The People's Pint

The People's Pint

            The People’s Pint is a local bar/restaurant/microbrewery located in the charming town of Greenfield, MA.  They describe themselves as:

“The People's Pint is founded with a commitment to simplicity and a reliance on self and the local community. The Company produces and provides fresh beers, flavorful sodas, and great food in a comfortable atmosphere which encourages respect for people and our environment.”

Which definitely puts them on my radar.  I have been to The People’s Pint before, once when I was too young to drink, so I was very excited to go back and have the full experience.  The interior is dark but cozy rather than seedy.   In Boston this establishment would quickly turn into one of those dreaded hipster hangouts.  A place for young men and women with “ironically” matching oversized and unfashionable outfits (or is it fashionable since everyone is wearing the same thing?) somehow accumulate in one place to discuss their disillusionment with society. 

The Bar

            While there is a prevalence of plaid among the patrons the people darning the garments are more the farmer types, or townies,  or families with young children (yes, they even have their own play corner). 

Kiddie Play Corner

The customers are definitely a conglomerate or people touching on all walks of life.  This charectoristic makes The People's Pint a great family place, a good date destination, and an excellent way to unwind at the end of the day. 

Looking at the board behind the bar

In house beers, sodas, and beer cocktails

I notice that while all of their beer is made in house (they do not insult our taste by offering up pints of Bud Heavy or PBR) they also make all of their own sodas and have a selection of beer cocktails.  I decide to start out with the most popular brew: Farmer Brown, while I wait for a table.  A man with a chest length beard and knit ski cap pulls the tap and places the beer before me - without a word.  I obnoxiously take pictures of him.  He continues to ignore me. 

Bartender with a sunny disposition

The beers here are absolutely fantastic, they are unique and there is something romantic about drinking your beer at the source.  I almost prefer the wait, using the time to sip happily on my beer and watch the people around me interact.  Once seated I look over the menu. It boasts many American/English bar classics: hearty soups, wings, burgers, and sausages but there are also a few wild cards such as green Thai curry and peanut noodles.  The food reflects the kind of hodgepodge of customer base one expects here – the only unifying feature?  Along with good beer we get damn good food. 

I like a burger with my beer but I switched it up... a bit, ordering the squealer.  Get this.  The squealer is a burger made of Shelburne grass-fed beef and, wait for it, house-made bacon ground together served on a bun with all the usual fixings and chipotle mayonnaise.  I decided I should, since I am going local and all, wash down my burger with a pint of 100% local ale.  Nothing bad can happen in this scenario.  Nothing. 

A few years back I actually visited Shelburne farm, a delightful family run farm with all sorts of magnificent cows, chickens, and some of the best jerky I have ever tasted.  The care they put into their animals must translate into something special, and it did.  You have not had a burger until you have ground it up with bacon, do not try to argue this point.  You have not had a burger.  The squealer was rich, packed with flavor – yes the meat penetrated through the chipotle mayo and the onion and tomato and mustard and lettuce and ketchup and cheddar.  It left all of the condiments behind in an operatic production of flavor that left you only a little bit shell-shocked at the conclusion.

The Squealer: Shelburne grass-fed beef and house-made bacon ground together.
Served with cheddar, roasted potatoes and chipotle mayonnaise.

Steak and Stout Pie: A hearty stew of Shelburne grass-fed beef simmered
in the Oatmeal Stout with local root vegetables and a flaky pastry crust.

The 'no bones" Burger: House made veggie patty.

Special: Lam Dahl (locally sourced and pastured lamb)

After that burger I had the bug.  I needed more bacon.  More sweet, smoky, fatty bacon.  Well, the People’s Pint obliged.  I was one and a half bacon-chocolate chip cookies deep when I finally realized I should probably take a picture of these disks of gooey perfection to share with you.  They were positively Shakespearian.    

Bacon-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Expect many attempts to recreate these cookies in the near future. 

