There are several dining events slated for March.
GILL TAVERN - The Gill Tavern located at 326 Main Road in Gill, MA.. - Photo by Jeff BrownStorrowton Tavern in West Springfield will be hosting its first Sunday Lunch Show on March 11.
The event is built around the Jimmy Mazz Love Italian Style Show, which features vocalist James Mazzaferro. Mazzaferro, who specializes in musical selections popularized by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Booby Darrin, Perry Como, and the other great crooners of the 20th century, is making a return visit to the Storrowton following two sold-out Holiday Lunch shows late last year.
Lunch seating is at 11:30 a.m., with attendees enjoying a choice of chicken parmesan or scrod francese as well as salad, dessert, and coffee. Tickets are $19.95, including tax and gratuity. To reserve seats, call (413) 374-5890.
On March 1 the Gill Tavern in Gill will be putting on another community Trivia Night. A chance to grab a drink and enjoy a bite to eat while tackling brain-teasing trivia questions, the evening benefits the Dakin Animal Shelter in Leverett.
The charge to participate is $5, with the winners sharing a $40 Gill Tavern gift certificate. Free popcorn will be available, as will $3.50 drafts and $8 house-made cheese pizzas.
For more information, contact the Gill Tavern at (413) 863-9006. The Tavern has also announced that it will be closed for a "spring break" from March 7 through March 11 to allow the staff to rest and rejuvenate in preparation for spring.
With the arrival of March, the Pioneer Valley will begin to gear up for the celebration of St. Patrick's Day, and one of the many rollicking good times associated with that holiday is the St. Patrick's Hooley Day at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meetinghouse in Holyoke.
Planned for Sunday, March 11, the "Hooley Day" is an Irish-themed family gathering with something on tap for all ages.
Executive Chef Mick Corduff will be preparing authentic Irish dishes, and an Irish market at the event will offer food to go including brown bread, scones, cheeses, and more.
The entertainment includes music by the The Healys and Ireland Parish; there will also be demonstrations of Irish step dancing by the Westfield-based McDermott Academy of Irish Dance.
Games, face painting, and cookie decorating are to be part of the fun as well.
The Hooley Day celebration runs from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. The price is $20 for adults and $10 for children aged 4 to 12. Tickets may be obtained by calling (413) 535-5077 or purchased on line at logcabin-delaney.com
Two Massachusetts residents have struck a blow for fairness on behalf of restaurant patrons everywhere.
According to the Boston Herald, Newton attorney Ross Mitchell, representing a friend, Alan Decrew, has gotten a major restaurant chain to agree to post prices for everything it serves, including drinks and dinner specials, on its menus.
Most restaurant patrons have had the unpleasant experience of ordering a dinner special only to find, when the check arrives, that the tab ends up being considerably more than they wanted to spend.
Decrew had a similar experience when ordering a cocktail at the restaurant in question. Mitchell threatened to sue on his behalf, suggesting the practice was a violation of the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act.
Restaurant owners need take note. Consumers are growing increasingly hostile toward practices they perceive as unfair or deceptive, and failing to make menu price information easily and transparently available is, in the minds of many who dine out, just such a practice.
Drink menus should list prices as a matter of course, and recitations of dinner specials should include exactly how much an item is going to add to the bill. Providing such information is, into today's economic environment, a matter of consumer-friendly good business.
Chandler's Restaurant at the Yankee Candle Flagship in South Deerfield will be hosting their monthly Wine, Food & Jazz Spectacular on March2.
An opportunity to experience fine wines and the foods that complement them, the Match event will feature uncommon red and white varietals from across the globe. Espresso Jazz will be on hand to provide live music.
The evening starts at 6 p.m.; the cost is $40 per person plus tax and gratuity.
On March 9 Chandler's, in conjunction with Berkshire Brewing Company of South Deerfield, will be presenting a Beer Dinner featuring Berkshire's locally-crafted beers and ales. The evening starts at 6 p.m. with a brewery tour at the company's Elm Street location; a four-course dinner at Chandler's follows. Tickets are $45 per person.
Reservations for both events can be arranged by calling (413) 665-1277.
On Thursday, February 23, the Blue Heron Restaurant in Sunderland, in conjunction with the Martignetti Companies and the South Deerfield Spirit Shoppe, will be presenting a Camus Vineyard WIne Dinner.
Scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. and costing $75 per person, the five-course feast includes Maine lobster salad and a Main Shrimp risotto as starters, pan-roasted duck leg and braised lamb shank as main courses, and chocolate truffle cake for dessert.
Five special California wines will be poured. For reservations or details call (413) 665-2102"
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