Food + Booze
by Hunter Styles | Oct 8, 2019 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, The Beerhunter
When the staff at Hitchcock Brewing Company unlocked the front door of their new taproom on South Street in Bernardston on Sunday morning at 11 a.m., customers were already waiting outside. The first pair to arrive at the bar ordered a crisp Columbus-hopped pale ale...
by Hunter Styles | May 7, 2019 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, The Beerhunter
Since I started this column in 2014, it hasn’t gotten any easier to keep up with the craft beer news pouring out of the Valley (not that I’m complaining). I try to go straight to the source by touring breweries, chilling in taprooms, and talking with local brewers....
by Monte Belmonte | Mar 19, 2019 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines
“I think we’ve kind of created, like, a black barbershop type of community.” A black barbershop may not be one’s first impression when walking into the new wine shop, Shelburne Falls Cork, but that’s how renowned local chef and newly pinned sommelier, Michaelangelo...
by Monte Belmonte | Feb 28, 2019 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines
MNARK: I’m so proud of him. I actually have his bumper sticker on my car in San Francisco, which was interesting because we just had an election for mayor. DNARK: Did I get any votes? Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz may have made headlines when he was the first...
by Hunter Styles | Feb 19, 2019 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, The Beerhunter
It is right about now, during the shortest month of the year, that I have sat through some of the longest evenings of my life. Cabin fever is no joke, even if your cabin comes equipped with a fire, good books, and a stockpile of craft beer (plus some loved ones, I...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 4, 2018 | Articles, Featured, Food + Booze, Newsletter, Podcast
What is the taste of local music? Tony “Tonez” Hall is finding out through making granola. Hall is co-owner of Holyoke-based Massachusetts Artisan Foods, wanted to make foods out of local products. One such product, Local Maple Granola, is made from maple...
by Monte Belmonte | May 29, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines, Newsletter
How would you like to buy a bottle of Château Lafite Rothschild for $1.75? Maybe a bottle of Château Haut-Brion for $1.95? Interested in two bottles of Château Mouton-Rothschild for a whopping $2.95 each? Or go ahead and splurge on a case of Château Margaux for $25....
by Monte Belmonte | May 15, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines, Newsletter
“Our neighbor in France had a trained donkey and a goat. We noticed the donkey and goat were always together during the evenings. During the day the goat was around but the donkey was gone. He had trained his donkey to do weed control in the vineyard. The donkey was...
by Meg Bantle | Mar 28, 2018 | Articles, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, News, Newsletter
With the last of the snow (hopefully) behind us, many people across the Pioneer Valley are looking forward to celebrating religious holidays in the early Spring. I was not raised Christian Orthodox, but I often celebrated Easter with my family with Orthodox food and...
by Hunter Styles | Mar 7, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
In 2011, Anheuser-Busch InBev bought the Chicago craft brewery Goose Island. Today, the international conglomerate owns stake in a dozen formerly-craft American breweries. (Leah Kelley photo) I used to bartend at one of the oldest dive bars in Western Mass,...
by Monte Belmonte | Mar 7, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines, Newsletter
“Weird. What the heck does it smell like? Roses? It tastes like Oil of Olay.” “It smells like…you know how, in spring, the buds are coming out on the trees? Like those trees that smell like sex?” “Like a ‘period’ tree.” “It smells like sex is about to happen. It...
by Chris Goudreau | Mar 6, 2018 | Articles, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, News, Newsletter
A limited edition craft beer called “the Farm to Trail Ale” was recently released on March 4 and celebrates the legacy of the Amherst-based Kestrel Land Trust, which has conserved more than 25,000 acres of forests and farmlands since the 1970s. The beer is a...
by Hunter Styles | Feb 12, 2018 | Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
Chris Peterson tweaks his craft beer recipes the same way he works on multimillion-dollar military aircraft: very, very carefully. Peterson is a tech sergeant in the 439th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee. As a technician and...
by Monte Belmonte | Jan 16, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines
All natural. The kind of buzz words that make my extremely savvy, health-conscious wife cringe. When you see “natural flavors” on raspberry flavored items, it might as well read “flavors expressed from a beaver anus.” It’s true. Or at least it used to be. Google it....
by Hunter Styles | Dec 11, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
Now that the colder months have blown in, bar managers across the Valley are pulling IPAs, pale ales, and pilsners from their tap handles to make room for some thicker, darker brews like stouts, porters, and barrel-aged specials. Seasonal variety is all well and good,...
by Chris Goudreau | Nov 20, 2017 | Articles, Featured, Food + Booze, Newsletter
A flaky crust, delicious filling, and a bite of nostalgia make pie the dessert of choice for many. Whether it’s pie with a damn fine cup of coffee or a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, you’ll instantly be transported to sweet comfort heaven with just a bite … if it’s...
by Hunter Styles | Nov 8, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, News, The Beerhunter
Family-run business is the city’s first visitable craft brewery As the Valley’s local craft beer bubble continues to grow, Westfield looks primed for business. Downtown on Elm Street, Skyline Trading Company — a craft beer bar and homebrew shop — has proven a welcome...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 23, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, News, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
The harvest is in and I can’t believe the results. My husband and I didn’t weigh our cannabis haul from our home garden, but we were able to fill a bunch of regular-size salsa jars with marijuana. This is more than good enough for me! Like many weed enthusiasts in the...
by Monte Belmonte | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines, News
You are reading a wine column that was written by a non-expert: a rank novice who has never worked in the wine industry, or the restaurant industry; who has never been to France (outside of Charles de Gaulle) or to California (outside of L.A.); and who, frankly, has...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 14, 2017 | Articles, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, News, Newsletter
Whether you’re pulling an all-nighter cramming for a test, pub crawling with friends, working the graveyard shift, or just woke up in the middle of the night with the sudden urge for a slice of pizza, there are restaurants, diners, joints, and donut shops in the...
by Warren Johnston | Aug 9, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, The Pour Man
Riojana; Rosé, 2016; La Rioja, Argentina, $6.99 Not only is Riojana rosé a very good wine that sells for an incredibly low price, but it is also a wine that you can feel good about drinking. Riojana wines are produced by La Riojana, a certified Fairtrade cooperative...
by Kristin Palpini | Jul 24, 2017 | Articles, Food + Booze, News
Nathan pulls his mother by the hand through the Springfield downtown farmers market stopping at none of the booths she wants to visit: the cookie stand, the hand-made jewlery display, the gourmet chips, and honey. The 2-year-old loves the farmers market, his mother...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 24, 2017 | Articles, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, News, Wellness
Why should the farmers have all the fun harvesting the fresh fruits and vegetables from their own farms? U-pick farms abound in the Pioneer Valley. Strawberry season has mostly gone by, but blueberries are ripe for the pickin’, and it won’t be long before apple season...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 26, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Film, Food + Booze, Get Out With Staff Picks, Leisure, Music, News, Newsletter, Stage
Hanging around the house is something we all do, but usually in an unfocused, squished-between-chores-and-obligations sort of way. But when you stay home for vacation, your dwelling can become a sanctuary, free from the day-to-day grind. If you can’t afford to get out...
by Hunter Styles | Jun 5, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
Any out-of-towner who would guess Western Mass has a quiet craft beer scene is bound for a rude, brewed awakening. But even locals may be surprised at the scope of the second annual Western Mass Beer Week, which runs June 10-17. Last year’s series of events at...
by Warren Johnston | Apr 30, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, The Pour Man
Bread & Butter Chardonnay, 2015; Napa, California; $14.99 Bread & Butter Chardonnay is among the top-selling super premium wines in the country — and there’s a good reason for that. It’s a dry, white wine that is flavorful, well-crafted and sells for a...
by Kristin Palpini | Apr 18, 2017 | Articles, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Taste-Off!
Cheesecake is one of the most decadent and delightful treats of all the sweets. A cheesecake should be fluffy and creamy, sugary and buttery, fresh and delicate. Because when it’s not, it’s a damn waste of calories slathered onto your hips. Being one of the best...
by Hunter Styles | Apr 10, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, The Beerhunter
Two worthwhile breweries off exit 9 The naturalist John Muir once observed that “when one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” I’m no bearded environmental philosopher, but I do like to kick back with a pint sometimes and...
by Warren Johnston | Mar 13, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Newsletter, The Pour Man
Lunetta Prosecco is one of the hottest sparkling wine brands on the American market, and there’s a good reasonta why — it’s well-made, inexpensive and widely available, an excellent wine to celebrate. It also is lower than many wines in alcohol, about 11.5 percent, so...
by Hunter Styles | Mar 13, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Food + Booze, Music, Newsletter, Stage
With the SYRUP Festival, Piti Theatre Company in Shelburne Falls has hit on a tradition that most of us would never have realized we were missing: all-ages live performance, featuring world-class artists, mixed with handcrafted food and sweets from local artisans. Now...
by Hunter Styles | Feb 6, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
Local brewers share their predictions and plans Last year, the Beerhunter offered some “brew year’s resolutions” to serve as a checklist for craft beer enthusiasts on a year-long quest to try new things. This year, it seemed prudent to put the question to the brewers...
by Warren Johnston | Jan 30, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, News, Newsletter, The Pour Man
Broadside Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon; $12.99 Although it might be hard to tell from our contradictory weather these days, we’re in the dead of winter, a season that cries out for deep, rich red wines full of dark berry and plum flavors. Cabernet Sauvignon is one...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 23, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
Recreational marijuana was legalized in Massachusetts on Dec. 15, 2016, but the state is in a legal gray area right now as a system to sell weed is established. The consumption of recreational marijuana is now legal, but the sale of recreational marijuana isn’t yet....
by Hunter Styles | Jan 9, 2017 | Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
The best seasonal beers for winter months When predictions of blizzards rolled into town, our parents and grandparents ran to the package store and grabbed a 30-pack of cheap lager cans (we used to call them “dad soda”) along with bread, milk, and eggs. These days,...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 3, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, News, The Pour Man
At first blush, one wouldn’t think that the producer of one of world’s most popular “brown-bag wines” would be making a well-crafted, reasonably priced Pinot Noir, much less any other drinkable wine. But that’s the case with Chloe, which means “green shoot” in ancient...
by Peter Vancini | Dec 21, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze
This month, the Advocate visited the Five Eyed Fox in Turners Falls, where co-owner Aric Binaco showed us how to make a Bison Sour, a velvety, pleasantly sweet cocktail with a hint of spice. Here’s the recipe: The Bison Sour 2 ounces bison grass-infused vodka...
by Kristin Palpini | Dec 19, 2016 | Articles, Featured, Food + Booze, News, Newsletter, Taste-Off!
The winter holiday season is the best time for fudge. It’s a season of indulgence and sharing and sweets and fun — that’s what fudge is all about. Stock up on some now and hand out pounds of rich, creamy, gooey goodness as presents or keep it home and eat it sliver by...
by Alicia Fuhrman | Dec 12, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, News, Newsletter
Make me something good. I used to get this request (and versions of it) often, and almost always from strangers. It was a high-turnover tourist town I worked in — most faces you’d only see for one night. But isn’t that so much of the bar experience: not knowing? The...
by Hunter Styles | Dec 5, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
Filling a glass where Connecticut meets Mass Most night owls are easy when it comes to shifts in ambience, but I can’t say that many of us thrive under fluorescent light. That might have been why, on Wednesday afternoon, my editor found me sighing heavily at my desk....
by Advocate Staff | Nov 28, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Film, Food + Booze, Leisure, Music, Newsletter, Stage
A Spirited DebateOne of two things will happen to you when confronted with the bold and brassy acts of clairvoyance that Rebecca Anne LoCicero whips up onstage. One will be a sense of reluctant amazement. The other will be a deep, head-shaking skepticism. LoCicero has...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 28, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, News, Newsletter, Wellness
Chocolate is a treat, but when you add kava, chocolate is medicine. At least that’s what Rachael Gibney, a reiki healer from Shutesbury says. She is mixing a bowl of raw cacao with ground kava at a workshop at the Bower Studio in Pelham, showing people how to make...
by Warren Johnston | Nov 28, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Leisure, The Pour Man
My first recollection of Chianti, as it is for many people, was the iconic straw-wrapped bottle, not the wine. Occasionally, an unopened bottle would show up at our house, usually a gift from a friend coming to dinner, and by the end of the adult evening, it would be...
by Warren Johnston | Nov 21, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Leisure, Newsletter, The Pour Man
Finding a wine that goes with every course of the Thanksgiving dinner can be a bit dodgy because the meal is a hodgepodge of dishes with distinctive flavors. Viognier, Cava, Pinot Noir and Cotes du Rhone have been my favorites in the past, but this year I’m trying a...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 21, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, News, Newsletter
The Valley Advocate is starting up a new feature: chats! Our inaugural chat will be about mixing family and politics during Thanksgiving. If you want to hear about some of our coping strategies, read on! The conversation has been lightly edited. dave.eisen (Dave...
by Hunter Styles | Nov 14, 2016 | Articles, Featured, Food + Booze, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
When I think back to last fall, and the dozen taste tests I did of pumpkin-flavored beers, my tongue conjures flashbacks of bad and bewildering brews. What can I say? I’m a glutton for punishment. Or maybe I’m an optimist, holding onto a hope that there are pumpkin...
by Hunter Styles | Nov 14, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
At Home with the Brew Local beer ingredients abound, but commercial brewers aren’t the only ones who can get their hands on them. Fun and creative brewing starts at home, too — and many in the Valley have taken up the calling. Mike Schilling has been homebrewing for...
by Hunter Styles | Nov 14, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
From the Valley, Born and Brewed The crafty little explosion of local breweries up and down the Valley over the last 20 years has become a point of pride for neighbors and travelers alike. But as local craft beer markets across the country have matured from clusters...
by Peter Vancini | Nov 14, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, Leisure, News, Newsletter
It isn’t hard to pick Dean Rohan out of a crowd. He’s the tall guy with glasses in the muck boots and ratty work pants. And he’s wearing a red T-shirt with his own face on it that reads “I’m with Dean.” Today, he’s overseeing the arrival of a tanker truck filled with...
by Lisa Rathke, Associated Press | Nov 14, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, News, Newsletter
Grape harvests are underway at vineyards in the Northeast where unusually dry warm weather this summer was ideal for growing grapes. But in parts of New York and southern New England, where drought struck, some growers are seeing decreasing yields. New York, the...
by Warren Johnston | Nov 14, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Newsletter, The Pour Man
A couple of decades ago, back before the brand hit the skids, Edna Valley Vineyard Chardonnay was a treat, a wine I couldn’t afford, but would occasionally enjoy at a South Carolina restaurant owned by friends Louis and Marlene Osteen.The Osteens knew their wines, so...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 14, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, News, Newsletter
Talk to Pour Man Warren Johnston if you want excellent suggestions for which wine to serve at your next dinner party. Hit up Beerhunter Hunter Styles to find the best brews to drink with your buds. But if you want to know the best way to pair wine and beer with the...
by Hunter Styles | Nov 7, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Leisure, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
In the two years since I took on the role of Valley beer reporter, I’ve tried to keep things local whenever possible. Aside from an international sojourn or two — like when I tried a mug of saliva-fermented ‘chicha’ corn beer in Peru last year — I’ve generally been...
by Peter Vancini | Nov 3, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, Leisure
“Riding the Pine” Brought to you by Lincoln Allen, bar manager at The Alvah Stone in Montague. Ingredients: 1 ½ Ounces St. George Terroir Gin 1 ounce Zirbenz Pine Liqueur ½ ounce yellow chartreuse ¾ ounce lemon juice Lemon peel garnish To Make: • Mix in...
by Warren Johnston | Oct 31, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Newsletter, The Pour Man
Mionetto Gran Rosé is a very good sparkling wine with lots of rich fruit flavors that reflect the expertise of a master winemaker and the continued quality of one of Italy’s top wine producers. In fact, this widely available wine is an excellent bridge from the...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 17, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, Leisure, News, Newsletter
Game by Kristin Palpini, Kyle Olsen, Jennifer Levesque, and Hunter Styles In celebration of the Annual Manual — a condensed version of the Advocate’s yearly Best of the Valley Readers’ Poll — we’ve created a board game featuring some of the Best Of...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 10, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, Newsletter
Good Apples A scientist and a farmer walk into a bar. The scientist orders a pint of craft beer, locally made and small-batch brewed. The farmer, on the other hand, can’t drink beer — he has just been diagnosed with Celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder caused by a...
by Warren Johnston | Oct 3, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Food + Booze, Newsletter, The Pour Man
Sometimes finding the right name for a child, a pet or even a wine can be difficult.Naming can take long, grueling hours of trotting out candidates only to have them dismissed by others for lacking originality or humor, or being downright dumb. The process can take...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 3, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Food + Booze, Leisure, Music, Newsletter
Here’s the Beef It’s hard to believe that Greenfield’s Riverside Blues, Brews, and BBQ Festival is already in its sixth season. We’ve barely finished the heaping pile of brisket on our plate from last year. But it shouldn’t be too hard for us to get back into the...
by Peter Vancini and Kyle Olsen | Sep 19, 2016 | Articles, Featured, Food + Booze, Leisure, Newsletter
September marks the end of the summer and evenings are starting to bring with them a subtle autumn chill. Chase it away with this month’s cocktail, a cranberry-cinnamon whiskey sour that’s sure to warm you up, brought to you by Josh Draghe, head bartender at Osteria...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 12, 2016 | Articles, Featured, Food + Booze, Newsletter
Hot Diggity Could it be that the lingering heat wave of the past week was due to the potency of the peppers newly ripening at Kitchen Garden Farm in Sunderland? Probably not, but we hear these little devils are hotter than ever — and just in time for ChiliFest....
