Cummington: Only on Fridays can you dine at Remington Lodge

Blustery winter or hot summer, you step back in time at Remington Lodge, just north of Route 9 here in West Cummington.

Have a drink before dinner in front of the stone fireplace in the barnboard-sided room while catching up on a Sears & Roebuck catalog -- from summer, 1944 Or relax on the backyard patio in warm weather.

Jo and Ken Cyr have been serving their inn guests and the public homestyle dinners almost every Friday -- only Fridays -- since 1979. They offer one entrée such as fish or chicken or a hearty classic pasta like lasagna. Soup, bread, salad, side dishes, dessert and beverages round out the meals. All for $20.

Casual, yet worldly, Remington Lodge welcomes 70 or 80 diners on a good night -- by reservation only -- into a much-built-onto 1825 farmhouse where the floor of each room has its own angle and level. A second dining room is up four steps. Bathrooms are on the floor below. Maneuvering a wheelchair would be difficult.

Few diners dress up, especially in winter. The Cyrs and their able young waitresses wend in and out of the kitchen in white tops and black pants or casual apron-covered t-shirts and jeans bowing to oven and hot dishwater reality. On quiet evening the

Jo Cyr is a full-time waitress at Wahconah Country Club in Dalton. On Thursday, her day off, she shops, bakes and preps for the next night's lodge dinner. At 3:30 Friday afternoon she arrives home from work to begin cooking dinner in the small kitchen.

On quiet evenings she calmly serves dinner to each guest herself, lifting the large serving tray high with one hand. On busy nights the young waitresses take over. Jo is in the kitchen or tending to her guests, many of whom are regulars.

Ken is host, sous chef, dishwasher and reservations organizer.

A breakfront in the dining room holds ice, lemonade, hot and cold water, regular and decaf coffee and many tea choices along with cups, saucers and glasses including wine glasses. Guests help themselves.

Waiting for dinner you can study dolls, crockery, photos, tins, tools and other kitchen and farming gadgets filling a shelf around the room and gathered by the Cyrs over more than 25 years.

Homemade soup comes to the table first, family-style in a large glass bowl. Diners get as much as they like. Once it was silky carrot puree, lightly seasoned with ginger. Another night it was curried zucchini and potato. My dining companion ate two and a half servings. I love good soup. I finished the rest.

Next comes a small fresh, simple salad with a boat of homemade dressing accompanied by warm but dull rolls, neither homemade nor flaky.

One evening's entrée was a generous Chicken Breast Cordon Bleu, oozing its fragrant cheese filling onto fresh stringbeans and rice. On another occasion, a dish called Chicken Rosé boasted artichoke hearts, mushrooms and scallions.

I enjoyed baked cranberry-painted porkchop with homemade apple and bread stuffing, their most popular entrée. served the first Friday of every month, winter and summer. Portions are abundant, plates overflowing. It's like going home to a fantasy Mom.

Desserts are often festive homemade pies. Once it was fresh lemon cream; another time, a mixture of Kahlua, melted marshmallows, heavy cream and milk in a crushed oreo crust, drizzled with chocolate sauce. We did scrape our plates clean.

The Cyrs plan entrées weeks ahead. Call to find out what will be served the night you plan to go. Jo plans the rest of the meal as she shops.

Large groups get choices or combinations like pork and chicken -- or their favorite dessert. The Cyrs are happy to prepare food for vegetarians or any other dietary concern if you let them know when you make reservations.

They do not serve alcohol. Diners may bring their own.

A Remington Lodge special is the old-fashioned Maine clambake on the second Sunday in September. It features endless corn chowder, clam chowder, corn-on-the-cob, baked potatoes, sides, salads and more, plus either a steamed lobster or a grilled steak and dessert. Call early for details and reservations.

Hikers, skiers and those who love the outdoors are the lodge's main visitors, individually or in groups. But all travelers are welcome to stay at the lodge, which evolved over time in memory of the tourist houses Ken's aunts ran in coastal Maine when he was a boy.

Remington Lodge provides simple bunk bed accommodations in two dormitories and three private rooms. An overnight stay is $25 per person. With a package of breakfast, brown bag lunch and family-style evening meal, the price is $55 per person.

The $20 Friday dinner must be reserved separately in addition to any accommodation package.

Both Cyrs swear they never planned or expected to spend most of their adult lives running a lodge and restaurant. But they do. They offer the informal atmosphere of a happy family dinner table. Their hilltown hospitality makes you feel young and in another century. Just what we need this freezing cold season.

Remington Lodge is for sale and has been ever since I remember. So far, there have been no takers -- much to the relief of their happy patrons.

Restaurant Review

Remington Lodge, Main Street, West Cummington, (413) 634-5493 or 634-5388.

Directions: From the center of Dalton on Route 9 take second exit to West Cummington (3/4 of a mile east of first entrance). Turn left, go 1/4 mile (north) into town. Remington Lodge is on left.

From first exit off Route 9 drive through Main Street to the far end. Remington Lodge will be on right.

Style: Old-fashioned, homey; backyard patio in warm weather

Hours: Friday nights only, 6 to 8:30; and by reservation only.

Noise level: Murmuring of other diners audible but usually quiet enough for table conversation; jazz, blues, country and folk music on records or CDs.

Beverages: No alcohol served; bring your own; setups available

Dress: Casual.

Price: $20 prix-fixe.

Credit cards: No credit cards accepted; cash or personal check only.

Wheelchair accessibility: No. Too many staircases and room levels

Bathrooms: Funky style, but neat and clean.