VivreManger

Just got back from dining at Holy Smokes BBQ, 9 Church Ave, West Hatfield, MA 01088, 413-247-5737. It is less than a mile from exit 21 on I-91, on the right heading north on routes 5 & 10. So it is very convenient to downtown Northampton. I agree that this is the best BBQ in this corner of western Mass. far better than Uncle Cecil's, a California travesty in Northampton, and Smoking Lill's, a major disappointment in Easthampton, and Bubb's, much over-rated in Sunderland. Holy Smokes opened just two weeks ago and they are a bit overwhelmed. They had expected to start slowly before attracting a wider clientele. But word of mouth and the internet moved faster than they expected. They are still experiencing growing pains. At the moment they do not yet have a liquor license but have applied. Accordingly they actively discourage bringing beer and wine into the restaurant. I tried two items, the pork ribs and the beef ribs. Both are very respectable, not perhaps the best I have ever had, but among the best, certainly serious Q. Both of course have the pink ring that is the mark of slowly cooked meat. They use wood, but I did not check what kind. It is piled outside the building waiting to feed the oven. The converted Lutheran church has been outfitted with elaborate smoke ducts and chimneys to route the smoke away from the building so the aroma is not as strong as I would like. The pork ribs are deeply smoked with a richly aromatic character to the pink meat. The ribs are very lean and they have been slow cooked until they are ready to be served. They do not follow the grill-finishing practice that some like Blue Ribbon and East Coast Grill in the Boston area do. As far as I am concerned BR does this better than ECG. Both slow-cook the meat in a proper smoker and then finish them off on the grill. The BR technique yields a crackling crispy skin just above the layer of fat. I miss that in the Holy Smokes ribs. But that is clearly a matter of individual preference and I can imagine many might prefer this tender, somewhat moister, leaner cut without the crispy fat. It is very well-prepared. I brought the beef ribs home to share. They are short ribs, not the long Texas style. They are cooked to the point of carmelization, a rich and flavorful smokey taste. Surprisingly the beef is fattier than the pork. The portion is also smaller, but the meat is so rich and full of flavor that two thick meaty ribs are really enough. I do wonder about the price. A half-rack of about four to five pork ribs w/o sides costs $10, while two thick beef short ribs with two sides cost $15. The pork seems more of a bargain. I ordered my sauce on the side so I could taste both meats naked. The two sauces seem molasses-based, thick, with a bit of smoky chipotle in one. Neither is particularly spicy. Both have a subtle slow mild heat. Not a bad condiment for the meat, but I think the beef hardly needs any more flavor. Corned bread and french fries were my sides. By the time the fries reached me, they were tasty but cold, a sign that they have yet to work out all the details of service. The corned bread was buttery rich, a good accompaniment, though I wish it had been warmed up a bit. On the whole despite the cold fries, service was earnest, pleasant, actually quite impressive for a place that had just opened. There are enough servers to move things quickly, even on a busy Saturday night. The place was doing very good business. When I was seated just before 7:00 it was full. By 7:45, a few tables had emptied out. The other mains offered as specials this Saturday night were roasted cauliflower as the veggie platter and smoked roasted scallops on roasted asparagus. Regularly they also serve pulled pork and chicken. Wednesday night they bbq whole hog.

Reliable does not mean the best. I ate there once and was disappointed. other friends have shared my judgement. I had their signature chicken dish and, while it was perfectly acceptable bird, I would not pay what I paid for it ever again. My high-end dining experience has tended to be out of Boston in NYC: Bouley's, London: Gordon Ramsey (Royal Hospital Road, Pied a Terre and Montreal: Les Chevres and -- quite a bit cheaper -- Brunoise. All of these places are superiof to Hammersley's by a long shot.

Chowhound Boston forum is pretty good for highlighting cheap eats. There are some South American sandwich places that have gotten good reports, notably one at Downtown Crossing a few minutes from Park Square in the middle of downtown shopping.

I think Hammersley's is over-rated. I certainly don't think it's the best.

This duplicates another thread, but here goes: Best hamburgers: Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage, Harvard Sq, Cambridge Excellent lime rickey. Accessible via Subway, Red Line, a few minutes walk from Harvard Square Stop, about 10 to 15 minutes from your hotel. A lot of good cheap food in Boston is Asian, which for you may be going to Newcastle for coal, but Q is pretty good. The best place is not accessible via public transport, Blue Ribbon in West Newton. But if you have a car it is about 15 to 20 minutes away as long as you don't go at rush hour. Red Bones is accessible on the same Red Line subway to Davis Sq. While not as good, they do have lots of draft beer and a good BBQ atmosphere. Uncl Pete's is supposed to be up there, but I don't know it.

