COLRAIN -- The Green Emporium Restaurant re-opens today as ''Mike and Tony's
Pizzeria at the Green Emporium.''
The name change signals a new direction for the restaurant and art gallery,
which has offered fine dining through the years. The new menu includes
pizzas and other affordable fare, says chef Michael Collins, who created,
co-owns and runs the restaurant with artist Pacifico ''Tony'' Palumbo.
''Everything is kind of geared toward this new economy; everybody is
trying to tighten their belt, but I figure people still want to go out,''
he said.
''We're simplifying the menu, but we want to keep everything good,''
Collins stressed. ''I want to do the same good food. I don't want to
cut corners, but we're trying to keep prices down.''
Besides creating dishes for the 14-year-old restaurant, Collins has
a weekly cooking segment on WHAI radio and has done cooking segments
on the Shelburne Falls community access television station. The
''old'' Green Emporium has been featured in Bon Appetite, in the
Boston Globe, and in Yankee Magazine, among others. The restaurant
has been closed for about 2 years, except to cater parties and
other special events.
Collins said he has spent the past few months developing a pizza dough
recipe, which he describes as ''Brooklyn, NY-style -- a thinner crust
that is chewy, yet crispy.'' He said the crust includes extra-virgin
olive oil, a special Italian flour and is topped with his own sauce,
made from Italian San Marzano tomatoes.
Many of the foods served will feature meat and produce from local growers.
Other Colrain foods and produce to be featured on the menu will include:
maple syrup and beef from the Hager Farm; shiitake mushrooms from grower
Paul Lagreze; lemon-meringue pies and pickles from Lillian Brigham; West
County wines; and seasonal produce from Paul Moyer's The Farmstand in
Colrain, and the Butynski and Unaitis farms in Greenfield.
Pizza will be available by the slice or by the pie; other offerings
will include homemade soups, beef and vegetarian chili, steak sandwiches
and tacos, and a favorite dish from the Emporium's fine-dining days:
steamed mussels marinara. Pasta dishes will also be offered.
The restaurant, with a seating capacity of about 50, also serves beer
and wine.
For the winter, Mike and Tony's Pizzeria will be open Friday from 5
to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 9 p.m. The restaurant is
located near the intersection of Main and Jacksonville roads, in a former
Methodist church building near the town commons.
The phone number is 624-5122.
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