YOUR GUIDE TO THANKSGIVING DINING IN THE BERKSHIRES
B y S c o t t E d w a r d A n d e r s o n
( Take) Home( or Dine In) for the Holidays
YOUR GUIDE TO THANKSGIVING DINING IN THE BERKSHIRES
THE BERKSHIRES IS FAMOUS
FOR THANKSGIVING in part because of an incident 60 years ago this November involving Arlo Guthrie, a“ Thanksgiving Dinner that couldn’ t be beat,” and a pile of garbage that ended up at the bottom of a 15-foot cliff on Glendale Middle Road. All of this devolved into an arrest and, later, his most famous song,“ Alice’ s Restaurant.”
At our house, where I primarily do the cooking, we’ ll get our turkey from Baldwin Farm on Monday, brine it until Thursday, and have a full menu that includes Brussel sprouts, my clam and chouriço stuffing, sourdough dinner rolls, and three different pies— including a bourbon pecan pie that can’ t be beat.( And we always listen to“ Alice’ s Restaurant” at the appointed time before dinner.)
But for those of you who don’ t cook or don’ t want the stress and hassle of cooking on Thanksgiving, fear not. Bernie Fallon is ready for you. At Loeb’ s Foodtown in Lenox, he’ ll have a roasted golden-brown turkey, carefully turned on a rotisserie spit, waiting for your table. The previous owner, Earl Albert, started the tradition over four decades ago, and Fallon and his team have transformed the traditional Thanksgiving cooking marathon into a simple pickup, offering fully cooked birds and all the trimmings that taste just like home.
“ We’ ll probably cook around 100 turkeys,” says Fallon, whose operation ranges from 10- to 25-pound birds. The cooking process takes about three hours for larger birds, two hours for smaller ones, and Fallon’ s team works through the night to ensure everything’ s ready for pickup.
What makes Loeb’ s particularly valuable is their Thanksgiving Day availability. When many stores are closed, Fallon’ s staff are there helping customers find last-minute items. They even keep turkeys in reserve for emergencies— like when someone’ s oven breaks on the big day. Each order comes with detailed reheating
82 // BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE Holiday 2025