Shiro Sushi And Hibachi: With A Side of Pedestrian

Shiro Sushi and Hibachi
105 Stockbridge Rd
Great Barrington, MA 01230
(413) 528-1898

Great Barrington has a lot of sushi restaurants. This has always mystified me because as far as I can tell, we are very far away from the ocean indeed. The only conclusion I can make: the Yuppie Factor. Great Barrington has many yuppies, and they all, apparently, enjoy eating raw fish and feeling vaguely adventurous.

So what of Shiro, the Other Japanese Restaurant, playing second fiddle to Bizen?

Shiro is located near The Cove bowling alley and the impressive asian art store, in a rather Denny's-esque building. The interior, however, is quite attractive, and I enjoyed the relaxing ambience the owners have created. I was quickly seated - not an issue, as the place was rather empty at 5:30 on a Saturday.



Shiro offers hibachi along Benihana lines, which means you get to sit at a grill and watch a chef flip shrimp around while handling a distressingly huge knife. Since I was dining alone, I didn't get this.

The menu features your standard Americanize Japanese entrees - teriyaki, udon, tempura, katsu, you know the drill. There's also a variety of sushi rolls and a few reasonably priced lunch entrees, which is one definite advantage over the inflated prices Bizen posts. I wasn't feeling the sushi that night, but I did, however, have an unstoppable desire for seaweed salad ($4.95) and teriyaki salmon ($16.95.)

The salmon came with a rather weak miso soup and the typical half-ass Japanese restaurant salad, although the carrot dressing was pretty good - too bad the shredded greens were boring. The seaweed salad appeared promptly and was a standard but tasty rendition, with the satisfying aqua crunch I've come to associate with the dish. The Diet Coke I ordered arrived in a charming tiny glass bottle, which I rarely see in the USA.



The salmon arrived on a huge and intimidatingly hot platter, served on a bed of onions and rather depressed looking bean sprouts. I also received about two broccoli, and immediately wished for more, as I am a totally unrepentant Broccoli Whore and would happily eat my weight in it. The fish? Eh...not bad. It was a bit overcooked, but the sauce wasn't insipidly sweet or overdone, and I enjoyed the addition of the crunchy, caramelized onions. (But why are they so stingy on the damn vegetables?) Bizen's teriyaki fish? Much better.



Is Shiro a good alternative to Bizen? Maybe. It's much more of a family atmosphere and the prices are lower - but it lacks the cool feeling and the adventurous menu choices that Bizen executes so well. However, if all you want is some simple Japanese food in the area without breaking the bank, Shiro is a decent choice. But is it worth going to for an event, special occasion, or simply for the sake of culinary exploration? No.

a nice day in town?

A Nice Day In Town?



I know: this doesn't have much to do with food, other then the inherent deliciousness of Siam Square's pad thai-in-a-take-out-box. But I thought it might be nice to provide some context, to let me know where I'm coming from in my intermittent posts about New England as filtered through Western eyes. I might be residing in New England for a bit, but I love California - even Sacramento. I am going back to Northern California permanently after December 13 when the semester ends, and I am already counting down the days.

I like the Berkshires. I really do. It doesn't have ostentatious natural beauty like the mountains I know (or even my beloved Blue Ridge range.) It doesn't have a developed local cuisine, the skiing is kinda lame, and you can't swing a cat without hitting a deeply self-satisfied hippie. But still: the fall is glorious, the springs are verdant explosions of life, and the sunsets can sometimes be a wonder. And yes, it's true: New England knows how to make a good pizza. Us Californians can't. At least not without putting homeopathically empathetically grown tempeh artichokes on it anyway. So it's not all bad here.

Small secret: I don't like Simon's Rock. Not one bit. In fact, "passionate hatred" has become my main opinion on the place. Still, I can appreciate (to a degree) the charming Norman Rockwellesque character of Great Barrington. I can generally enjoy myself in town, even if I do tend to find myself dying for a banh mi or a decent lunch under 10 bucks or some semblance of culture not run by really old Ivy League graduates. But it can be a pretty place.

