Changes and specials at some of your favorite restaurants.
A note from Peg Gorman of the Salem Cross Inn in West Brookfield brought news that the Salem Cross Inn is up for honors as “Best Restaurant in New England“ in a “New England Travel“ Readers’ Choice Awards competition. She says she’s hoping the Salem Cross prevails when the final vote tally is announced on March 27.
Gorman also adds that the Inn is closed down until March 28 for its annual vacation. The hiatus is more an annual scrub down and tidy up than rest break; the Inn’s historic building require a periodic dose of maintenance and restoration to keep them in top notch shape.
The Inn will resume its regular spring business hours (open Tuesday through Sunday) as of March 28.
On April 12, the Stageloft Repertory Theater will be holding a dinner-theater performance at the Salem Cross. “Tessie and Tommy’s Rehearsal Dinner“ is this season’s murder mystery whodunit; the show is preceded by a three-course dinner. Tickets for the evening, which are $53, can be ordered by calling (413) 867-2345.
After a frustrating 18 months of repairs, redesign, and restoration, Champney’s Restaurant at the Deerfield Inn in Deerfield is slated to reopen on April 1.
Innkeepers Jane Howard and Karl Sabo say they’re going to start out quietly, at first offering breakfast only before expanding to lunch and dinner. Formal opening fanfare is to be deferred until June, after the busy Deerfield Academy graduation-reunion season is over. By that time they expect all the kinks will have been worked out of the reopened and expanded restaurant facilities.
The Deerfield Inn was heavily damaged when Tropical Storm Irene flooded the Deerfield River valley in late August 2011. As a result of the devastation the property has had to undergo top-to-bottom reconstruction and mechanical systems upgrading.
According to information the Deerfield Inn’s management team has released during the long hiatus, the new Champney’s will be have more of a gastropub focus than it did prior to the shutdown, although fine dining will remain part of the mission. Whether in the form of pub fare or sit-down elegant, the menu will continue to focus on what’s locally raised and produced.
More details can be found at Champney’s Facebook page, facebook.com/ChampneysRestaurant.
“Good vs. Evil: An Evening with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert“ will be presented at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford on May 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Two of America’s best-known celebrity chefs will appear on-stage for an evening of storytelling and observations about just what happens behind restaurant kitchen doors. Tickets, which start at $42.50, are on sale at the Bushnell’s ticket office, (888) 824-2874, or at the “events calendar“ link at www.bushnell.org
The Fourth Annual Rays Of Hope Evening is scheduled for April 5 at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meetinghouse in Holyoke. Sponsored by the Baystate Health Foundation and benefiting the Rays Of Hope programs at Baystate’s Springfield campus, the evening is designed to provide a night of dining, dancing, and entertainment.
Beginning at 6:30 p.m. the program features comedy improv, dancing with a band and DJ, food stations, and a cash bar. The dining options are comfort-food casual, with choices like gourmet macaroni and cheese, buttermilk fried chicken, Asian pot stickers, chop chop salad, and more.
A specialty cocktail, the Pink Sunset, will debut at the Rays of Hope event. It’s made with blood orange-infused vodka, cranberry juice, champagne, and a drizzle of grenadine. Tickets are $35 per person. Contact Baystate Health Foundation at (413) 794-7737 for more details.
Help in the kitchen is available for Easter Sunday thanks to the folks at Chez Josef in Agawam, who will once again be offering “Easter on the Go.“
A “Ham Feast“ that feeds six and includes four sides and a dessert will be available, as will extra cost enhancers like breakfast quiche, shrimp cocktail, kielbasa and sauerkraut, and stuffed filet of sole.
Orders are required to be in by March 29. They can be picked up warm between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on March 31. Contact Chez Josef at (413) 786-0257 for more details.
Hugh Robert is a faculty member in Holyoke Community College’s hospitality and culinary arts program and has over 35 years of restaurant and educational experience. Please send items of interest to Off the Menu at the Republican, P.O. Box 2350, Springfield, MA 01102; Robert can also be reached at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com