Hi folks,
If you are reading this, I'll take it that you haven't gotten bored of my writing yet, which brings me great enjoyment. I also hope that you have learned some stuff along the way so far... so, a new lesson is in order!
Yesterday we went (A lovely companion and I) to The Williamstown Theatre Festival which takes place at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. This is a famous little troupe that has seen some major Hollywood talent over it's 57 year run. "A Streetcar Named Desire" was playing, written by Tennessee Williams. I won't get into the play, other than to say that it was outstanding the actors were top-notch. They could be doing shows on Broadway, which I am sure they would also shine in! If you are interested in theatre, I highly recommend checking out one of their plays. It's reasonably priced at $35/ticket and close to Albany! The plays run through August 28th, but be warned! If you are interested, you must book in advance as the venue is tiny and therefore cannot seat a ton of people (and that rules out walk-up tickets).
Anyway, onto the trip to The Red Lion.... We drove to "The Lion" as I dubbed it in the car ride to Stockbridge, which is a straight shot South on US Rt. 7. You pass through some pretty terrain along the way, including Mt. Greylock (the tallest mountain in The Berkshire range). Upon entering Stockbridge, you cannot help but feel like you're in New England. The wide streets, with huge homes on both sides of the road are from a forgotten era (it reminded me a little bit of Woodstock, VT).
Everywhere you look, the properties are manicured very beautifully. A nice town, if you can afford a $4 million home. :)
The Inn itself, has a large porch on the front is has a very striking presence. This place opened before America was a country, which in American terms means, "IT'S REALLY OLD!" Although it's old, none of the property looks like it needs help.
Walking up the stairs and through the main door, you can see how special this place is. It has antiques everywhere and the staff are all very friendly. The waiters even take drink orders for the people lounging on the porch (in the various chairs/tables that they have set up).
There were three different options available for dining. Being that it was nice out, there is a wonderful little courtyard around the left side of the property to eat, as well as a proper dining room, and a pub (which is super authentic in it's own right!). We opted for the dining room because frankly, I will have my fill this week with authentic English Pub-grub (in London).
The menu is a mix of American and English staples, such as prime rib, turkey, duck, cod, etc. But, saying that, each dish has a bit of a modern spin on it. Each of us started off with a glass of pinot noir. The only problem with ordering the wine is that no "by the glass" list was given to us... so I am unable to tell you the vineyard that it came from-- however, it was nice nonetheless. Rolls and homemade crackers were served. The rolls were delectable, made from potato and rosemary which gave them a soft texture with a nice floral bite on the nose/tongue. The crackers I likened to an everything bagel-- onion, poppy, sesame and salt. Both were delicious served with in-house whipped butter.
We decided to split up our meals by sharing a starter and a dessert, with each of us ordering our own main course. To start, we both agreed that the "Bacon and Eggs" was our choice. It's very uncommon to find pork belly on menus in America. I'm not certain why, but it's a delicious guilty pleasure (in all it's fatty goodness). The egg, was a deviled egg, served with caviar on the top, which added a pleasant change to the old regular egg. This was served on a bed of roquette with mango pieces and a vinaigrette dressing. The sweet and bite from the vinegar balanced perfectly. Although, the deviled egg wasn't as good as the ones from Dinosaur Barbecue. Oh well, you can't win on every item! It is also important to note that the restaurant likes to source as many ingredients as it can from local farms. In this case, the pork and egg.
My partner ordered the sea scallops (the diver type) which were served on a puree of carrot and coriander and topped with a red onion confit. The dish was beautifully presented and the carrot and coriander added a nice depth to the dish, as did the red onion. She enjoyed it thoroughly, but it's not my cup of tea-- I liked it, but I spotted something else on the menu that made my mouth water.
My dish, An English cut prime rib of beef was served thinner than the usual American counterpart. There were three slices as opposed to the one we are all used to. I asked for the meat "rare as you can go, but not blue." They nailed it. It was so tender, I could have cut it with my spoon. In addition to th meat, there was a baked potato, courgette mixed with summer squash in a tomato sauce (almost like a marinara-- but very light), and a pop over? Okay, I didn't know what that was, but when it came-- it's a Yorkshire pudding! I was delighted to see this on my plate and it actually made me smile. The entire meal, besides the potato was good. Not the at the potato was bad, but I think with the Yorkie and veggies, it was already plenty! I had to ask for horseradish on the side, which goes brilliantly with prime rib (I would hope you know that already if you're reading this blog). It is also important to note that I switched to a heavier wine with the mean-- a Malbec, which was typical-- high alcohol and in-you-face flavour.
For dessert, we shared a chocolate pudding made from imported French chocolate, served with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. This was a nice decadent treat, but not a belly-buster. It was nice and light on the tummy after a big meal! There were a lot of other desserts there that wouldn't have been as kind to the waistline! The special was three types of homemade ice-cream served on a banana crust (their take on a banana split). Sounded good, perhaps next time?
See as my wonderful date offered to pay, I cannot tell you how much the bill actually came to. However, I can give you some guidelines of what to expect.
Starters: $10-15, up to $20 in some cases.
Mains: $30 range, maybe a bit higher for some.
Desserts: $7-10.
Wine: $6-10, but all the way up to multiple-hundreds if you do bottles.
Would I return, hell yes. Although, maybe next time it will be when I'm longing for England. In that case, I will be belly-up to the bar in the pub. One final note, in England, "The Red Lion" is the most commonly used name for pubs in the whole country. This Red Lion is anything but common.
