Wednesday, July 12
PITTSFIELD

What makes for a memorable dining experience? Is it that mouth-pleasing piece of tuna or beef cooked so perfectly and accompanied by such wonderful, innovative side dishes that you're sure the meal could never be duplicated anywhere else?

Is it the service, the kind that makes you feel you are the lone patron on a custom-made culinary escapade? Perhaps it's the ambiance? The music? The view? The Italian tile in the bathroom?

In the end, I believe it's a little of everything. But I'm always on a quest to find out if there's something I missed.

That spirit carried my wife and me to Pittsfield's newest upscale restaurant, Spice, on a recent Friday night.

The establishment, at 297 North St., was booming at 8 p.m. A diverse crowd filled the tables and packed in three-deep at the bar.

We had reservations (a must for weekend nights) and were seated at a window table within minutes of arrival. I had a view of the restaurant bustle and trendy interior; my wife had a view of the North Street YMCA.

We were seated next to co-owners Joyce Bernstein and Lawrence Rosenthal

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and their friends, which was both good and bad — good because we overheard the ups and downs of opening a $4.5 million business, bad because our waiter also was serving their table and needed to respond to several special requests from his bosses.

This hurt our experience because he forgot many of our requests.

We spotted two men in suits roaming the restaurant. We assumed they were sommeliers, especially when one visited Bernstein's and Rosenthal's table and sipped and swished their wine. We later learned that, if you ask for him, a sommelier will recommend a wine to complement your meal.

At first glance, the menu seemed diverse and interesting. The prices of entrees ranged from asparagus and artichoke confit ($16) to dry-aged New York strip ($29). For our first course, my wife ordered a mixed salad with a honey-sherry vinaigrette ($6) and I, a Scallop & Charred Melon Gazpacho ($8).

The dressing on the salad was light but superb. The gazpacho? Let's just say it was one of the finest appetizers I've ever tasted. Simply put, they should bottle it.

It made me think of my first gazpacho experience at the Cornell Hotel in Ithaca, N.Y., where I fell in love with the chilled, salsa-style soup. There, it was served with a slab of twice-baked ricotta. At Spice, the centerpiece of the dish was five bay scallops.

They complemented the puree, but all I really needed was the soup to know this dish was a winner. The fruitiness of the sweet melon played off the acidic tomatoes and did a dance in my mouth. This, for sure, was one of those memorable eating experiences.

  • For our main dishes, my wife selected the Macaroni and Maine Lobster ($19) and I the Spice-rubbed Pork Chop with Onion Jam ($19).

    At this point, we asked for more bread, but it never came. About 25 minutes later, we asked again, and the waiter didn't seem to remember we already had asked once.

    Again, no bread. He did remember the second glass of pinot grigio ($6) that I had requested, though.

    The time that elapsed from the last bite of our appetizers to the arrival of our meals was roughly 40 minutes, which, if we'd had bread, would've been acceptable. This gave us time to play with the salt and pepper shakers — in the shape of bizarre, plastic fat men — and chat about the environment.

    The restaurant was visually stunning. Was this really Pittsfield? The transformed Besse-Clarke building retains its red brick walls, yet has an air of sophistication and artistic ambience. The vibe is electric. Smiles abound. Soft jazz sounds blend with the din of conversations.

    Patrons have a full view of the bar and a small look into the lounge, where there was a lot of activity. This is definitely the place to be and be seen on a Friday night.

    Unfortunately, my wife's meal was a letdown. While there were ample pieces of claw and knuckle lobster meat, the chive cream sauce was bland and left our mouths dry. It was missing something, like a sherry reduction or asiago cheese.

  • My pork chop was perfect — cooked medium — and the onion jam was outstanding. The best side dish was the "truffled tater tots" — four thumb-sized balls of riced potatoes rolled in potato crisps and deep-fried.

    I think Spice has something here — these tasty tidbits should be produced for the masses and sold on street corners. The restaurant's overhead could easily be covered with their sales.

    For dessert, we shared a chilled chocolate soufflé ($9), which was dry and took the strength of a foreman to break away from its dish.

    I had a cappuccino ($3.50) and my wife a cup of hot tea ($3.50), although our waiter had to be reminded a second time that we ordered them. Our bill came to $82.95 before the tip.

  • Was it memorable? Yes and no. Spice got as many things wrong as it did right. The restaurant opened June 12, and while it's understandable that it can take more than a few weeks to knock out the kinks, we were left wondering if we'd go back. And in the end, a second visit is what restaurants are looking to score.

    We heard from people around us that the steaks were blockbusters; and still to come are a casual dining space, a coffee and ice cream bar and a market.

    But if Spice is going to be the anchor of a successful restaurant scene, it needs to shine with more than style, decor, gazpacho and tater tots.