We’ve lived in Lenox since 1996. There are, and have been, many restaurants. Most follow traditional themes….Italian (Northern or “red sauce”), French, Sushi, New England, steaks and burgers. Here comes one that cannot be labeled. Because it reinvents itself every day.
Nudel, the 4-week-old creation of Bjorn Somlo, has already thrilled at least 30 couples from Hampton Terrace, with no dissenting votes. Occupying the old “Dish” space on Church Street, Bjorn has taken out the wall between the kitchen and the dining room so that all can see what he is up to. And what he is up to changes every day. There is no set menu. Choices each day are at the chef’s whim.
Depending on the availability of locally procurred meats, vegetables or fruits, Bjorn devises and publishes a daily menu. If you want to preview what he is offering, the menu is posted live on their Internet site. A quick look at the archived menues demonstrates that this chef does not rest. He reacts to the possibilities offered by his basic ingredients….a la “Iron Chef,” and in that tradition, he strives to use every edible part of his bounty, and present it in as many formats as possible. For tomorrow, he is advertising a “Hen of the Woods” tasting menu for $45, which will stretch the theme from appetizers, through salads and soups, entres, pastas and sweet endings. One of our guests told us that they had parsnips in their salad and parsnips in their dessert. We have seen menus that do the same for duck, roosters, whole pigs, rabbit, bluefish, skate, clams…. His prices are quite reasonable a la carte, with soups and appetizers all coming in under $10, and all entres available in a large or small plate option, most in the $11 to $18 range.
Bjorn, 29, has been one of the chefs at John Andrews….. without question the most experimental fine restaurant in the Berkshires. For most of our guests, the 40 minute drive there has been too much to venture, thus our excitement that Nudel is located less than a block from us.