Today's venture into civilization began with me hitchhiking down the hill (usual.) I nearly sprinted over to Siam Square, my standby Thai place, weak with hunger. The friendly lady running it immediately recognized me, what with me being in there twice a week, and took my to-go order of Pad Thai.



I don't know if it was my hunger or the beautiful Indian-Summer day or what but it tasted good. I plonked down my little takeout box on the park bench, all alone beside the firestation, and happily chowed down on my tamarindy-noodley lunch. They'd even prepared it in such a way to get just a little oh-so-good char on the noodles, which combined with the meaty chunks of chicken, made me a happy puppy.

I then read another 100 pages of Jack London's, "The Sea Wolf," which is totally un PC by most liberal arts college standards. I don't care if he wasn't being Culturally Sensitive or exposing the Massive Flaws Inherent In Our Philosophical System (though he kinda was trying to, what with Wolf Larsen commenting a lot on our essential...yeastiness.) I love good adventure yarns.



And then I went on one of my usual strolls through town, taking incredibly awful photos as I went (I'm good at that.) I walked down past the Co-Op and to the middle school, where a baseball game played entirely by laughing, light-hearted middle aged men was going on. I watched them flop around for a while, then parked myself by the bridge and watched the river go out. The quality of light was gorgeous, and as I heard the clink of the bat and watched the jet-trails spin overhead, I momentarily thought, New England ain't so bad.



But then I remembered winter and the lack of banh mi and I wanted to go back to California again.

Berkshire Co-Op: Mmm, Tastes Like Hippie

Berkshire Co-Op Market
42 Bridge St
Great Barrington, MA 01230
(413) 528-3171



Great Barrington has this small hippie problem. I hail from Northern California and am a ex-Waldorf kid. I know my hippies intimately, and I was somewhat amused/appalled to go to Great Barrington and encounter the exact same people I saw every day back home. They all congregate to the Co-Op where, wearing comfortable shoes and off-brown colored clothes, they discuss their Ashram yoga classes and the suckiness of Bush. Somewhere up in heaven Rudolf Steiner is smiling.

The Co-Op offers a variety of coffee, sandwiches, and a hot and salad bar. I've tried a Chuck Berry smoothie ($4.99), which featured strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and apple juice. It was nowhere near big enough or delicious enough to be five dollars. I expect grated gold in five dollar smoothies. I expect fruit sourced from the mighty highlands of Djibouti. It should not cost 5 bucks to throw some fruit in a blender with some ice and swirl it. I don't care how morally superior you are.

The sandwiches are pretty good, though, again, exponentially overpriced. We tried an Athena's Theory, which featured a garlic herb tortilla, balsamic vinaigrette, feta, fresh guacamole, apricots, walnuts, and lettuce. This was very tasty and very fresh, and I enjoyed the addition of the balsamic vinaigrette coupled with the tangy guacamole. I think I will make this at home and not pay them.

We also sampled an okay creamy peanut butter noodle dish and a not-half bad salad featuring sun-dried tomatoes and corn. You can construct a pretty good, if expensive meal here around a sandwich and a few pre-packaged side dishes, if you share with a friend.

They do have good, if ridiculously expensive fruit here. I like to buy organic green grapes here. They are totally delicious and a wonderful breakfast treat. Only problem: I shelled out 8.95 for my last bunch. Holy moly.

Service here is bizarre. They have lately employed a couple of truly brain dead, if sweet, teenage girls who enjoy: letting your grapes escape everywhere over the dirty counter and doing nothing to, you know, pick them up, stacking heavy things on top of soft fruit, and staring blankly when you ask for a, you know, bag. Cute.

