Why did I love our dinner at this place so much? 
Could it be that The Dream Away Lodge is rumored to have been a brothel during the Depression years, which speaks of a rich history of satisfying and unburdening the cares of its clientele? Could it be that it’s so tucked away in the woods around Becket, Massachusetts that your GPS will not get you there — so that its current owner, Daniel Osman, refers to it as “Brigadoon” – a place that may exist only in a dream?
Jill and I dined there the other evening with three young and exuberantly attractive actors, who if you added up all their ages together would still be younger than me. And it didn’t matter — not at The Dream Away, where time has no sway.
Chef Amy Loveless’s menu is delightfully all over the place — as is the table setting — no plate, no fork, no spoon is like another. Thai Beef Salad; Korean Short Ribs; Moroccan Chicken; Armenian Grilled Lamb; Black Pepper Tofu and Sticky Rice; Grilled Vegetable Terrine with Quinoa Tabouleh and Olives; their self-proclaimed Famous Meat Loaf.
And — just to underline the dreamlike quality of our experience — they offered a baked trout in lemon and dill. The play we’re doing at this very moment has a scene where my character comes home from fishing and asks Jill’s character to prepare his catch with her “famous lemon and dill.” Are we talking Woo-Woo or what?
I asked the server about their burger — The Dream Away Burger.
Why would I go for a burger with all these scrumptious treats on offer? Because I’m a dedicated scientist and burgers are my field of inquiry.
“How’s the burger?” I asked.
“People say it’s the best in the Berkshires.”
I had to have it. Then she offered me the possibility of substituting the sirloin with a local beef with a high reputation for taste for two bucks more — and I went for that. I eschewed the bacon; I took a slice of tomato and a slice of onion.
It is a great burger. And I don’t throw that word around loosely — unless I’m drunk or stoned, in which case everything’s great. But right now in my cold-sober state I will say without compunction that this is a great burger. Not overly big; not underly small; juicy without the horrid addition of the ubiquitous “pink slime.” And full of taste. The taste is key. It’s very Neanderthal, the taste of perfectly cooked, well-aged, properly fed beef — a combo of charred flesh, blood and suet — the very elements that would make a Vegetarian take the pledge.
Come back soon!
It makes me want to fly back to the Dream Away Lodge and order another.
Aug. 13, 2012
Hi Mike Tucker, City College ’62!
You and I worked on the same 1960-61 stage play titled THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK directed by John Desch…..you were the understudy for the main male role in the play..”Otto Frank, Father Of Anne Frank.”
Hello from a fellow City College grad from long ago.
I just purchased your two earlier food book and wish you well with your 2012 fiction book. Thanks for your great writing.
I work as a SAG-AFTRA movie actor in the Mid-Atlantic USA states…. started paid movie actor work in 1970….supported myself since with other jobs, but kept up the actor work, which I still do…info about 21 movies I’ve been in since 2004 at http://WWW.IMDb.Me/TexAllen
I’ve only recently gotten interested in food and eating as best targets for “the good life” for guys out (now pretty old) age.
Just got Brillat-Savarin’s THE PHSIOLOGY OF TASTE (1825) and recenty purchased CHEESE PRIMER by Steve Jenkins.
I attended the 50th City College Reunion for the Class of 1981 (my year…I’m a year ahead of you), and it was astonishing….superstars wall to wall! Bob Hormats ’61 is now Undersecretary Of State for the present US Govt., Ben Cardin ’61 is Senator from Maryland…..and the list goes on and on and on!
YOU are City’s only guy listed in the World Almanac And Book Of Facts “Living Entertainment Personalities” which states your birthday and place of birth…Baltimore!
Stay well, and thanks for your good actor work and good writing!
Best wishes always,
David Roger “Tex” Allen,
Baltimore City College, Class of 1961,
“Otto Frank” in THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK (Feb. 1961…City College Senior Play)
Aug. 13, 2012
Hi Mike Tucker and others reading my comment message posted earlier today.
Sorry for the typos, including one which wrongly (accidentally) states my Baltimore City College High School grad year was 1981!
My actual grad year was 1961, and I hit the wrong keyboard number! Sorry. Also sorry fot other typos…..spelling ones…spelling was never my strong subject in school!
Thanks for your patience and forgiveness!
Sincerely,
David Roger “Tex” Allen,
Baltiimore City College High School, Class of 1961 (NOT 1981!)
I – and my three guests – LOVED everything about Brace Yourself on Wednesday night. Great casting/performances/timing/set/theme…. A fun evening in the Berkshires.
Always hard to read your blog when one is trying to loose weight. One can dream!