small apple custard tarts flanking crème fraîche and
calvados-cider sorbet. (413)
637-0610. Prix-fixe, $95 and $125. Dinner nightly by reservation,
Church Street
Cafe This
is the casual, creative kind of place of which we never tire, the one we
keep returning to for a quick but interesting meal whenever we're in the
Berkshires. Owners
Linda Forman and Clayton Hambrick have furnished three small dining
rooms and an outdoor deck simply but tastefully. On one visit we admired
all the amusing paintings of zebras on the walls, part of the changing
art exhibits and all for sale. We also liked the bar stools painted like
black and white cows, udders hanging below, as well as the ficus trees
lit with tiny white lights, the white pottery with colorful pink and
blue flowers, the artworks lit by track lights in the gallery room, the
flute music playing in the background, and the jaunty outside dining
deck. Once
Ethel Kennedy's chef, Clayton also worked in a creole restaurant in
Washington and that background shows. Blackened redfish might be a
dinner special. Louisiana shrimp and andouille filé gumbo is apt to be
a dinner appetizer and a luncheon entrée. Lately, the fare has acquired
some Asian accents, as in an appetizer of tuna taki with sesame-soy
dressing or a main dish of grilled lemongrass chicken with nuoc clam
sauce. These join such traditional favorites as sautéed Maine crab
cakes with dilled tartar sauce and grilled lamb loin with red wine
sauce. Our
latest lunch included a super black bean tostada with three salsas and
the Church Street salad, a colorful array of goat cheese, chick peas,
sprouts, eggs and red pepper, with a zippy dijon vinaigrette dressing on
the side and whole wheat sunflower seed rolls, so good that we accepted
seconds. Among
desserts, the chilled cranberry soufflé topped with whipped cream, the
apple walnut crisp and the chocolate macadamia nut torte are superior. (413) 637-2745. churchstreetcafe.biz. Entrées,
$21.50 to $28.50. Lunch, Monday-Saturday 11 to 2. Dinner nightly,
After
serving as garde-mange at Wheatleigh, Culinary Institute of America grad
Lina Aliberti opened her own restaurant in a small house in the center
of Lenox. The main floor was transformed into a Mediterranean-style
bistro and bar focusing on a large center fireplace with a Count Rumford
oven. Forty-two diners can be seated at well-spaced tables inside, with
an equal number on the front. The tables are covered with cloths
portraying colorful blue and yellow provençal-style plates. The
restaurant is a play on the chef’s name (she originally called it
Semolina, but had to drop it for trademark purposes). The new name means
wheat stalk in Italian and Spanish. The
innovative menu is Mediterranean in spirit: entrées perhaps of grilled
salmon niçoise, free-range chicken marinated in Moroccan preserved
lemon and herbs, and grilled veal loin chop with polenta. Expect such
starters as seafood paella salad, wild mushroom baklava, mixed grill
kabob over couscous salad and crispy kataifi-wrapped goat cheese on
field greens. Desserts
vary from a frozen coffee and amaretto parfait with chocolate ganache
glaze to a duo of coffee and caramel pots de crème. The desserts are
prepared by the Swiss baker and maitre d’hotel, Serge Pacaud, whom
Lina recently married. The couple close the restaurant in late winter to
go to Switzerland. (413)
637-4455. Dinner nightly, 5 to 9, Thursday-Monday in off-season. Closed
mid-February through March.