Should you shop for food at the co-op? Yes, if you can pay slightly jacked up prices for organic hippie food that will make you feel good about yourself. Those cows are happy. Those chickens are free-range. Those cheese doodles are infused with the goodness of the mighty Earth Mother. They do feature a wide variety of fresh produce, breads, and cheese and deli products - and lots of hippie frozen entrees for when your evening meditation class runs over and the kids are officially sick of eating Annie's Macaroni and Cheese.

I am personally more then a little suspicious of whether I am actually doing a good deed by buying all this organic food, but I have unfortunately been a northern California resident for so long that I literally seize up a little when eating something with chemicals in it. I try to eat a can of Pringles, take the top off, and my hand just stops a foot away from the chips. It's horrible. Stay away from Northern California if you want to be able to eat like a normal person.

Siam Square: Solid Thai Food, Awesome Menu Titles, What's Not To Like?

Siam Square: Solid Thai Food, Awesome Menu Titles, What's Not To Like?
290 Main St
Great Barrington, MA 01230
(413) 644-9119



Siam Square is a solid "neighborhood Thai" restaurant - the sort of joint where the music is soft jazz, the decor is gaudy, and the food is homestyle and dependable. It's not going to rock the Asian culinary world, but it's a great choice if you want something a little more flavorful then most of the other American/continental joints operating in Great Barrington. (And one operating more in accordance with the health code.)

The food is dependable, if a bit under-spiced for my taste. Prices for dinner are over-inflated, although this IS the Berkshires, but lunch won't break the bank with most entrees under 10 bucks.



I was pleased to find out that they do have a Papaya Salad on the specials menu, which is absolutely huge and not a bad variant on the theme, although I don't think it'd kill them to give you more then two soggy shrimp - and to make it spicier.

Avoid the fried Siam Rolls ($5.95) - they're your standard grease trap appeal at the New England palate. The Thai soups (several varieties offered) are generally pretty good and definitely tangy - a nice way to stave off any lingering influence from a stuffy nose. I also adore the menu item titles here. There's a soup called the SEAFOOD VOLCANO. That is awesome. (It tastes pretty good as well.)

The Pad Thai($11.95) is a very large and very filling - although you do only get two shrimp with your order. (Shellfish withholders!) The veggie pad thai ($11.95) isn't half bad either, adding broccoli and fried tofu to the mix, if you have some sort of perverse objection to chicken and shrimp.



I've also enjoyed the black peppery Drunken Noodles ($10.95) which comes with finely minced chicken, flat rice noodles, carrots, and lots and lots of bell pepper. The Rama Noodles ($14.95) are best described as a Thai riff on seafood fettucine, featuring a variety of seafood mixed in rice noodles with vegetables and a creamy red curry sauce. It's definitely decadant, but worth a try if you're interested in something new, or at least something that will ensure future and tasty heart failure.

The curries are decent but have too much coconut milk for my taste - they are very, very rich. Shrimp red curry($14.95) came with a decent quantity of shrimp with the usual bamboo shoots, eggplant, and red and green peppers. With a side of rice, it's definitely a filling meal. The restaurant also features green curry, yellow curry, and Massaman, all for the same prices. Prices vary based on the meat you pick: chicken $11.95, beef $11.95, pork $11.95, shrimp $14.95, duck $15.95 and tofu $10.95. (There, now you won't have to look at the menu.)

Stir-fries here can also be tasty (and they might even spice them for you on a good day!). I had the awesomely titled FISHERMAN MADNESS for lunch today ($19.95 dinner, $8.95 lunch) and it was actually really spicy - I think they're finally beginning to recognize me. It featured squid, fake crab, scallops, shrimp and fish in a spicy pepper and garlic sauce, stir-fried with sauteed onions and red and green peppers. Yummy.



Decor is comfortable but not fancy, with the standard embroidered pictures of elephants and maybe-authentic Thai tapesteries adorning the walls (and the requisite photos of Thai royalty, of course.) Service is generally quite quick, with an impressively short turn around time from ordering to actually recieving your food, as you hear the wok sizzling ferociously away in the kitchen from your comfy chair. They're equally speedy if you're ordering take out, and put your food in cute little foil take out containers.

