S. Worthen | Weblog

Fitzwilly's is an institution down on Main St. in Northampton, MA. With M., a friend met last year at Leeds, I started with creamy, rich spinach-and-artichoke dip with tortillas. The "buffalo chicken ravioli" was really more buffalo chicken deep-fried wontons, but had the warm, gentle spiciness of much-missed buffalo chicken in its heart - and served, of course, with blue cheese dressing to balance the mild heat. My sesame seed-coated seared ahi tuna salad was fine - the tuna a little more seared than raw, as promised. Most importantly, however, the banana dacquiri was still a classic exemplar of the genre. The place is a little worn looking and not quite as clean as it should be, but otherwise all its old self.

The sun finally came out after a weekend of cool drizzle and shown glaringly down on Noho's streets. Although I was full, it was easy to give in to the suggestion of a trip to Herrell's. This ice cream joint makes it own phenomenal flavors, creative, but not avant-garde. I sampled the chocolate pudding ice cream, but it was too sweet. Their chocolate whipped cream is amazing, but too much for me, given how full I already was. Mudpie, grapefruit, and malted vanilla all tempted, but in the end I went for a kiddie-sized scoop of "burnt sugar and butter", a gentle butterscotch touch to a smooth, lovely creaminess, exactly what ice cream should be.