Food

Discover the best food, farms, and dining in the Hudson Valley, Berkshires, and Litchfield Hills. Rural Intelligence shares local restaurant reviews, seasonal recipes, and stories celebrating regional flavor.

Food

The Red Lion's Courtyard

The pebbled courtyard nestled behind the venerable Red Lion Inn is a quiet oasis steps from the throngs of tourists on Main Street. With colorful impatiens planted everywhere, it has the pleasant air of an old-money country club that has opened its doors to the public. There's WiFi

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Food

It's PYO Blueberry Season

We went blueberry picking the other day at Windy Hill Farm in Great Barrington. Picking them requires patience and perseverence, but doesn't everything worthwhile in life? In the back of our minds, we were thinking of the first stanza of Blueberries by the great New England poet Robert

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Food

Grass-fed Beef (and Authentic Farmhouse Style) in Salisbury

Robin and Allen Cockerline, who raise grass-fed beef in Salisbury, CT, are not the type of farmers who'd call their house "stylish" or describe their hamburgers or hot dogs as "gourmet." But their good taste is quite evident at their quaint shop at Whippoorwill

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Food

The Trojan Tea Shop

“I inherited a tea shop in Park City, Utah from my mother,” says Kim Bach. Actually, this assertion is not entirely accurate. To begin, Bach’s mother, Bonnie Deffebach, now 85, is still very much in the picture, so not technically in a position to “leave” anything to anyone. Moreover,

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Food

Bizalion's Is Le Source for Pluperfect Picnics

A humble ham-and-cheese sandwich does not sound like picnic fare fit for Tanglewood, unless it comes from Bizalion's, a cafe and charcuterie in Great Barrington. Jean-Francois Bizalion, who grew up in France, creates sandwiches that are unapologetically un-American. On a crusty baguette made daily by a baker in

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Food

Robin's Candy Store: The Sweet Smell of Excess

There's a fine line between whimsy and wacky, and Robin Helfand is the tightrope walker behind Robin's Candy Store, which opened on Main Street in Great Barrington on June 21. She's taken the old White Knight Records space and renovated it so that it

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Food

Bubby's is the Burrito Stand of Your Dreams

Update July 2010: Bubby's is now located by Hardeman Orchards.Most people we know turn up their noses at trailers, except for the little trailer near the intersection of Route 9G and Route 199 in Red Hook (or Annandale on Hudson, depending on who you ask), which makes

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Food

It's Pick-Your-Own Strawberry Season

A friend of mine has a theory about local strawberries, which are really the only strawberries worth eating. She believes that you should gorge on strawberries while they're in season and eat them three times a day. She maintains that you should consume nature's bounty in

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Food

A Paean to Germana: The Guido's Butcher

Like any good butcher, Germana Sachs has rough hands and a thick skin. But what makes Germana a great butcher is that she's also got a tender heart. "I enjoy making people happy," she says softly and sincerely. "That's my special trade."

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Food

Food Festival: The Long Day of the Knives and Forks

This Saturday, the Cornwall Free Library’s Food, Glorious Food Festival will have us covered in delicious crumbs from breakfast through cocktails. The day starts at 9:30 with coffee and breakfast baked goods under the tent. But for our money, things get serious at 11 a.m. That'

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Food

The Greening of the Red Lion Inn

Like the rock band Wilco playing at Tanglewood (on August 12), Brian Alberg's running the kitchen at the Red Lion Inn is a case of cultural dissonance. Like many old guard Berkshires institutions, the Red Lion wants to maintain beloved traditions while developing a modern sensibility. Even as

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Food

Cocktails: The Grey Ghost

Former beer drinker and Berkshire Mountain Dilstillers founder Chris Weld is becoming an expert on cocktails as travels the region selling the gin, rum and vodka that he makes at Soda Springs Farm in Sheffield, MA. For the opening night party of the Berkshire International Film Festival, he devised this

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