            The People’s Pint is one of those wonderful havens from the world, be it the quiet of the country or, as in my case, the noise and overcrowding of the city.  They remain true to their convictions and, because of this, they are able to share a wonderful product with their patrons.  It remains one of my favorite pubs and will continue to do so.  

Deuxave

            As a Wellesley College student I often have to rely on the somewhat unreliable services of the Peter Pan shuttle (also known as the Cuddle Shuttle in polite circles) to venture into Boston on the weekends.  The last stop drops us off on Commonwealth Avenue, just by Newbury Street and within throwing distance of Deuxave, an American Nouveau restaurant in the first year of its infancy.  Co-Owners Brian Piccini and Executive Chef Christopher Coombs have spent a lot of time and energy making sure they could boast a unique and alluring business.  Well, they had me interested. A glance at the menu shows a strong French influence, particularly in technique, and a commitment to local seasonal flavors, accompanied by a hefty price tag.

            Arriving at the restaurant the first thing to catch my eye was the sprawling bar.  The liquors are presented in orderly rows beneath a wall of mirrors framed in wood.  The “Boston chic” atmosphere is characterized by materials one would find at home in a country house but assembled in a way that is both surprising and bold while at the same time ordered and balanced. 

            I am seated at a small table by the fireplace, the high-backed easy chairs, once I managed to maneuver myself between the arm and lip of the table, are comfortable; definitely welcome after braving the cobbled Boston streets in four inch heels.  Looking down the menu I am impressed, ordering definitely proved to be a tricky business.  Alas, I pass on the list of offerings, that could only be described as poetry.  I spot my dinner, my Achilles heel: Bolognaise but with a surprising ingredient, foie gras.  I am intrigued, my mind is made up. 

A Duet of Prime Beef Tatare and Waygu Carpaccio
Herb Encrusted Wagyu Beef, Hanley Style Prime Tartare, Quail Egg Yolk
Petite Arugula, Escabeche of Hedgehog Mushrooms, Potato Gaufrettes
Cornichons Rosemary-Mustard Aioli - 14

            I begin my meal with a duet of Prime Beef Tartare and Wagyu Carpaccio. The Carpaccio is operatic.  It is wonderfully sweet and buttery and arranged across the plate as a bed for the tartare and accoutrement.  The dish is interactive; it stimulates conversation as one tries different flavor combinations.  The Escabèche of Hedgehog Mushrooms and the Cornichons Rosemary-Mustard Aioli are acidic and add a wonderful contrast in textures.  While the acidity is welcome beside the sweetness of the meat they go a bit too far as to overpower the delicacy of the Carpaccio.  Although the tartare tries to hold its own, in the end it also fell, choked.  Taken as separate entities both the mushrooms and the cornichons were delightful but were best eaten separately.  A fun and surprising combination was that of the beef tartare with the Potato Gaufrettes.  The latticework of the potato allows for your taste buds to pick up on the wonderfully rich and slightly briny beef before you bite down and the flavors: rich and briny, salty and sweet meld together in your mouth. 

A Duet of Giannone Farms Organic Chicken
Roasted Breast and Crepinette of Thigh, Soft Polenta, Braised Tuscan Kale
Black Trumpets and Sauce Perigeux - 22

Tagliatelle "Bolognaise"
Housemade Pasta, Veal, Beef, Pancetta and Foie Gras, Creamy Tomato Sauce
Aromatic Vegetables, Mozzerella, Basil - 21

            Finally my main course arrived, a perfectly portioned entrée in a rather cumbersome bowl.  The housemade taglitelle had a flawless texture.  The pasta was supple and full bodied.  The Bolognaise clung to the strands beautifully.  The texture of the meat sauce was good, just a step beyond velvety, but by no means tough.  The flavor, however, was not quite to my taste.  The sauce was a bit overly sweetened, tomato paste jumped out at me with a bit too much vigor, and the pork and beef were placed to far into the background.  Yes, the sauce was wonderfully rich but that richness coupled with a bit too much sweetness took a wrong turn at hearty and just fell flat.   

