What's new in the Berkshires?

Question

We'll be staying in Lee next month for a couple of weeks, as we do every year. Any new restaurants worth trying or any older ones we should stay away from, especially in Lee, Lenox & Pittsfield? For upscale meals we usually go to & enjoy Alta & Chez Nous. What we have a hard time finding are more moderately priced restaurants that are worth going back to. We used to like Bombay but not as much in the last couple of years. Alpamayo didn't impress us last year. Pho Saigon was OK, though the service is often quirky.

Answer

It's not really brand new (or necessarily inexpensive) but Brava in Lenox has probably been our favorite restaurant in Lenox as of late.

In Pittsfield based on one visit District Bar and Kitchen which opened last year was pretty good.

Also in Pittsfield there is a new hotel on North St, named, appropriately, "Hotel on North." They have a restaurant which just opened in the space that was most recently Spice Dragon. Haven't been but the menu looks like it could be good.

Also not new but if you've never been La Fogata in Pittsfield may be worth a try at least for lunch.

Answer

The old Arizona Pizza in Lee has been privatized and still has a similar menu in a gorgeous old building. Now called 51 Park. Sadly we have found the food very meh. We love the food at Baja Charlie's but usually do takeout as it is down the hill. There was a management change at Timothy's and you might revisit them, at least for lunch. I have heard the service issues at the Starving Artist have been resolved and there is usually a line at the door but Cakewalk has a new owner and is no longer worth bothering with. Salmon Run remains a solid second choice for us. Chez Nous is number one. We have yet to eat at Morgan House but our family from New York loved their dinner there on Labor Day when everyone else was closed.

Answer

Going to Pittsfield for the first time this weekend, and we will be a party of 4 adults. We have decided on Elizabeth’s for one night’s dinner, for the second night’s dinner we are thinking about at Eat On North as a mid-priced option, but that menu might be too limited. Is Rainbow Restaurant worth considering? I can only find Trip Advisor and Yelp reviews - one site isn’t crazy about them and the other one loves them. Any suggestions or advice is welcome. Thank you.

Answer

After getting wonderful recommendations we ended up having most of our meals at old standbys. We did have dinner at District in Pittsfield. Friendly service (which is important to me). I really enjoyed the Public salad & loved the spicy shrimp tacos, even if they weren't that spicy. Sorry, can't remember what others had but everyone went home happy. We had two meals at Pho Saigon--my husband likes it a lot & it's good enough for me. We had a special meal at Rouge in W. Stockbridge, which never disappoints. Pumpkin seeds were a simple addition that elevated the field greens salad beyond the everyday. Ahi tuna coated with sesame seeds was delicious. My husband really liked the roasted lemon chicken & especially the crispy polenta.

Answer

We recently had a wonderful dinner at the Wheatleigh. My wife had loup de mer which she said was truly excellent; I had delicious lamb chops. We started with a tuna tartare that was very good. The dessert was perhaps a bit of a disappointment (I can't even recall what we had now, so it was certainly not memorable). We had another late night meal at Brava -- shared a pizza, and they have an excellent and extensive wine list. We also had breakfast one morning at Spoon, and it was excellent.

Answer

Just to be complete, here is the statement at the bottom of the Nudel menu. "Nudel does not specialize in vegan or allergy sensitive foods. We politely decline substitutions and alterations." What a callous snotty policy. They can't be bothered to even try and accommodate disabilities. Diner beware.

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What's new in the Berkshires?

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Eat on North

Baja Charlie's California Cuisine

Kemble Inn

Nudel Restaurant

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