Passages: Farewell from Dan & Marilyn . . .
From the start, Rural Intelligence was an experiment. Our goal to create an online culture-and-lifestyle magazine that would unite four counties in three states was and remains, as far as we know, unique. We are proud of the work we’ve done and that we’ve succeeded in fostering a sense of community across state and county lines among full- and part-time residents, as well as visitors. We’ve immensely enjoyed chronicling the extraordinary people and places that make our neck of the woods so special. Now, at the end our fourth summer, the time has come for us to step back and get some perspective…
Food Shopping: A Butcher Shop Goes Back to the Future
Only locally raised meats will be sold at The Meat Market in Great Barrington.
Talk about Slow Food. It’s been two years since Jeremy Stanton demonstrated to Rural Intelligence his passion for local meats at a five-course dinner prepared over an open wood fire during a thunderstorm. It was the beginning of his long campaign to find investors for The Meat Market, a butcher shop in Great Barrington that would sell locally raised beef, pork, lamb and chicken. On Monday, August 29, he begins living his dream. “This is the best time to open because it’s the best time to harvest animals because they’ve been eating summer grass,” says Stanton, who promises to offer prepared food, too, such as stock, Bolognese sauce, Philly cheesesteaks and North Carolina-style pulled pork sandwiches.
Restaurants: Luna 61, Vegetarian Food For Thought
You don’t have to be a vegetarian to love vegetarian food, as cultural correspondent Bess J.M. Hochstein learned on a recent visit to Luna 61, any more than you have to be Italian to love a good pizza. Hochstein, a vegan who dines out often in all sorts of restaurants, can tick off the handful in our region whose vegetarian offering(s) are more than desultory concessions. Which is why Luna 61 came as such a pleasant surprise. Owners Debra and Peter Maisel (she bakes, he’s the chef) pack so much punch into every bite even a devout omnivore would tend to focus on what’s there and forget what’s not.
Grade Grubbing at the Chocolate SeminarThis weekend at the Tanglewood Wine and Food classic, we get to knit our brows and think deep thoughts as we explore such profundities as the relationship between port and chocolate, and thoughtfully compare and contrast various wines with such cheeses as Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery’s Cremont and their Bonne Bouche. Surely, nothing this edifying could be…fattening? |
Road Trips: Hiking Through HistoryWith Autumn in the air, Kathryn Matthews hits the trail, the Hyde Park Trails, that is, a system of clearly marked, well maintained free paths linking each of the historic sites within the Roosevelt and Vanderbilt properties. The system was conceived twenty years ago, because tourists, attempting to walk between FDR’s house and the Vanderbilt place, kept wandering onto adjacent private property. |
Music, Food, Style: The Helsinki TrifectaIt’s not just the music that cooks at Helsinki Hudson, though the Holmes Brothers gospel-drenched blues and street corner doo-wop on Friday night promises to heat up the room. There’s also the eye candy—a physical plant that’s as entertaining as what’s on stage—and the soulful food. When executive chef Hugh Horner dreams up a dish, he clearly has Georgia, Louisiana, and the Carolinas on his mind. |
Kids: County Fair Season in Full SwingYou’ve got to hand it to an amusement that, with no help from the wizards at Disney, et al, has been packin’ ‘em in for a century and a half, at least. At this year’s Dutchess County Fair, August 23 - 28, little ones will love Bixby’s Rainforest Rescue, the singing veggies, the live animals, the 4-H milkshakes, and the general air of excitement. Then Columbia County’s is coming right up, August 31 - September 5. |
Parties: Dish & Dine at Ferrin GalleryAt the Ferrin Gallery in Pittsfield on Friday, August 19, the “salon” was revitalized with a shot of 21st-century elan. The Dish+Dine soiree brought together artists, academics, and guests for a lively discussion (here, Sienna Patti holds forth) and a delicious locavore dinner overseen by chef Brian Alberg of the Red Lion Inn. Guests sat at one long table set with the vivacious dishware of local potter Mary Ann Davis. |
AgriCulture: The Off Label Uses of BasilIn one country, a pot of mini-basil on a windowsill is a talisman, warding off the potential evils that can enter a house through an open window. In another, it’s a sign that the tarts within are receiving. The significance of this particular herb in that particular place not only varies from one European country to the next, it ricochets between symbolizing the essence of good and that of evil. Blogger Peter Davies explains. |
Instant Intelligence
Now - October 15, Berkshire County-wide: Berkshire Grown Workshops in the Art of Preserving the Bounty For a complete roster of pickling and canning session themes and leaders, dates, fees, and, in some instances, value-added items (such as Put ‘Em Up, Storey Publishing’s latest book on pickling and canning), visit the Berkshire Grown website.
September 3 - October 23, Dutchess County: Metro North and Dutchess Country Tourism are offering country- themed day trips from Grand Central Station every Saturday and Sunday, including the following: Family Fun Farm Days (Beacon, HudsonValley Fiber Farm, and Fishkill Farm, 9/3 & 4, 9/10 &11;) ; Food, Wine, Cheese & Fine Tea (Millerton, Harney Teas, Cascade Winery and McEnroe Organic Farm 9/17 &18; 9/24 & 25); and Fall Harvest, Wine, Cheese & Apple Picking Weekends (Sprout Creek Farm, Millbrook, Clinton or Millbrook Vineyards and Terhune Orchards, 10/1 -23.). Contact Dutchess County Tourism and Metro-North web sites above for ticket info.
