Features > General > Great Barrington – Idyllic Village
America's small towns have been a staple of poetry, novels, songs, and patriotism for centuries, but towns like Great Barrington, Massachussetts , prove a unique spin on the trope of idyllic village setting. This bohemian Berkshires village is both a summer and a winter resort – it offers easy access to both the Tanglewood festival in nearby Lennox and Stockbridge and the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, also in the Berkshires, as well as to the Butternut Ski resort across the border in Vermont.
Once a Gilded Age resort for the privileged of Boston and New York, Great Barrington and its surrounding area now has a remarkable artsy feel – its community is largely made up of aging hippies – this is, after all, the area memorialized by folk singer Arlo Guthrie in “Alice's Restaurant,” which is located a few miles down in Lee – as well as seasonal city-slicker imports coming for the city's cultural and artistic life. With stores like “Crystal Essences,” a new-age store on Railroad Street, and a variety of arts and crafts stores based on the log-cabin-and-deer-antlers ideals of decorating, Great Barrington is an ideal getaway from the rough and tumble of city life.
Where to eat? The options are varied. Babalouie's Sour Dough Pizza on Main Street offers some of the best pizza available anywhere, while Martin's on Railroad Street is ideal for soups, sandwiches, and breakfasts and Xicohtencatl on Stockbridge Road is an out-of-the-way Mexican with delicious feasts. Helsinki Cafe, on 284 Main Street, is a funky venue with live music and Finnish falir. For more upscale fare, Allium, on Railroad Street, is a delicious Italian with innovative dishes that, while served in tiny portions, are nevertheless well worth their weight in dollars.
By Tara Isabella Burton
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