To introduce the carnivore perspective, complementing GG's piscivore appreciation of the fish at East Coast Grill, which I heartily endorse. A bit further down Cambridge St. is a modest Brazilian fish place, Moqueco I believe, that is a cheap hidden gem worth a visit. Helmand, an Afghan restaurant on First St., not far from MIT, the Museum of Science, and Kendall Sq. cooks the best lamb in New England, if not beyond. They have intriguing appetizers, such as stuffed baby pumpkin and eggplant with meat sauce. I find them much cheaper and better than Oleana's which has gotten much more publicity. In Harvard Square Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage probably has the best quick cheapish eats in Cambridge and cooks the best hamburger in New England.

Sally's is good, but the wait will be long. As the weather gets warmer, the line gets even longer. I managed to score reservations for 10 people there in on a Saturday night November and we still had to wait about 15-20 minutes for a table. An hour to tow hour wait is normal. You might try to show up early.

Agree that Louis' is over-rated. The decor and method of cooking is far better than the result. Another over-rated haunt in a New England college town is Packard's Bar in Northampton. The beer is better than the burgers. Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage in Harvard Square, Cambridge is the best I have sampled.

Are chicken, duck, and turkey "meat" by this definition? Last summer I drove across the Vermont-Quebec border, scarfing down a turkey sandwich just before crossing. Once at the border I asked US customs if the turkey would have been banned. He said that turkey was fine. Beef was another matter. In November I then brought some smoked venison into Boston and asked if I could bring that. No, it was confiscated. No big deal. A few weeks ago I was driving from Quebec into Vermont. No beef or other ruminants, but I had a lot of confit of duck, turkey, and guinea fowl, also a good deal of cheese and yogurt, as well as cider. No questions at all about food. All they wanted to know is if I had liquor or tobacco.

Actually its what Lent was before Easter.

I have never been a fan of Barton's so I would be tempted to put it high up on the worst candy and sweet category, along with canned macaroons. That outrage made it almost impossible for me to imagine that a French macaron could be worth eating. What I do like and regularly buy for afikoman presents and general indulgence are the Swiss chocolates made by www.maestrani.ch and by Chocolats Camille Bloch www.camillebloch.ch A few years ago I found another brand that was even better. I think it came from Zurich, but I have not seen it recently and can't remember the name. In terms of the ingredients, there is no reason why Passover chocolates can't be as good as the best.

Can't resist. He probably will also insist that his name be spelled "Picard". Thanks so much for pointing that out in public, VM. Can't wait till I can return the favour... I am going to have to be extra careful from now on. Obviously the language & orthography police will be after me to make sure that I mind my Picards and Quenelles.

And by the way, two weeks ago when I had the foie gras poutine, the frites were rather limp and greasy, the charcuterie lacked much smoky punch, but the tarte au tomates was excellent and the pudding chomeur was to die for and I probably will.

Can't resist. He probably will also insist that his name be spelled "Picard".

I walked by it last week and its opening date had not yet been announced, if my memory is correct.

Excellent report, a standard that the rest of us should match. Mine will follow, but today my car developed a flat, had a bad spare and bent bolts so my time and money have been wasted in service stations.

While that was not the main thrust of the marathon, at the beginning of this thread and elsewhere I argue that the best smoked meat is better than the best pastrami, Katz's included. I prefer the spicier taste of Schwartz's to the relatively milder taste of Katz's.

Really? Can you cite a source? Granted that my mind's a sieve, but I closely followed the Free Trade Agreement and NAFTA debates and don't recall any brouhaha over raw-milk cheese. Also, although local production of raw-milk cheese predates the late '80s (think Oka), it didn't really take off until the '90s, when the FTA (1988) and NAFTA (1992) were already done deals. There was a kerfuffle in the late '90s when Health Canada threatened to ban the importation of raw-milk cheese. Could that be what you're thinking of? In ruminating about this, I realized I don't know when the pioneering Chaput imported the first raw-milk cheeses from France. I'd guess the late '80s but it'd be good to have a specific date. Anybody? My source is a cousin who lives in Ayer's Cliff and in her hippie farming days, much before NAFTA, used to raise goats. Even after she abandoned livestock for pyschology and translation, she kept an eye out on the issue. The brouhaha may have been confined to the Eastern Township, but she mentioned it last summer when we were sampling different cheeses. I can ask her for more details.

