8 Must-Try Summer Dishes
These dishes, prepared by some of the regions most exciting restaurants, are summer on a plate.
Summer dining in the RI region isn’t just about eating well—it’s about connecting to a sense of place. For celebrated local chefs like Michele Ragussis of Gedney Kitchen in New Marlborough, and Halo Kaya Perez-Gallardo, owner of Hudson’s Lil’ Deb’s Oasis, the season brings a direct line to local farms, fresh coastal seafood, and other creative collaborators. Their menus shift with the fields and tides.
“I grew up in New England, and my approach has always been very seasonal,” says Ragussis, who’s also known for her frequent Food Network competition show appearances (as both contestant and judge). “Everything we use comes from local farms unless it’s a dry good or seafood.” That commitment is a common thread among many chefs in the region—where working closely with farmers shapes menus just as much as their own creativity does.
From briny bowls of shellfish stew to spicy-sweet tomato salad, here are just a few of our favorite dishes to try this summer.
Cioppino
Gedney Kitchen, New Marlborough, MA
At Gedney Kitchen, Ragussis taps into her coastal roots to deliver a standout cioppino, a rustic seafood stew layered with deep, vibrant flavors. The dish starts with two sauces: a slow-roasted red pepper blend and a housemade tomato sauce, finished with white wine, garlic, shallots, and butter. Clams, mussels, and fresh fish fill the bowl, crowned with a hunk of crusty sourdough from nearby Creature Bread.
“The cioppino has become a real staple for us,” Ragussis says. “It’s a dish that keeps evolving depending on what seafood is freshest, but it always feels like summer to me.”
While the cioppino anchors the menu, summer diners also rave about Gedney’s fried clams. Ragussis first soaks the clams in condensed milk—a trick she learned from an old Maine grandmother—before dredging them lightly in flour and cornmeal. “The condensed milk adds a little sweetness that balances the brininess,” she says. “It sounds simple, but it makes people go crazy.”
Heirloom Tomato Salad with Salsa Matcha
Lil’ Deb’s Oasis, Hudson, NY
At Lil’ Deb’s, Perez-Gallardo keeps the flavors as lively as the restaurant’s boldly queer, neon atmosphere, using hyperlocal produce. While the whole roasted fish might be the most eye-catching menu item, the heirloom tomato salad with salsa matcha has become a summer staple, featuring ripe tomatoes and melon tossed with a rich, earthy salsa made with peppers, cacao nibs, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds.
“It’s really all about what’s at peak ripeness,” Perez-Gallardo says. “We love being able to pivot based on what’s coming in from the farms each week.” Finishing touches like cilantro flowers add brightness, making this cold, spicy-sweet salad a refreshing treat on a hot afternoon.
The dish also reflects the relationships Lil’ Deb’s has built with small, ideologically simpatico farms like Ironwood and Gentle Time, where bespoke crops are sometimes grown specifically for the restaurant’s artistic menus.
Osetra Caviar
Dulu at the Doctor Sax House, Lenox, MA
Inside Dulu, the hotel bar and restaurant at the historic Doctor Sax House, the caviar presentation stands out as a luxurious starter, featuring premium caviar served with North Fork potato chips and all the traditional accoutrements on a two-tiered silver platter. It’s playful, it’s expensive, it’s extravagant, and it’s a great way to embrace your inner “dulu,” which translates to “delusional” in Indonesian—an ode to chasing one’s dreams, even when they seem out of reach.
The restaurant is also a gorgeous space to lose one’s mind a little. The decor is sophisticated and exotic, with maximalist texture and deep blue tropical wallpaper. The vibe encourages the splurge to start a meal that will continue to impress.
Carnitas Tacos
Casita Berkshires, North Adams, MA
Casita delivers a modern Mexican culinary experience on the MASS MoCA campus. Their carnitas are a standout—the confit pork showcasing the restaurant’s flair for bold flavors. The rest of their tacos are just as impactful, stuffing housemade tortillas with chicken, carne asada, oyster mushrooms or fresh seafood.
At $5 a pop for most tacos, the prices at Casita are very reasonable and the restaurant makes for a relaxing and well‑curated experience after a long day at the museum.
Gluten‑Free Fried Chicken with Hot Honey Sambal
Hy’s Fried, South Egremont, MA
Hy’s owner Jack Luber has transformed a once‑abandoned roadhouse into a venue that serves as both a restaurant and a raucous community hub. The establishment features a menu centered around mouthwatering fried chicken, prepared gluten‑free with hormone‑free, free‑range birds that are brined for six hours, fried using a blend of tapioca and rice flours, and finished with a house‑made hot honey sambal. The Asian‑style spicing provides a balance of sweetness and mild heat that brightens up the crisp exterior and juicy interior of the chicken.
Beyond its chicken, Hy’s hosts weekend DJ nights, dance parties, and themed events. The interior design reflects Luber’s vision of a space that blends nostalgic elements with a cinematic, almost disorienting deep‑red color scheme.
“I wanted to create this wormhole,” Luber says. “Kind of like an Alice in Wonderland thing. The Deer Hunter meets Wes Anderson.”
Grass‑Fed Meatloaf Sandwich on House‑Made Focaccia
Misto, Red Hook, NY
A cafe and market operated by husband‑and‑wife team Wilson and Nadia Costa, Misto reflects the couple’s diverse backgrounds and commitment to local sourcing. The menu at Misto is always changing, as they also run a catering operation and a food truck (commonly found at Rose Hill Farm). The meatloaf sandwich stands out, not because it’s the most show‑stopping item on the menu in total but because it’s the best version of the nostalgic, often boring sandwich you’ll ever have. It’s made with grass‑fed beef from Gulden Farm and served on house‑made focaccia, it’s spiced in a distinct but not overwhelming way and served with house‑made apple barbeque sauce.
“What we do best is take something people know, but we’ll change it a little bit,” says Wilson Costa. “There’ll always be little hints of something different.”
Lemongrass Pork Sausage Breakfast Sandwich
Morningbird, Kinderhook, NY
Inside the revitalized Kinderhook Knitting Mill, Morningbird is the cafe arm of the Aviary restaurant. The Southeast Asian‑inspired breakfast menu emphasizes bold, fresh flavors. Their standout pork sausage breakfast sandwich features house‑made lemongrass sausage crafted from locally sourced Hudson Valley pork, a fried egg, scallion chimichurri, and sambal‑flecked mayonnaise, all stacked on a soft milk bun.
Chef Hannah Wong, who recently started the new popup Haema (often found at Airport Rooms in North Adams), and formerly led Michelin‑recognized Van Da in New York City, built the menu here. Everything at Morningbird provides an elevated bite, but the breakfast sandwich is a particularly novel spin on a New York classic.
Kale Gnudi in Parmesan Broth
Isabela, Amenia, NY
At this brand‑new bistro, Michelin‑starred chef Jose Ramirez‑Ruiz centers his vegetable‑driven menu around the region’s seasonal produce. The kale gnudi, served in a light Parmesan broth, highlights the kitchen’s focus on championing the flavor of local agriculture.
Ramirez‑Ruiz, known for his acclaimed Brooklyn restaurant Semilla, brings his philosophy of cocina de cercanias—“cooking with everything around here”—to Isabela.
“This is Napa in the ‘70s,” he says of the region. “All these producers are doing really dope shit.”
