The Boathouse

The food at the Boathouse may not make you swoon, but the restaurant will warm your heart. With two fireplaces and a lively bar dominated by a knockout mural of a traditional lakeside boathouse, the restaurant naturally attracts students (who look like Abercrombie models) and their parents from the nearby Hotchkiss and Salisbury boarding schools. In the handsome main dining room where two vintage wooden canoes hang from ceiling, locals and out-of-towners tuck into hearty fare: burgers ($14), ribs ($18 or $23), almond crusted trout ($22), cioppino ($32). The Boathouse also has the preppiest sushi bar around, and on a recent evening, many of the student diners were eating big platters of raw fish. As an homage to the clientele, several rolls are named after local private schools such as the Berkshire (avocado, cream cheese, smelt roe & smoked salmon, $7), the Millbrook (unagi & avocado, $7.50), and the IMS (yellowtail & scallions, $7.50).The Boathouse 349 Main Street/Routes 44 & 41; 860.435.2111 Sunday - Thursday: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Friday & Saturday: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.