French authenticity and nuances are everywhere evident in this chic bistro and bar opened by young Lenox native Jason Macioge in partnership with Charles Schultz. The gracefully curving mahogany bar in the rear
cocktail lounge is topped with polished zinc, the restroom doors are
made of lettered wood wine crates and the tables in the mirrored front
dining room are as close together as any in The menu has been updated from the early days when it was so authentic as to be ho-hum, as real French bistro menus tend to be. The food, though rather minimal in portion, is not at all ho-hum. We lunched in the bar on a lovely French onion soup gruyère, a salad of goat cheese, arugula and roasted tomato, and a special entrée of cumin-crusted lamb with couscous. The salad was mostly goat cheese, and cried out for bread upon which it could be spread (the bread was doled out as sparingly as the few leaves of arugula and a single tiny roasted tomato). The lamb was sensational, fanned around couscous that never before tasted so delectable. A not-so-classic tarte tatin was nonetheless delicious, paired with vanilla ice cream drizzled with caramel sauce. The bill was presented in a Zinc folder with a postcard. The bar seats 50 at tables and stools, the same number as can be served in the main dining room, full of cherry trim, mosaic tiled floors and white-clothed tables. The abbreviated menu sampled at lunch is similar but much expanded at night. Expect such starters as steak tartare, mussels marinière, peking duck rolls, prosciutto-wrapped quail and salads, perhaps one of frisée with pancetta and a poached egg Typical entrées are hazelnut-encrusted halibut with leeks and creamed spinach, yellowfin tuna dusted with star anise, wood-roasted free-range chicken with herb jus, steak frites, and grilled Australian lamb loin with red wine sauce. Desserts at our visit included vanilla crème brûlée, profiterole with mocha ice cream and a platter of petits fours, a lemon tart and cookies. In addition to an all-French wine list, the bar
book touts American single-barrel bourbons and single-malt scotches from
Lately, he set out to fill another niche,
opening the 40-seat Fin Sushi & Sake Bar around the corner in
a former diner refashioned by his architect father at (413) 637-8800. Entrées, $24 to $30. Lunch
daily, Pearl's This high-end steakhouse
was launched in 2001 by the owners of Bistro Zinc in Lenox. A sensuous
artwork of two nudes is the focal point of a modernist, art deco dining
room that’s a study in wood, brick and black. Big windows look out
onto the street, and draw passersby inside for a look. Pearl’s offers
a straightforward but interesting menu in the steakhouse idiom, complete
with the traditional side dishes. There are the usual steaks and chops,
each accompanied by steamed broccoli, glazed carrots and crispy fried
onions. Seaweed salad and crispy fried calamari garnish the seafood
dishes, which range from tuna and mahi mahi to lump crab cakes and
lobsters. A section of the menu is devoted to “birds and game,”
including roast duckling, Buffalo strip loin and roast venison loin.
Appetizers range from spicy tuna tartare and beef carpaccio to crispy
quail, steamed pork wontons and oysters rockefeller. Typical desserts
are molten Valrhona chocolate cake, triple coconut cream pie, strawberry
shortcake and fruit sorbets. A light menu is available in the bar in an
adjacent section of the building. (413) 528-7767. Entrées,
$16 to $36. Dinner nightly, 5 to 11. Verdura Copper-toned plaster walls and square farm-style tables with comfortable chairs convey a Tuscan look to this cucina rustica, the hottest restaurant in Great Barrington lately. Chef-owner Bill Webber became enamored with
Tuscan-style trattorias while living among the vineyards of A wood-fired stone oven in the spacious open kitchen imparts distinctive flavors to thin-crust pizzas and roasted meat and vegetable dishes. Any ingredients that are purchased are local, seasonal and organic whenever possible. The rest is made in house: the pastas, the pizza dough, gelato, sorbet and other desserts. Bill smokes his own salmon and mussels and churns his own butter. His short Tuscan menu makes for good reading and agonizing choices. The ever-changing bruschetta is a memorable starter, topped with smoked goose breast, local goat cheese and port-braised shallots at a recent visit and with mascarpone, prosciutto, figs and arugula at another. Other primi possibilities range from the house tagliatelle with lobster and salsify to quail saltimbocca and free-range duck confit with pickled mustard seed. The wild mushroom pizza with leeks, chèvre and white truffle oil may be the best you’ve had. Typical main courses are free-range chicken under a brick with pesto vinaigrette, and braised lamb shanks with black olive-citrus jus. The roast wild cod might be teamed with cockles, watercress and braised fennel in cioppino broth and the wood-roasted quail with sweet potato gratin, swiss chard and hen jus. The signature wood-grilled tenderloin is sauced with balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil and black truffle butter. Dessert specials could be wood-grilled peaches in a silken vanilla-scented sauce or a belgian chocolate panna cotta with brûléed bananas. Verdura obtained a full liquor license just so it could offer more than twenty kinds of grappa. They make a fitting end to a memorable meal. (413) 528-8969. Entrées, $25 to $29.
