<p>Any recommendations on places to eat w/ D the night before and morning of drop off and sans D after drop off?</p>
<p>For the record, I have not been to any of these places, but they were recommended to me by a local.</p>
<p>“Sierra Grill: Pannini
Joe’s Cafe: busy/bar pizza
Amaniuz: med.
Bistro Les Gras: $$$”</p>
<p>By accident (we were really looking for the Friendly’s and couldn’t find it) DS and I ate in the restaurant at the Hotel Northampton. It wasn’t bad.</p>
<p>Not a glowing recommendation, I know, but hey – it beat Friendly’s!!</p>
<p>For breakfast, Sylvester’s is supposed to be the best, though on the weekends there is usually a wait. The breakfast at the Green Bean Cafe is also very good, as is the one at Amanouz (moroccan cafe on main street). </p>
<p>Lunch: I like the vegetarian sandwiches at Haymarket, they make the world’s best grilled cheese. If vegetarian cooking doesn’t suit your whole family though, there’s always Sam’s Pizza (fancy pizza, casual atmosphere, you can get beer and wine to go with your lunch as well), Viva Fresh Pasta (order the sweet potato ravioli with maple walnut sauce), Amanouz (delicious, inexpensive, and awesome variety of things. Something for everyone, even if you don’t normally eat mediterranean food). The Northampton Brewery is a good choice if you want a moderately priced yummy sit-down burgers/sandwiches place but with homemade microbrews. Also you can sit out on the porch under the trees if you don’t mind it being a little humid. </p>
<p>Really, you can just stroll down main street and pick something (though Sylvester’s and Northampton Brewery are off of main street, so you would miss those). Or if you want a quick lunch, the Campus Center Cafe will probably be open (the food is good but it will be swarming with first years and families, so not very private).</p>
<p>Thai Garden or Osaka in Hamp. Chez Albert in Amherst. If you want a beautiful location and don’t mind a drive, The Night Kitchen at the mill is outstanding.</p>
<p>[The</a> Montague Night Kitchen - Home](<a href=“montaguenightkitchen.com”>http://montaguenightkitchen.com/)</p>
<p>[The</a> Thai Garden Group - Thai Garden Keene, NH and Northampton, MA](<a href=“http://www.thethaigardengroup.com/]The”>http://www.thethaigardengroup.com/)</p>
<p>[Chez</a> Albert Restaurant, Amherst, MA : Reviews and maps - Yahoo! Local](<a href=“http://local.yahoo.com/info-30982438-chez-albert-restaurant-amherst?tab=reviews#reviews]Chez”>http://local.yahoo.com/info-30982438-chez-albert-restaurant-amherst?tab=reviews#reviews)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.osakanorthampton.com/[/url]”>http://www.osakanorthampton.com/</a></p>
<p>I love Sylvesters.</p>
<p>Almost forgot. Side Street Cafe in Florence (only a few miles from Smith) is also wonderful.</p>
<p>[Side</a> Street Cafe](<a href=“http://sidestcafe.com/]Side”>http://sidestcafe.com/)</p>
<p>The Night Kitchen IS outstanding, but it’s also a pretty long drive, and I don’t think they’re open for lunch, and you usually need a reservation. But if you want an excellent dining experience in a beautiful refinished old mill overlooking the montague river, it’s 100% worth all of this.</p>
<p>Sylvestor’s also has a good lunch.</p>
<p>My favorite restaurant was India House. I managed to go twice the week before graduation. Also the Northampton Brewery, Pizza Paradiso, and there was a Chinese/Japanese restaurant on Main St. that I loved but I can’t remember it’s name.</p>
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<p>The op asked about dinner, but the Lady Killigrew has lunch. Probably not worth the drive just for lunch, however. Speaking of driving, the bridge is kaput.
</p>
<p>[Montague</a> Bookmill: used books cafe fine dining antiques northampton amherst ma bookshop wifi](<a href=“http://www.montaguebookmill.com/visit.html]Montague”>http://www.montaguebookmill.com/visit.html)</p>
<p>Borgin’s India House reccomondation is spot on. </p>
<p>For Italian, Carmelina’s is by far a notch above others
[Carmelina’s</a> At The Commons | Authentic Italian Cuisine in the Hadley, Amherst, Northampton Massachusetts area.](<a href=“http://www.carmelinas.com/]Carmelina’s”>http://www.carmelinas.com/)</p>
<p>Our favorites are Northampton Brewery, Osaka, India House, and Spoleto. Last time we tried a Thai restaurant down near Spoleto, on the opposite side of the street, that was pretty good and reasonably priced. </p>
<p>I’m not a fan of Sylvester’s, only because we’ve gotten lousy service all three times we’ve been there. Off the topic of dinner and on to breakfast: the best place is Esselon Cafe, between Northampton and Amherst on Rte 9.</p>
<p>I second Thai Garden and India House. Amanouz is also pretty good, though they’re not as fancy as the first two (prices are great, however!).</p>
<p>Oh, I forgot to mention Local. Fabulous burgers!</p>
<p>Every person I mention Northampton to tells us to go to Flo’s diner which I think is closer to Amherst - haven’t been yet but it is on the list. We also liked Haymarket although I feel like I’m back in the early 70’s and the tibetan place on main street.</p>
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<p>Flo’s diner is in Florence, about 3 miles from Smith on Rt 9 (Elm) going southeast toward Williamsburg.</p>
<p>[Miss</a> Flo’s - American Profile](<a href=“Site Offline - American Profile”>Site Offline - American Profile)</p>
<p>The Rt 9 diner (catchy name) is on Rt 9 a mile before Amherst College</p>
<p>Really want to go to Flo’s - does anyone think it matters if we duck out for Smith dorm lunch? We have to leave before dinner.</p>
<p>I just got back from taking my daughter to Smith - she’s in her last year and living in an apartment, so we were able to go early and avoid the rush. We ate in a number of great restaurants. For breakfast we love Haymarket and the Green Bean. Veracruz has great Mexican food. We also enjoyed Green Street, Circa, Zen, and Siam Square. We were there 5 days so we had the opportunity to sample a number of places.</p>
<p>We had supper at Carmelinas this evening and all enjoyed our meal. Very good fresh pasta and good local vegetables. They also had live jazz music which was delightful and just right for our last evening with our daughter.</p>
<p>I like the Eastside Grill very much for a more traditional meal, especially a steak. Decent wine, too. </p>
<p>Spoleto’s is probably my favorite but India House, Osaka, and Viva Fresh Pasta Company are all good too, the last being very deceptive because of a downstairs dining room you can’t see and a menu that has some very very good items on it.</p>
<p>I second Viva Fresh. We received a warm welcome, exceptional food and attentive service when we ate there last Fall. </p>
<p>My husband is in Northampton right now, helping my second-year daughter move in. (As a member of a choral ensemble, she had to arrive early to practice for convocation.) I wish I could be there, sharing a “last supper” with her at any of these places mentioned!</p>