Bye Bye Sweet Berkshires
Oat Milk Soft Serve and Fried Berkshire Bird
When we drive back to NYC in a couple of days, we’ll head for the Taconic Parkway, a curvy hellscape that’s also notorious for its speed traps. But there’s a reason we’ll endure the notorious roadway. On the way, we’ll stop by Zinnia’s Dinette in Craryville, NY, purveyor of silky-smooth chocolate oat milk soft serve.
Zinnia’s bright, hippyish interior belies the serious cooking that takes place in the kitchen. The Zinnia folks certainly know their way around a fryer! The shrimp po’ boy is one of the best I’ve sampled outside New Orleans.
But for me, it’s the soft serve that’s the draw. There is the dairy free chocolate as well as regular vanilla for those able to consume their ice cream with a full shot of dairy. The oat milk variety boasts the mouthfeel of regular soft serve and is satisfyingly chocolatey.
In my neighborhood in NYC, there’s a Carvel coming to 96th and Broadway, but it’s been “opening soon” for about a year. When (or if) it does arrive, I’ll be first in line for Carvel’s non-dairy offerings.
Meanwhile, I came across this yummy ice cream treat you can make at home. It’s a Tiramisu ice cream sandwich from Playing with Food. It’s constructed with real ice cream, though you could probably make it with a vegan version as well.
Berkshire Bird and Waffles
Tonight, for one of our last Berkshires dinners, we wolfed down gluten-free fried chicken at Hy’s Fried, a new South Egremont joint that once operated as a roadhouse. Back in the day, you could catch James Taylor warbling a tune in front of the dining room’s massive stone fireplace.
Owner Jack Luber relocated from the Hamptons to launch the eatery, which opened two weeks ago. Already it’s packed with patrons gnawing on the crisp gluten-free fried chicken, served southern-style with honey, biscuits, slaw, and optional waffles. On weekends, there’s dancing. And of course there’s a bar.
“Why chicken?” I asked Luber, who who hales from the West Village.
“We’re kind of chicken people,” he said. “My family owns Dallas BBQ.”
I was into the whole scene. Between the crimson-red decor, the chicken, the waffles, and the honey, I had myself dessert for dinner!
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