Squid Eats: PUBLIC eat + drink

PUBLIC eat + drink is a New American restaurant in North Adams, Massachusetts, home to Mass MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art).  My wife is a big fan of the museum, the largest contemporary art museum in the United States, so we make it down to North Adams rather often.  This was my third visit, though my first time at PUBLIC.

We shared the blistered shishito peppers to start.  They were good but hotter than expected.  I suffered for a good five minutes from one of them.  The honey was a nice idea but certainly not enough to offset the spice.  Mind you, I'm usually a fan of pepper heat and definitely prefer a restaurant not pull its punches.  Still.  It was much hotter than I was prepared for.

For entrees, I got the pulled pork tacos, my wife the udon noodles.  I might have gone for the latter myself but peanuts were a prominent feature, both in the broth and the toppings.  I'm allergic.  We both enjoyed.

For dessert, we shared the chocolate chip bread pudding, an excellent choice.  The ice cream sandwich was also tempting.  We'll need to try that next time.

Service was friendly and professional.  The decor is dark wood with big windows facing west towards the mountains - a lovely thing at dusk.  Patrons included both families and people clearly on dates, both locals and visitors like us.  I haven't quite gotten used to the North Adams cultural vibe.  It's an old industrial town but the factory work is long gone.  The museum occupies a converted Arnold Print Works plant.  So while the town looks industrial, the current residents bring more of an artist colony/hippie enclave feel.  Reclaimed warehouses and factories are a big part of how industrial New England has reinvented itself so I'm all for it.  Even so, the juxtaposition requires a mind shift for me.

We'll be back, both to the town and the restaurant.  We need to try that ice cream sandwich...