I’ve been down-and-out lately but we made it to the 2022 edition of Solid Sound (we’ve been to every one and this is Spring Onion’s 4th). I’ll try to report on food in daily posts as that’s easier for me.
Friday
We left eastern MA at 2:30 pm and made our usual stop in Greenfield by 4:30 pm. We were trying to decide between Magpie for delicious wood-fired pizza and The People’s Pint and the latter won out because we’re a bit pizza’ed out and B enjoys their beer. Good choice - SO loved his Mac and cheese, B liked his special beef sandwich but he said it was a little dry (he didn’t want to ask for more sauce, so I suggested he add some cole slaw, which he said was just what the sandwich needed). My peanut noodles with tofu were the winner of the day - I’ve had it before. Could be a tad creamier, but the tofu and the loads of carrots and cabbage, cukes on the side, make this feel positively virtuous. At that early hour, I had trouble eating it all so B dug right in and loved it, particularly the umami salty-sweet BBQ tofu. Good beer. We laughed at the one beer offering, at 9% ABV, was called “Slippery Slope.”
The usual amiable gentle crowd at the festival. Of course, I checked out the food offerings. Lots of the usual suspects that come every time. We started getting snacky around 8 pm. SO went with a $3 hot dog from the Rotary Club and B and split a “Sexy Bowl” from Broccoli Bar out of Burlington VT. I’ve always been deterred by the long lines, but I persevered. It’s a mishmash of 4 different broccoli preps - tempura, stir-fry, BBQ, and dumplings, 100% vegan. I’m standing there, thinking, “how the hell can this train wreck possibly work?” Maybe it was the beer and the festival atmosphere talking, but halfway through, B was already talking about getting it again (that man loves his broccoli). I won’t because I like to spread the wealth, but it somehow worked - I particularly liked the tempura and the dumplings. No photos because we were sitting in the dark.
Saturday - rain this morning. Museum opens in 30 minutes. We’ll head out shortly. More reports to come…
Saturday
Lunch from Ali Baba, a long-standing place. Chicken pita for B (no photo because he scarfed it down) and veggie curry pita for me. I should’ve added hot sauce. Another hot dog for SO. Trying to pace ourselves with the adult libations today.
Saturday night
The Wilco concert is winding down (~11:30 pm…SO lasted as long as he could (it was a 12+ hour day for us) but we are staying so close, we can hear the music from our rental. Weird eating day after lunch. We took a break at Freightyard Pub around 3 pm. B chowed down on a buffalo chicken dip and chili and I had some jambalaya. Beer and wine to pass the time. SO stuck with chocolate milk. We missed a passing shower and got to watch the Liverpool-Real Madrid match. Back at the festival, SO had a plain cheese slice from Ramunto’s. I was hungry at one point but weirdly not motivated, as SO was running on fumes and my focus was on keeping him going. Instead, B got us more adult libations.
One more day of the festival! We’re having a blast!
Well, a rather anti-climactic end to the festival, food-wise. I almost didn’t report back, but I gotta finish what I started.
Sunday lunch
Because the Rotary Club was closed, we ended up at Ramunto’s again for SO’s lunch (conveniently located right next to Eleventh Dream Day’s performance). Then he got busy with a scavenger hunt, followed by an art project. B and I started feeling peckish mid-afternoon and decided to try the nearby Skinny Pancake, a crepes place out of Burlington. We also wanted SO to try a crepe, who was resistant at first (the Sugar Shack, with butter and maple syrup, which he loved). I got the spinach and cheese, B the chicken pesto. I found it satisfying and comforting and not knock-your-socks off. B was really into his, though. We were so busy the rest of the day, we didn’t think about eating again until after the last performance. When of course everyone else starts thinking about food, too. We hightailed it over to Freightyard, thinking it was far away enough from the crowd - no dice. Totally booked. Then ran back over to Grazie - same. Ramunto’s was the next logical choice and we barely got in and only ~45 minutes before closing. A slice of cheese for SO and I Spaghetti and meatballs so he could eat the meatballs. B ordered the large buffalo chicken calzone (“why not, it’s only $3 more for the large). What came was the biggest calzone I’ve ever seen - the photo doesn’t do it justice. B loved it but only managed 2 wedges of it. We chatted with the nice young server - she had just worked nearly 40 hours in 2 days! We tipped her well.
Monday
We checked out, headed to Mt. Greylock and SO got hungry after checking out the Veterans Monument and some light hiking. Got him his daily hot dog at Bascom Lodge, a place B and I love. It was 2 per order, so the guys split it. I wasn’t hungry yet.
B wanted to checked out Treehouse Brewing. Deerfield was closer to us, so we passed on going to the Charlton location. Location is strange - B somehow guessed correctly that it was a former publishing company (he insisted he didn’t cheat). I felt like I was in an 80’s mall. In any case, the beer was absolutely delicious for these 2 hopheads. And guess what the food offering was? Wood-fired pizza. I can’t even think about pizza for another month and I didn’t even eat any this weekend. But the margharita was as delicious as the beer. Charred in the best way, chewy crust, delightful sauce. That pizza disappeared quickly. And we had a nice chill time, playing Uno, recounting the weekend. We’d come back but want to check out Charlton.
There is an obvious happy ending, which I forgot to state…we brought home a mixed case of delicious beer. Which more than makes up for the uneventful food.
With you on bringing interesting beer home from a road trip as a kind of culinary souvenir. I like to think of this as a way to extend the joy of time away, whether a day trip or full-fledged vacation.
Timely report! We’re headed to Williamstown in a couple of weekends for my college reunion, and are planning on stopping to finally hit MassMOCA which was under construction while I was in college. (Dating myself). Wilco is also one of our all time favorite bands- we saw them at Tanglewood many years ago as a highlight, and Jeff Tweedy at Berklee was amazing. I keep wanting to make it to Solid Sound now that I feel the sprouts are old enough for that kind of thing, although mine really don’t do well after about 9:30pm, but maybe by 2024 we’ll be there & join you!
Specifically, the bassist of Wilco is a major investor. We’ve not stayed there but have checked it out. It’s a neat place, very design-y in a Dwell magazine kind of way, the grounds and the pool are beautiful. But it is pricey.
Red Herring and Purple Pub on Spring Street in Williamstown; Cozy Corners up the road to Vermont with greasy local pizza. Other fancier options not mentioned.
