Northampton – Eat
One can eat only so many meals and hang around so many cafes in 48 hours, but I did my best. A favorite spot, The Dirty Truth, is more bar than restaurant but it’s got a hip vibe, nice wine by the glass, over 40 craft beers, good people watching and better yet, the staff is ever smiling and delightful. Out of a teeny two-person kitchen, The Dirty Truth serves up a revolving menu of odd pickings like chickpea latkes, fried chicken, pozole, burgers and housemade pierogies. Like everything in Northampton, the food is, of course, locally sourced, organically grown and naturally raised. I had a perfect green salad and a fresh-from-the-oven ginormous, homemade pretzel with mouth-searing mustard. What more could a girl want? Open for dinner and weekend brunch. www.dirtytruthbeerhall.com
We stopped at Esselon for a cappucino during our glorious walk on the Bike Trail and I just had to head back for lunch. A farm-fresh and organic meal awaits in an atmosphere reminiscent of a French cafe, just a mile or so out of town on the road to Hadley. Highly recommend a stop here for breakfast or lunch for clean food and house-roasted coffees prepared by a friendly staff. The baguette sandwiches have the right proportion of bread to filling (no easy feat) and I happily devoured my prosciutto, greens and blue cheese on crunchy baguette. Yum. www.esselon.com
While I was desperate to try buzzy newcomer Sierra Grille, we were turned off by the two hour wait and snooty hostess. Headed instead to see our old friend Claudio at Spoleto and were cheered by giant plates of pasta and the always charming and magnanimous Claudio himself, holding down the fort. Three of us had salad, pasta, a good bottle of red and shared a cannoli for under $90. I spent many a night at Spoleto years ago; you still can’t beat it. www.spoletorestaurants.com
There seems to be a Japanese restaurant per block in Northampton, but my friends insist Osaka is THE ONE. We loved the imaginative menu and accomodating staff, trotting out roll after gorgeous roll. Don’t miss the Bad Boy: ebi, avocado, mango and spicy tuna (pictured) or the Rainbow Roll, a vision of avocado and cucumber with mango and kimchi. www.osakarestaurantgroup.com
Sadly, my favorite Noho restaurant, Green Street, recently closed, but there are plenty of newbies to choose from. Here are my foodie friend’s favorites:
the aforementioned Sierra Grille (make reservations)
Eclipse for farm-to-table (reservations necessary here, too.)
Bistro Les Gras for classic French
Not too far:
Great Wall in Florence for Chinese (make sure to order off the “gourmet menu”)
Blue Heron in Sunderland
Hope and Olive in Greenfield
Old favorites:
Joe’s Pizza
East Side Grill
Pizza Paradiso
Jake’s
Cafes: