Finding Friendly Food

My son goes to school in Connecticut and has stayed there this summer for a fellowship. He’s hot and melting in the humidity so we plan a trip to take him away for a long weekend in The Berkshires. I’ve grown up hearing about how wonderful it is up there from my step mom who grew up in Massachusetts. This is my second trip to the area. It’s really beautiful and full of plenty to do and see. 

We choose Williamstown as our home base as it’s got the highest peak in Massachusetts and I like to climb as high as I can when I hike. It also has a few options for relatively affordable lodging. We choose the Berkshire Valley Inn and are totally impressed with it. First, we walk into our room and it’s got a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room. I’d forgotten it was going to be more than a little motel room. We arrive quite late at night. In the morning, we walk into the breakfast room and our hostess, Pamela, is ready for us. She bakes and cooks all her breakfast items and displays them in a case. There is always a gluten-free muffin option (banana-blueberry during our stay). She also has frittata. I enquire if they are made with goat cheese or cow cheese. On that morning they were cow, but she said she’d find a way to do them with goat cheese the next day. And she did. Because I’d let her know ahead of time, she also had dairy-free yogurt for me each morning. Her coffee is good and she always has oat milk on hand. 

We have three full days in The Berkshires. On our first day, my son arrives in time for a walk around the town. We head into the used bookstore and find great bargains on books he wants to read. Then we walk into the local Thai and Japanese restaurant, Blue Mango. I order a sashimi lunch combo and it’s great. After lunch we walk through the local Williams College art museum and then head down to Stockbridge to visit the Norman Rockwell Museum. It was a really nice way to spend a vacation afternoon. 

Later that evening, we pick up my boyfriend and visit a local pizza place called Crust. They have gluten-free crust and vegan cheese. It’s really good, second only to the pizza we had in Bend, OR in June. 

The next morning, we start out with another yummy breakfast and then head out to the Jiminy Peak Mountain Adventure Park where we spend a few hours racing down the mountain on an alpine slide and a mountain coaster. We have a surprisingly nice meal at the mountain resort’s pub, Christiansen’s Tavern and I’m able to order a sandwich on a gluten free bun. 

To end the day, we have reservations at a Tapas restaurant, Brava, in Lenox before heading over to the outdoor theater to enjoy Shakespeare & Company’s rendition of Comedy of Errors. It’s such a fun evening. The food is amazing. Brava has lots of gluten free options and plenty that are also dairy free. The play is even better than we hoped and we get the added bonus of a beautiful sunset. This has been such a fabulous day. 

We have one more day in The Berkshires and we head out to hike in the beautiful mountains. We hike up to Mount Greylock. The route we choose should work for all three of us and we are lucky to have such lovely weather. My advice if you take a hike up here is to pack a lunch. The cafe at the top was tough for a girl with food intolerances.

I am really excited for our last dinner on this trip. The Trail House Kitchen and Bar is highly recommended. The outdoor patio is lovely with twinkly lights and it smells good. We order three meals and to be honest, the food is mediocre. Definitely the most disappointing of this trip. Maybe we are just there on an off night. 

It’s time to say goodbye to my son and head home. It’s been a great trip and a nice taste of New England for my boyfriend. We’ll be back. There are many trails and sights (and treats) yet to be discovered.