Where to Dine on Easter Sunday?
The Red Lion Inn’s main dining room in Stockbridge, MA
How do we feel about Easter dinner in a restaurant? Well, it depends on the restaurant. The holiday calls for tablecloths, linen napkins, spring lamb or ham, and a sense of occasion. More than a few restaurants in our region fit the bill, and they were were still taking Easter reservations when we checked in with them on March 16. Easter is one of the last holidays where stores don’t open, so it’s a wonderful day to take a drive and enjoy a leisurely meal that someone else has prepared.
Blantyre
Lenox, MA
Usually, men are required to wear a jacket and tie in the dining room at Blantyre, but not on Easter Sunday. (But there are still rules: only children over 10 are welcome.) This uber-elegant Relais & Chateaux hotel will be serving a special three-course meal featuring lamb and ham along with a dessert buffet for $45. Lunch: 12:30 - 2 PM.
Reservations: 413.637.3556
John Andrews
Egremont, MA
It would be difficult for chef/owner Dan Smith to improve upon his regular, exquisitely eclectic menu (fried oysters with anchovy-mustard vinaigrette, Lila Berle’s organic mountain lamb, papardelle with wild boar ragu), so that’s what he’ll be serving on Easter Sunday along with a few specials. And though it will officially be the first Sunday of spring, you may want to ask for a table by the fireplace.
Dinner: 4 - 7 PM.
Reservations: 413.528.3469
The Old Inn on the Green
New Marlborough, MA
With intimate dining rooms illuminated only by candlelight, the Old Inn has a romantic Masterpiece Theatre ambience [left]. Thankfully, chef/owner Peter Platt serves audacious contemporary food, but in deference to tradition he promises that his Easter menu will include leg of lamb and baked ham. Dinner: 2 - 8 PM. $40.
Reservations: 413.229.7924
The Red Lion Inn
Stockbridge, MA
You certainly wouldn’t feel out of place wearing a flowery Easter bonnet in the landmark hotel’s Victorian dining room, while working your way through a four-course meal that might start with puree of white asparagus soup and end with strawberry rhubarb shortcake. Dinner: noon - 4 PM. Adults: $49.95; children under 12: $19.95
Reservations: 413.298.5545
Serevan
Amenia, NY
It always feels like coming home when you step into this 19th century farmhouse, where chef/owner Serge Madikian prepares earthy, esoteric dishes such as Katafi-crusted halibut and roasted monkfish with squid tabouli. “I’m Armenian, and we always eat fish for Easter so I will have lots of fish on the menu,” he says. Brunch: 11AM - 2:30 PM. Dinner: 5 - 10 PM.
Reservations: 845.373.9800
Stissing House
Pine Plains, NY
The Stissing House, which dates backs to 1782, is not normally open for lunch this time of year, but it’s making an exception for Easter Sunday. It will be serving its regular menu which features French classics like escargots, foie gras, onion soup, and brandade of cod and potato. Lunch & Dinner: noon - 9 PM.
Reservations: 518.398.8800
Swiss Hutte
Hillsdale, NY
There’s something literally fantastic about the Swiss Hutte, a half-timber 19th-century farmhouse that’s been in continuous operation as an inn for over fifty years. Tucked in a hidden valley amid gardens at the foot of Catamount ski slope, it feels half a world away. The menu this Sunday will include all their usual fine fare, plus such specials as prime rib, Boston cod, and roast leg of lamb. Zurich-born owner-chef Gert Alpert knows his way around modern food, but for those feeling nostalgic, there’s always top-notch wienerschnitzel, rosti, and spatzli on a back burner. Dinner: 1 - 6 PM
Reservations: 518.325.3333 or 413.528.6200
Terrapin
Rhinebeck, NY
What could be more appropriate for Easter than dining in a renovated 1825 church? Chef/owner Josh Kroner plans to serve his usual multi-culti fare (roasted garlic soup, pumpkin-seed crusted salmon with tomatillo sauce, pork tenderloin with Thai orange-coconut curry) beneath the soaring ceilings of the former First Baptist Church [left]
Dinner: 1 - 8 PM.
Reservations: 845,876.3330
Wheatleigh
Lenox, MA
For Easter, dinner will be only served in The Library [right], which is this European-style resort’s concept of “casual dining” (alas, that means no tablecloths.) Nevertheless, the menu (wild Burgundy snails, tuna tartar, rack of lamb) and setting (a restored Italianate villa) are still quite grand. Dinner: 5:30 - 8:30 PM.
Reservations: 413.637.0610
The White Hart
Salisbury, CT
Within walking distance of two churches, this classic 1806 New England inn will serve a special a la carte Easter menu in the Riga Room. The fare ranges from escargots and grilled asparagus to sauteed antelope medallions and baked Virginia ham. Lunch & Dinner: noon - 7:30 PM.
Reservations: 869.435.0030
Posted by Dan Shaw on 03/16/08 at 06:03 PM (1) Comments • Permalink
