Restaurants
The restaurant descriptions that follow reflect the opinions of the editors of Rural Intelligence.
They are editorial content, not paid advertisements, and are organized by county.
Flatiron in Red Hook keeps locals coming back again and again. |
Bread Alone in Rhinebeck specializes in breakfasts and lunches on artisanal bread. |
Bangall Whaling Company is an archetypal neighborhood saloon. |
[See more Restaurants, Listed by County]
Bizen Gourmet Japanese Cuisine - Great Barrington, Massachusetts
In the mid-90s, when Bizen, the Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar, first opened, it must have seemed like the last word in exotica—Japanese decor and real sushi chefs showing off their fancy blade-work in plain sight. Since then, much has changed on the culinary scene. The ubiquitous cheap sushi that’s sold in supermarkets makes that which was once so rarefied now seem routine. Other sophisticated restaurants have raised the bar in the Berkshires. And values have changed. Turns out there are not a lot of fish left in the sea, and even if there were, the nearest ocean is nearly 200 miles east—twice the locavore-sanctioned distance between food source and plate.
Yet Bizen (where the sushi is not cheap) thrives. On weekends, the place is packed, leaving an often overtaxed waitstaff to soothe a peckish public struggling to make sense of a menu that is nothing short of gargantuan. The Dinner Specials alone fill seven pages with such groaners as Viagra (boiled eel, giant clam, etc.) and Condoleezza Rice. So what’s the big draw? One theory: People who crave Japanese food—and it is addictive—are not really interested in variety, they just want their old favorites. And if they ignore the printed menu here and ask for them, they fill the bill.
17 Railroad Street; 413.528.4343
Open daily noon - 9:30 p.m.
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
Posted by Marilyn Bethany on 07/31/10 at 06:18 PM • Permalink