Williamstown Theatre Festival
The Red Lion Inn
If you are reading this, I'll take it that you haven't gotten bored of my writing yet, which brings me great enjoyment. I also hope that you have learned some stuff along the way so far... so, a new lesson is in order!
Yesterday we went (A lovely companion and I) to The Williamstown Theatre Festival which takes place at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. This is a famous little troupe that has seen some major Hollywood talent over it's 57 year run. "A Streetcar Named Desire" was playing, written by Tennessee Williams. I won't get into the play, other than to say that it was outstanding the actors were top-notch. They could be doing shows on Broadway, which I am sure they would also shine in! If you are interested in theatre, I highly recommend checking out one of their plays. It's reasonably priced at $35/ticket and close to Albany! The plays run through August 28th, but be warned! If you are interested, you must book in advance as the venue is tiny and therefore cannot seat a ton of people (and that rules out walk-up tickets).
Anyway, onto the trip to The Red Lion.... We drove to "The Lion" as I dubbed it in the car ride to Stockbridge, which is a straight shot South on US Rt. 7. You pass through some pretty terrain along the way, including Mt. Greylock (the tallest mountain in The Berkshire range). Upon entering Stockbridge, you cannot help but feel like you're in New England. The wide streets, with huge homes on both sides of the road are from a forgotten era (it reminded me a little bit of Woodstock, VT).
Everywhere you look, the properties are manicured very beautifully. A nice town, if you can afford a $4 million home. :)
The Inn itself, has a large porch on the front is has a very striking presence. This place opened before America was a country, which in American terms means, "IT'S REALLY OLD!" Although it's old, none of the property looks like it needs help.
Walking up the stairs and through the main door, you can see how special this place is. It has antiques everywhere and the staff are all very friendly. The waiters even take drink orders for the people lounging on the porch (in the various chairs/tables that they have set up).
There were three different options available for dining. Being that it was nice out, there is a wonderful little courtyard around the left side of the property to eat, as well as a proper dining room, and a pub (which is super authentic in it's own right!). We opted for the dining room because frankly, I will have my fill this week with authentic English Pub-grub (in London).
The menu is a mix of American and English staples, such as prime rib, turkey, duck, cod, etc. But, saying that, each dish has a bit of a modern spin on it. Each of us started off with a glass of pinot noir. The only problem with ordering the wine is that no "by the glass" list was given to us... so I am unable to tell you the vineyard that it came from-- however, it was nice nonetheless. Rolls and homemade crackers were served. The rolls were delectable, made from potato and rosemary which gave them a soft texture with a nice floral bite on the nose/tongue. The crackers I likened to an everything bagel-- onion, poppy, sesame and salt. Both were delicious served with in-house whipped butter.
We decided to split up our meals by sharing a starter and a dessert, with each of us ordering our own main course. To start, we both agreed that the "Bacon and Eggs" was our choice. It's very uncommon to find pork belly on menus in America. I'm not certain why, but it's a delicious guilty pleasure (in all it's fatty goodness). The egg, was a deviled egg, served with caviar on the top, which added a pleasant change to the old regular egg. This was served on a bed of roquette with mango pieces and a vinaigrette dressing. The sweet and bite from the vinegar balanced perfectly. Although, the deviled egg wasn't as good as the ones from Dinosaur Barbecue. Oh well, you can't win on every item! It is also important to note that the restaurant likes to source as many ingredients as it can from local farms. In this case, the pork and egg.
My partner ordered the sea scallops (the diver type) which were served on a puree of carrot and coriander and topped with a red onion confit. The dish was beautifully presented and the carrot and coriander added a nice depth to the dish, as did the red onion. She enjoyed it thoroughly, but it's not my cup of tea-- I liked it, but I spotted something else on the menu that made my mouth water.
My dish, An English cut prime rib of beef was served thinner than the usual American counterpart. There were three slices as opposed to the one we are all used to. I asked for the meat "rare as you can go, but not blue." They nailed it. It was so tender, I could have cut it with my spoon. In addition to th meat, there was a baked potato, courgette mixed with summer squash in a tomato sauce (almost like a marinara-- but very light), and a pop over? Okay, I didn't know what that was, but when it came-- it's a Yorkshire pudding! I was delighted to see this on my plate and it actually made me smile. The entire meal, besides the potato was good. Not the at the potato was bad, but I think with the Yorkie and veggies, it was already plenty! I had to ask for horseradish on the side, which goes brilliantly with prime rib (I would hope you know that already if you're reading this blog). It is also important to note that I switched to a heavier wine with the mean-- a Malbec, which was typical-- high alcohol and in-you-face flavour.
For dessert, we shared a chocolate pudding made from imported French chocolate, served with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. This was a nice decadent treat, but not a belly-buster. It was nice and light on the tummy after a big meal! There were a lot of other desserts there that wouldn't have been as kind to the waistline! The special was three types of homemade ice-cream served on a banana crust (their take on a banana split). Sounded good, perhaps next time?
See as my wonderful date offered to pay, I cannot tell you how much the bill actually came to. However, I can give you some guidelines of what to expect.
Starters: $10-15, up to $20 in some cases.
Mains: $30 range, maybe a bit higher for some.
Desserts: $7-10.
Wine: $6-10, but all the way up to multiple-hundreds if you do bottles.
Would I return, hell yes. Although, maybe next time it will be when I'm longing for England. In that case, I will be belly-up to the bar in the pub. One final note, in England, "The Red Lion" is the most commonly used name for pubs in the whole country. This Red Lion is anything but common.
Williamstown Theatre Festival
The Red Lion Inn
Again, if you see any grammatical errors, please alert me to them. I am in a hurry and didn't have time to proofread this article. Thanks!
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