For all of you who can't wait any longer. The suspense must be killing. Just a quick summary of the exit poll, based on my interpretation. Schwartz's, first The Main, last As for the middle, I would rank them, 2 Snowdon, 3 Abie's, 4 Georges. The middle three were all acceptable, but I found 3 and 4 in particular too bland and spice-lite. It seems that north of the Metropolitan, in the burbs, they don't like it hot. The Main resembled industrial grade meat spongy and vapid, rather than smoked and crumbly. KenK may have stoppped at Pete's on his way to Ottawa yesterday and we will see if he can fill out our report.

Again, for what it is worth, my last Berthaut epoisses -- label agnostic on the subject of its milk -- was purchased in the States, where the climate, if not necessarily the literal reading of the relevant laws, is less tolerant of raw cheese than in Canada. The Laiterie de la Côte epoisses was bought in Canada and that explicitly stated that it was not pasturized. When NAFTA was being negotiated much concern was raised in Canada about its possible effect on local raw milk cheese production, particularly in Quebec which has undergone a gastronomic revolution over the past ten to 15 years. The many producers of artisanal raw milk and other cheeses did manage to survive the change in trade laws, exactly how, I do not know. As for ten weeks as opposed to five weeks, the source of that recommendation is uncertain. That particular label bore the name Freeman, presumably the importer. Whether the information simply transmitted the instructions of Laiterie de la Côte or was their own recommendation is unclear. The producer's own instructions do state that one should look at the bottom on the container for the best by date. And the Freeman-"supplied??" info was the only game in town. I do await with patience the results of Lesley Chesterman's call to the Hamel affineur, to return us to the initial subject.

The Laiterie de la Côte is the producer of the epoisses in question. As I noted, "lait cru" appears nowhere on its labeling. Non-pasturized does.

In point of fact, the epoisses I bought was NOT labeled "lait cru", but rather simply not-pasturized. When I bought a Bethaut epoisses, it was agnostic on the subject. No reference appeared, as I recall, to cru or non-pasturized. So both seem to be trying to reflect the nether-world of thermalized as opposed to either pasturized or raw.

Lesley, thanks for looking into this. This Epoisses claims to be made from unpasturized milk. If anybody is around Hamel in Marche Jean Talon they can check to see if any more of this brand is around. There were quite a few on Friday.

On Friday, 19 March, I went to Hamel in the Jean Talon Market and spotted an Epoisses by someone other than the dominant Berthaut brand: Roc de la Cote, Jean Gaugry, 21220 Brochon, imported by J. L. Freeman Inc. I had seen a Berthaut Epoisses in the Mount Royal branch of Hamel and I was pleased to try a different cheesemaker. I brought it back to the apt. where I was staying and immediately put it in the fridge. Yesterday, Sunday, I got back to the States and unpacked my purchases. During the car trip, the cheese had been stored in a freezer chest with an ice pack and as all driving around yesterday can testify, anywhere between Montreal and Boston, the temperature outside was colder than a normal fridge. When I looked closely at the cheese, I noticed that it had been packed by Hamel on 19 March. The Hamel sticky label was stuck over the original importer's label which contained the dates of manufacture and "best by". I carefully removed the Hamel label and discovered that not only had it obscured the original information, but the stickiness had transferred the text onto the back of the new label so that it only could be read mirror image. The original labelling had lost its ink at that crucial point. Decoding the label revealed that the cheese was best before 12 March and made on 22 December 2003. It was too late to try the cheese right then and so I waited till this morning thinking that a week or so should not make a huge difference. I was annoyed that the overly late date of sale meant I would have to eat the cheese more quickly than I had intended. But I expected that it would be edible. I just opened it. The cheese had gotten so slimy that it was stuck to the wooden container and took many solid thumps before it dropped onto the waiting plate, I Unpacked it revealed a slimy brown mess with white mold happily developing. The rind was inedible and the cheese within was ammoniac almost to the point of revulsion. I like my game high and my cheese strong, but this was past the point of consumption. Now I have to figure out how to get back my $16.30 Canadian plus tax from Hamel. Living in the States means it will not be returned to the purveyor. Has anyone else had similar experiences? Does anyone know an individual at Hamel to whom I should address my complaint? I should add that I was much happier with the service and prices across the way at Le Marche des Saveurs du Quebec. But by definition, they would not carry Epoisses.

Cooler is taken care of. I am going to buy some fresh ice packs today in anticipation. As for training, I have actually been systematically reducing my intake and weight over the past few weeks. I don't think so drastically that my intake capacity has diminished. Perhaps we should follow different anticipatory regimes and see what works the best.