<p>Hi! I’m going to be visiting Amherst on my birthday [lol that wasn’t planned or anything] so i was wondering if there are any nice restaurants or fun places i could go in Amherst to celebrate? Btw i’ll be with my mom. </p>
<p>So i’ll be at Amherst on August 1 - will there be anything interesting happening on campus? Are there any classes during the summer? I would love to chat with the history professor - would he be around during the summer?</p>
<p>I'm off campus right now, so I can't answer most of your questions. Some professors will be around, doing research, etc. Likewise, so will some students - but it may feel a bit dead. Depending on how formal you want your birthday celebration to be, there are quite a few restaurants - even more if you go into Northampton. Make sure you stop by Bart's Ice Cream with an ID showing your birthday, they'll give you a free cone on your birthday. The Black Sheep Deli has amazing desserts, too. What sort of food do you like? There's excellent quick Mexican, pizza, sandwiches...for sit down dinner, there are some good ethnic places, but Northampton will be a better bet (though I love a lot of Amherst restaurants). And happy birthday. :)</p>
<p>Thanks :D I'll definitely check out the free ice cream thing! I'm looking a restaurant in Amherst - i was looking for a place where we can sit down and a have a nice meal. It doesn't have to be really fancy, but i'd love a place with a nice ambiance and charm. </p>
<p>So how would I go about hunting down a history professor? I e-mailed an Amherst history prof once with a specific question and he
seemed kind of peeved... </p>
<p>Thanks for the info!</p>
<p>Judie's popovers. Look for the line outside.</p>
<p>Adults are always abrupt in emails, it's difficult to tell when someone is peeved or not through text. I've often felt that someone sent me a rude email, only to be greeted very warmly by them in person. So it goes. I'd email the department head, perhaps? Is there any particular type of history that interests you most? I've taken a few history classes, and absolutely adored all of the profs.</p>
<p>Good food: Judie's has terrific desserts, decent, good American grub. Nice atmosphere. The Amherst Brewing Company also has decent American style food (and home-brewed beer).</p>
<p>Amherst Chinese has fairly healthy Chinese food. They use organic, local ingredients, and no MSG. I think they're really tasty. There's also Panda East. </p>
<p>There's an Indian restaurant which is pretty good, but there's fantastic Indian food in Northampton. </p>
<p>Baku's is a really tasty African restaurant, Tabellas is a tapas place (I haven't been there so I can't personally recommend it), Bertucci's is I think a predominately Massachusetts based chain with good brick-oven pizza, there's a Japanese place in town and another good one a bit north, outside the center of town, closer to UMass. </p>
<p>There are two quick Mexican places which are amazing - Veracruzana and Bueno Y Sano. Bueno is crazy, but has the most delicious (non-traditional) burritos in the universe. Veracruzana is more traditional Mexican, I believe...good salsa bar. </p>
<p>There's also Crazy Noodles (really nice atmosphere, don't be fooled by the ridiculous sign) and Pasta Y Basta. There's a tasty soup place called Souper Bowl. The Black Sheep is a really fantastic little deli/bakery. </p>
<p>Fresh Side has tasty pan-Asian cuisine, Chez Albert is a nice sit down French place, I've never eaten there, but people say it's terrific...my mom loves it. </p>
<p>The Monkey Bar is a nice bar/restaurant with a cool, funky atmosphere...not sure if it's a "mom" place. </p>
<p>There is a great Vietnamese place next to Bueno, and Thai food...there used to be an amazing Italian restaurant called Pinnochio's, but it had to close due to a fire, I believe.</p>
<p>Antonio's pizza isn't a sit down place, but you absolutely can't go to Amherst without visiting there, it's an institution here. </p>
<p>If you're venturing out of town, Goten of Sunderland (maybe ten minutes away?) is a delicious Japanese steakhouse/habachi restaurant. </p>
<p>In Northampton:</p>
<p>Bela's is an adorable and amazing little vegetarian restaurant. Paul and Elizabeth's is a primarily vegetarian (they have fish) mainly Asian-inspired restaurant which I can whole-heartedly recommend...they also have the most delicious mocha custard in the world. If you don't like custard, just hop downstairs to Herrell's Ice cream (they're famous and amazing :)) </p>
<p>There is a ton of ethnic food in Northampton - good Chinese, Indian, Japanese...also a Tibetan place.</p>
<p>The Haymarket cafe is a delicious little cafe in Northampton, absolutely worth a visit, but not really a fancy restaurant place. There's also good Morroccan food, and some great delis and bakeries.</p>
<p>There's a great little hole-in-the-wall Korean restaurant in Hadley, with amazing food, but it's right on Route 9, so the atmosphere leaves a lot to be desired. </p>
<p>Have fun! :)</p>
<p>Why is everyone so crazy over Antonio's pizza? I went there when I visited and it was <em>meh</em>. Is Amherst really that cut off from civilization or am I missing something?</p>
<p>What kind did you have? Some of them aren't so amazing, admittedly.</p>
<p>I'm going to second the recommendation for Baku's. Awesome Nigerian food and the owner/cook/waitress is amazingly warm and friendly.</p>
<p>She's so nice!</p>
<p>She offers me free food sometimes. The fried plantains with the mangoey tomato sauce...good lord, heavenly. You have to try the mango ginger beer if you go there, too. The lady is an angel.</p>
<p>I had a slice w/ chicken and spinach. It was really late so maybe it'd been sitting around a while. I'm sure I'll be hitting Antonio's more than I should given my love for pizza and lack of concern for my arteries, but it just didn't strike me as a place to write home about.</p>
<p>Thanks for listing all the restaurants...I only took a brief walk through town before committing myself to three years there so this is really helpful.</p>
<p>are there any convenience stores or grocery stores nearby?</p>
<p>Awesome, I'll definitely check out Bakus, and some of the other place sound great too!</p>
<p>Unregistered, you're probably right about adults and curt e-mails. I won't stress about it. I'm really interested in the French Revolution - are there any profs at Amherst that specialize in it? I also like Modern Russian History / Russian Revolutions. </p>
<p>I'm so excited to go to Amherst!!!!!! Yay, only a few more day!</p>
<p>Lord Jeff, go for one of their crazy specialties, like black bean avocado or whatever is the daily special. Go earlier in the day and ask the pizza tossers what's good. You'll understand what the fuss is all about.</p>
<p>(Oddly enough, I remember talking to a girl from Manhattan, and she referred to Antonio's Pizza as "the best *<strong><em>ing pizza in the world" "But you're from New York!" "Yeah, so?" I don't think it's just a "being cut off from civilization" thing...) Actually, Sibie's Pizza is pretty decent, too...they deliver, and they have delicious, organic, whole wheat crust. Pinnochio's in Northampton is very tasty, too, but I heard a bad rumor about them years ago, so I have too many bad mental images to fully enjoy them. Mimmo's in Northampton is really good, too...they have the biggest *</em></strong>ing slices on the planet.</p>
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I'm really interested in the French Revolution - are there any profs at Amherst that specialize in it?
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<p>Your best bets are probably Rosbottom, who teaches Napoleon's Legends (EUST-14), and Bezucha, who teaches "The Era of the French Revolution" (HIST-32).</p>
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I also like Modern Russian History / Russian Revolutions.
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<p>Professor Czap teaches two intro classes (HIST-5 and 6) and an advanced seminar (HIST-80) on Russian history.</p>
<p>happy birthday, a bit early :)</p>
<p>Thanks :D You've all been really really heplful!!! I can't wait to see Amherst!</p>