Coco

One of the better if not best dinners I've had in western mass. The vibe inside is great, music was on point, friendly staff, and quality food. Orange Delight with cognac was a fabulous drink to sip on and will be trying to mimic at home. Split a Koren cheesy cauliflower that I'd eat as an app every night. I got the red chili braised pork and ate every single bite, wife got the fried chicken and I'm still wondering how they got it so soft and tender and juicy. This wasn't a cheap dinner but I'd pay that much again.

Dined at Calico in August 2023 and loved every bite. I had the sea bass which was bathed in a delicious coconut broth. My husband had the fried chicken. He said it was the best he's had yet (and he's had a lot). The beer menu was interesting and thoughtful, same goes for the cocktail menu. We had a hard time choosing among all the excellent options. The food is on the expensive side, but not really, considering the high quality. We finished the meal with a non-dairy pan cotta. This was a dream come true for me. Usually I can't order dessert because I'm severely lactose intolerant. Most dessert menus are unwelcoming because they frequently rely heavily on dairy and/or wheat laden classics. Calico nailed it by offering a menu that is totally with the times.

So the heirloom tomato app with avocado puree and arugula was very good with a nice light pesto dressing. Cracking the paremsan to get it started was fun as well. Broccolini app was also tasty. The filet was good, the waitress promised medium rare but it was definitely closer to rare, so that was the only real takeaway.. The fried chicken however, is truly worth the price of admission. Probably the best i've ever had, and the jalapeno slaw with vinegarette was wonderful. I'd love them to expand their mocktail bar, but the menu is very concise and to the point. Peach blueberry dessert was an absolute homerun as well with the buttermilk ice cream, the chocolate cake was a lil too rich for my blood. We were there for a little over an hour and they requested to move us due to a big party coming in, which we thought to be a bit rude, so that's when we left. Next time cook the filet a a little more and let us chill and it's 5 stars.

Early November 2023 and a chill was finally in the air. So for an appetizer the Thai peanut noodles. Packing just a little heat these were spot on right for the night. Portion ample enough to share which we did along with an excellent and generous house salad. Mains: Buttermilk Fried Chicken of which a chorus of others have sung praises. I hardly need add that it was really, really wonderful. And the Red Chili Braised Pork which I found melt-in-your-mouth outstanding on its bed of polenta, set off against the pickled onion. Again, a tiny bit of heat well suited to the season. Just great and filling, too. Drinks: old fashioned - excellent take, and an ABB (local brewer) porter which was again excellent for the season and as a counterpoint to the hint of heat in the appetizer and main. Porter is not to everyone's taste, I know, but this was a great porter, illustrating the care with which the drinks menu has been crafted. I don't five-star willy-nilly, but Calico gets it and delivers on the promise. We'll revisit soon!

This place was a hidden gem among all the places that came up when I searched "best restaurants in Easthampton" on Google. For a 4.9 star place, I scrolled a long way before coming across this! My server was really nice and the atmosphere of the downstairs area was very laid back and moody (I love dark lighting personally). I sat at the bar because they had a bunch of reservations incoming but I was by myself so that was alright. I got the cucumber lemonade off the mocktail menu which tasted exactly as advertised and very refreshing. The star of the evening for me was the summer corn soup. I almost licked the bowl it was SO GOOD. I am still thinking about it 3 days later. It was like a beautiful liquid corn muffin. The buttermilk fried chicken was great too, the mashed potatoes could've had some more salt and there weren't any salt shakers at the bar but that's a personal preference. I liked that I could eat the chicken with a fork and knife because there was only one little bone and the rest seemed to be breast. That did make the breading come off a bit but the breading stayed crispy and tasty. I'm not much of a slaw person but I am cilantro person. If you like cilantro as much as I do, you will love the slaw. Last I had the peach and polenta upside down cake which was my least favorite. The polenta gave the cake a gritty texture that I wasn't a fan of but I got through it. The creme fraiche whipped cream was not as refreshing and sweet as I thought it would be. I was expecting a peaches and cream taste but it ended up leaning towards peaches and sour cream. (Not pictured because I took it home and ate it outside in the dark.) All in all still giving 5 stars because everything was made with such attention and high quality. Highly recommend!