Wherein My Wife Goads Me Into Posting Again

There is much quality blogsmanship up here in the Northern Berkshires. At least a dozen regular bloggers, a rabidly opinionated readership, the attention of the local legislative delegation. Not a bad deal. We're certainly beating the blogging snot out of whatever's going on down in Pittsfield.

Take a good look at the blogrolls and Technorati listings and you'll see that a scary majority of the Berkshire blogs come from right here in the mighty Hoosic River valley. Our cousins from the banks of the assumedly less mighty Housatonic seem somewhat less willing to commit their thoughts to digital posterity. I wonder what forces are at work there. Has to be a logical explanation.

The mighty Hoosic serves as the introduction to the topic covered by the rest of this post. Our river has its origin in Cheshire Lake, the shores of which comprise the commercial epicenter of the town of Cheshire, Massachusetts. For a few months earlier this year, this town of around 3,400 had a grand total of zero operating restaurants. This changed earlier this year when a new place quietly opened up on Route 8 where Bea's Daily Buzz used to be, and now as of last Sunday, Cheshire's restaurant population has doubled.

The Bass Water Grill has hung out an "Open" sign in the premises formerly occupied by the Lakeside Restaurant, right there on the side of the lake. Run by Ed Bassi, owner of Steeples Restaurant at the North Adams Holiday Inn, the place features a full liquor license and bar, banquet and function facilities, and a newly renovated interior. Having seen that "Open" sign, me, Tara, her little sister (anybody catch the feature in the Advocate about those two a couple issues ago?), and Tara's folks decided to swing on in and give the place a try on its first Saturday night.

Bar area seems pleasant. Only one TV, which is the perfect amount of TVs for a restaurant bar to have. Pleasantly surprised to see our friend Tim, formerly of EGL, practicing mixology and reserving judgment on my penchant for ordering from the less macho side of the drink menu. Dining room seats about 100; has little LCD TVs in the booths along the walls. Not my favorite development in restaurant ambiance, but I suppose you can always turn the things off. On the other hand, the lack of annoying faux antiques on the walls, the non-presence of any background music, and the cool old confessional booth they use to store the ice machine are noticeable nice touches.

The menu is straight-up, no-gimmicks American comparable to, say, Patrick's Pub in Pittsfield. You got about a half-dozen or so selections in the apps, salads, sandwiches, pasta, chicken, steak, or seafood sections. Sandwiches, apps, and salads are in the $6-9 range; entrees go up to around $16 for the sirloin steak. There are probably desserts, but we never got to them. Turns out we overordered apps and most of us petered out during entrees. Not that bad a strategy, as it was worth trying them out: the wings were very impressive, and there was much praise for the pan-fried dumplings. The entrees passed muster as well, although with less universal acclaim.

Waitstaff was very attentive and helpful. We're a strange bunch in restaurants and tend to ask a lot of questions and go off-menu when ordering, and even though this was everybody's first week on the job, our service was top-notch.

If Ed's taking suggestions, I've got some:

Open for a regular Sunday brunch.

Bring in live music when your function room isn't booked on a Friday/Saturday night. It's a good location, the room is a good size, and you're clear of residential neighborhood whingers.

Get rid of the "charging for refills" policy on soda and coffee.

More cheese on the nachos.

Expand the lakeside windows. That view is key, especially facing west towards the lake and the hills. Expensive, perhaps, but makes a huge difference in the dining experience.

Still, the consensus was largely positive, and it's always great to have another option north of Pittsfield. Give them a try, and let the rest of us know what your experience was like.