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Bistro Zinc

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Posted by: Marilyn Bethany
Posted on: Thursday, February 21, 2008

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Full Article

You’ve gotta love a high-end Berkshires restaurant that keeps the bar open ‘til 1 a.m.  Not that one would ever avail herself of the privilege.  But it strikes a blow for a brand of fun that’s thin on the ground around here.  Berkshire-eans tend to expect too much of Bistro Zinc.  When it opened in 1999, the food was a revelation.  Since then, it’s been coasting, and the competition has wised up.  But if you stick to bistro fare--the steak with perfect frites ($29--if you don’t count the extra $5 they tack on for the side of spinach or haricots vertes), the astonishing 8-ounce burger on a plate piled high with onion rings, French fries, and tempura-fried green beans ($18), the roasted trout ($24) --you can have a fine time here.  Lunch in the bright dining room is even better; same burger (alas, minus the tempura beans) is $5 less.  A word about specials: A special can be something seasonal and lovely, such as soft-shell crab; or it can be experimental, a dish the chef isn’t sure even he or she is going to like.  My advice: if you’re risk-averse, steer clear of specials.  Pheasant stark naked except for the cabbage leaf it steamed in ($28)? Note to chef: sauce is pheasant’s raison d’etre.

56 Church Street; 413.637.8800
Lunch: 11:30 - 3
Dinner: 5:30 - 10
Bar: Sunday - Thursday to 11:30 or 12; Friday & Saturday to 1