www.verdura.net. Dinner nightly, 5 to 9 or 10.
Who’s
to say which is more appealing: the inspired cooking and presentation at
affordable prices, or the setting, inside and out? The interior is
romantic with sponged walls of burnt red, a green ceiling and striking
chairs that came from the Copacabana and have been reupholstered and
repainted in green. Metal wall sconces and a tiled fireplace add warmth,
and at night the walls glow like copper. The enclosed rear porch,
mod in cane and chrome, opens onto an outdoor dining deck overlooking
lawn and woods. These are perfect
backdrops for talented chef-owner Dan Smith, who favors Northern
Italian and Mediterranean cuisine on his straightforward menu. He
might pair roast cod with lemongrass chile broth and coconut rice, sautéed
duck breast and crisp confit with a balsamic and maple glaze, grilled
pork loin with tamarind and green peppercorns, and
spiced leg of lamb with a pilaf of dried cherries and sweet corn. Favorite
starters include tuna and salmon tartare with a salad of pea tendrils,
crispy oysters with baby greens and anchovy-mustard vinaigrette, and
foie gras and sweetbreads with pear fritter, fig and thyme jam and
sherry-vinegar sauce. Typical desserts are plum crisp with vanilla ice
cream, fresh berry lemon tart, chocolate torte with white chocolate chip
ice cream and caramelized apple tart with cider crème anglaise. (413) 528-3469. Entrées, $18 to
$26. Dinner nightly except Wednesday, 5 to 10. Sunday brunch, 11:30 to
3.
This
restored 18th-century gristmill, which opened as a restaurant in 1978,
is one of our favorites. The atmosphere is a cross between a simple
Colonial tavern and a European wayside inn, warm and friendly,
yet highly sophisticated. The large, L-shaped main dining room has
wide-planked and stenciled floors, beamed ceilings, pewter cutlery and
bottles of olive oil as centerpieces on the nicely spaced tables, and a
collection of old mincing tools on the cream-colored walls. Reflections
of candles sparkle in the small-paned windows. An addition to a sunken
rear dining room provides large windows onto Hubbard Brook. Owner Terry
Moore – a Brit who trained as a chef on the Cunard Line ships – adds
a few nightly specials to supplement the ten entrées on the seasonal
menu. Appetizers and smaller portions of some of the entrées turn up on
the bar menu ($8.50 to $16), available in both bar and dining room
except on Saturdays. The black bean soup is a treat – hot and thick
with pieces of spicy sausage. Other starters might be country-style pâté
with peasant toast and cornichons, a lobster spring roll with soy-oyster
drizzle, and a Merrimac smoked fish plate with horseradish sauce. Of the
entrées, which always include the freshest of fish, we have enjoyed
broiled red snapper, sesame-crusted mahi mahi and baked bluefish with
ginger and scallions. Veal piccata with a lemony sauce was sensational,
and calves liver with sweet onions and apple-smoked bacon superior.
Other possibilities include double-thick pork chop au poivre with
apple-ginger relish and roasted moulard duck with cranberry-cabernet
sauce. The mocha torte and the meringue glacé with cointreau and
strawberries are heavenly desserts. (413) 528-1421. Entrées, $17 to
$24. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday from 5. Material excerpted from Getaways for Gourmets in the Northeast, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2006.
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