And I want to give extra props to my server this afternoon - after I ordered my stir fry very spicy, she brought me out some sambaal and an AWESOME dry Thai spice mixture that the restaurant apparantly makes itself. If you're really into spice, ask the server to bring this stuff out - it's impeccable sprinkled on just about anything. I'm trying to convince them to sell me some so I can carry it around and look sketchy.

Bizen: Good Sushi in the Berkshires? What?!?

Bizen Sushi Bar & Japanese Restaurant
17 Railroad St
Great Barrington, MA 01230-1577
Phone: (413) 528-4343





Decent sushi in the extremely landlocked Berkshires is suprising, but there you have it - (I can hear the Locavores screaming from here.)

Bizen delivers a nice product in a lovely space, complete with a vast menu and some truly interesting riffs on your standard sushi rolls. It's definitely not *that* traditional, but I've had some really exciting meals here. There's a certain crunchy eird" stuff, ranging from Japanese bar foods to funky rolls to a good selection of raw oysters. Nothing here is cheap, however, so be prepared for the accompanying wallet hit. What are you expecting anyway? The Berkshires are a giant money pit.


I like the Afghanistan Roll, featuring a somewhat pedestrian crab and avocado roll covered in a crazy-good spicy sauce with chunks of real meaty lobster. This is thrown in the oven and baked for a bit and it comes out as some sort of perverse spicy sushi casserole - did I detect hints of curry? You must try this.



Next was a tasty fried scallop roll, featuring scallions and a bit of avocado. The rolls were a bit large, but impeccably made and very tender - this rice hasn't been sitting around. I also tucked into the Kiss My Bass (cute), rolling chunky and tender fried sea bass in with your standard issue avocado and cucumber. Fresh and tasty.

Finally, we ordered the Pearl Harbor, which was simply bizarre. A roll composed of soba noodles, smoked tofu, and veggies is deep fried into UFO like lumps and tossed in a pan of tempura sauce. It was tremendous, kind of scary looking, and probably bad for you, but I ate it anyway. I'm still collecting my thoughts. Order it if you want to be both kind of disturbed and highly satiated.



I also tried some of the sashimi deluxe dinner ($21.75), which included tuna, yellowtail, salmon, sunshine bass, and octopus. The fish was expertly sliced and very fresh, served on the standard bed of daikon. It's a good simple choice if you're not into all that rice.

On other occasions, I've tried their excellent fried lotus root - the starchy and slightly sweet nature of the lotus set off well by the light tempura batter. They also do a serviceable spicy tuna roll. The tuna on a bed of pureed sweet yam is bizarre and glutinous, which is not exactly a testimony...but I presume it's really, really traditional.

The teriyaki broiled Chilean sea-bass is absolutely delicious and comes in a caveman sized portion, which is fine, since you will by no means wants to share. I loved the thick, charbroiled meat and even the tasty and chunky side of vegetables that came with it.




A big old hijiki salad ($6.95) wasn't really what I was expecting, coming on a bed of spring mix, but the seaweed was pretty tasty and had an interesting nutty flavor. The portion size was also huge: I guess they're trying to justify the premium prices they charge. The dressing is made with some sort of avocado variant and has an interesing pesto-ish flavor, but they went too heavy on the olive oil.



Service is the weak link here. The servers are young, inexperienced, and a bit foggy regarding the ins-and-outs of the menu. It's definitely not the service I'm expecting when I'm paying highway robbery prices. The time you'll wait can be maddeningly variable as well: they can be quick and efficient, but they go through weird droughts where the guy manning the sushi bar works at glacial speed...extra irritating to this Californian used to blindingly fast (and good) knife work.

I do want to give them accolades for allowing us to stay quite a bit past closing time the other evening - we were waiting for someone to show up who got held up at the airport. They were very understanding, and allowed us to get in an order before the kitchen closed for the evening for the missing person. Props.