            Deuxave is a wonderful restaurant, with many varied exciting things to offer at a high but not unreasonable cost.  It is definitely not one of those restaurants that beckons one back time and time again, rather it falls more into the special occasion or once in a while category.  I was definitely enriched by the experience and would urge others to pass through the wine-framed doorway into a gastronomic experience so far unique to my Boston experience. 

Deuxave

371 Commonwealth Ave

Boston MA, 02115

(617) 517-5915

Casey's Diner

The front of Casey's Diner: risked life at the wheels of a suburban to capture this.

           Casey’s Diner is situated in a converted old train car in Natick Massachusetts.  It is the kind of place that radiates a sense of history and boasts the best hotdogs in the area.  “I drive forty-five miles for these dogs,” says an old man standing in the line that stretches to the right of the structure.  Peeking around the corner I see a small window where a man with a beard and baseball cap hands out hotdogs and hamburgers to the eagerly waiting customers.  On a Sunday afternoon the place is packed, too crowded to commandeer a seat at the ten-barstool counter.  I take some pictures and decide to come back another day.

Today Boston was rocked by a huge snowstorm; visibility was poor, temperatures plummeting, a perfect day to try my luck again at Casey’s.  Marvin (my minivan) managed to get me and a friend there in one piece.  Sliding the front door aside I stooped to fit through the door, “What can I get for ya?” asked the same man I had seen handing dogs out through the window on Sunday.  “Two dogs, everything on them.” I say, sitting down at the counter.  I believe the proper expression is an ‘all round’ (don’t hold me to that) but being a rookie I was too shy to give it a go.   

While I waited I looked around.  The intimate space is warmed from the grill and smells of caramelized beef.  The walls are covered in black and white photos, the eroded metal of the walls exposed between the frames.  The pictures depict the likeness of the original owners, and to my delight there is a small image of the original cart.  

The original horse-drawn wagon

The diner has only been in its current location since 1925, before that it was a horse drawn cart.  Legend has it that the horse used to bring the lunch wagon to Natick Common, leave it, and then come back for it at the end of the day.  I cannot verify this story but I find it terribly romantic, I want to believe it is true. 

The dogs are boiled so their skins have a wonderfully firm texture.

What is true is that this diner has been in the family for generations and the business has never moved away from its original aim: unpretentious food cooked simply and to perfection. 

The burgers and buns are both grilled on a small flattop.

Unpretentious food cooked to perfection.

They do not try to do anything fancy, the hotdogs come nestled in a bed of chopped onion, relish, mustard and ketchup.  The meat smells sweet and is still covered with a glossy sheen, fresh from the pot.  The buns are kept warm in a tin steamer and feel soft and airy beneath my fingers.  The dough envelops the dog, soaking up the juices from the condiments.  Closing my eyes I take a bit.  It is glorious.  The skin resists your teeth for a moment, just for a moment, before it gives, filling your mouth with a symphony of flavor.  Yes, the relish is wonderfully tangy and compliments the mustard and ketchup perfectly.  Yes, the onions have a wonderfully crisp texture, bringing dimension to the gastronomic experience, but the meat.  Oh, the meat! These dogs are made of beef, pork, and veal.  They are wonderfully rich, hearty, and warming.  I feel like I must be sitting at a Sox game, or standing outside the dog shack by the beach.  That is the wonderful thing about this place; it elicits memories of comfort.  It takes you back in time and for a moment you imagine yourself in a different time eating the same good food, on the same barstool, a part of the history of the diner. 

Fully satisfied and bundled up against the elements I take pictures of the outside of the diner.  One of the employees, a middle aged man with piercingly blue eyes and a warm and rosy face peeks his head out the window: “Don’t be strangers!” he calls.  I think one would be hard pressed to stay away.  

Plaque on the outside of the diner.

A slightly obscured picture of the menu.  Bonus points if you can find me!

Casey's Diner

36 South Ave

Natick, MA 01760

Phone: (508) 655-3761

Hours:

Mon-Fri 10:30 am - 8 pm

Sat 10:30 am - 4 pm

Sun 11:00 am - 3 pm

Cash Only