After months of developing the perfect pizza dough, The Green Emporium was ready to launch a new menu to their premier restaurant.

Chef Michael Collins and Artist Pacifico Palumbo opened Mike & Tony's Pizzeria in November 2008, adding authentic New York Style Pizza to their already well known menu. Besides traditional Tomato & Mozzarella featuring their homemade Marinara Sauce they added their Specialty Gourmet Pizzas including:

• The Traditional Margarita with local tomatoes from the "Farm Stand" In Colrain ,
• "The Colrain Spring" with native asparagus,
• "The Potato Onion" with gorgonzola cheese and rosemary.
• "The True Greek" with fresh fetta cheese, kalamatas olives and baby spinach,
• "The Artichoke and Roasted Red Peppers"
• The Seasonal "Apple& Cheddar" with apples from neighboring apple orchards.

The creativity doesn't stop there, they're always offering a variety of different toppings. There's "The Real Neapolitan" with buffalo mozzarella and "The Sicilian" both New York favorites.

^The Sicilian

While Chef Collins cooks up his famous signature dish Mussels Emporium or one of his other unique appetizers like Portobello Mushroom Caps with tomato and gorgonzola cheese or Fresh Fried Ravioli with Maranara Sauce perhaps he's topping off one of his delightful Garden Salads made with local lettuce and greens with one of his own salad dressings or serves one of his savory soups, chowders or award winning chilis (they offer a different entree and pasta every week) you can always find Artist Palumbo welcoming their guests.

Try some of our home made artisan breads!

The restaurant itself maintains a unique ambiance of Palumbo's paintings and neon art. His current show at the restaurant "An Italian Story" features paintings of his family, showing what it was like to be brought up as an Italian living in Brooklyn N.Y.

The paintings are all from black & white photographs that he collected over the 40 years of living there. The paintings can be seen on on his web site www.anitalianstory.com They are scheduled to go to The Italian American Museum in 2011.

Palumbo has also created several Pyramids called "Pyramids 2012 of Hope." One is in front of the restaurant. A large silver one is located on the sight of the Old Colrain Inn located next to their parking lot. Still others are located in the restaurant itself. Palumbo intends to have an opening for them sometime in the Springof2011.

The gardens are always a delight to enjoy and dine in, both in front as well as in the rear of the restaurant. This Spring they plan to plant mostly hot peppers in preparation for their first Hot Pepper Festival which will be held in late August and continue through most of September. The Festival will feature foods and dressings from all over.

In July there will be a Lavender Event. They will make their lavender pizza with Herbs di Provance, as featured in Yankee Magazine, and their Lavender Ice Cream.

Included in this event will be a tour to Jacksonville VT to "Isabell's Herbs & Things" where you can see her unique lavender Garden buy some of her lavender plants and garden sculptures and art. Visit her boutique perhaps purchase one of her unusual costumes and even have tea with her in her garden which is slowly becoming a field.

In November Michael and Tony will celebrate Cider Day. They plan on bringing it back to Colrain where it all beg 11 years ago. Cooking with apples and cider from neighboring Pine Hill Orchards they will be cooking up everything apples & cider Including pizza, cider mussels, and apple desserts. There will even be an event in late April for the Dayken Animal Shelter. Palumbo's paintings of rescued animals will be for sale to help support the shelter. More on that as we get closer to the event.

For entertainment there is always great music playing at Mike & Tony's. On Thursdays Fridays and Saturdays there's always an eclectic mix to be found including: Jazz, Celtic, Country, even Opera. Local and well known Artist love to perform there. Check out the Calendar and Entertainment pages. 

While they may have changed their menu to meet the current economy by making it more affordable, more family and local friendly, they haven't sacrificed QUALITY.

Mike & Tony's Pizzeria is located in The Upper Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts in a former Methodist Church. The building was built in 1834. The Green Emporium was opened in 1994. If you're traveling through the area please call ahead to order a pizza or stop by, delight in the food, take in the atmosphere and enjoy their gardens.

Find out for yourself why this restaurant is known throughout the Pioneer Valley as "That Special Place."

Check out what people are saying:

• Yelp
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