By Neil Turitz
Photo above by Stephanie Zollshan
It’s hard to imagine, but there was a time when this part of the world was a culinary wasteland. Sure, we had diners and pizzerias, and farm shops up the wazoo, but dinner spots worth booking ahead? Restaurants that qualified as “dining destinations”? Hilarious. Today the area is one of the greatest culinary hubs in the U.S.—and every line cook dreams of heading for our hills to open that storybook farm-to-table, locally sourced restaurant. The growing number of chefs who have achieved that very same dream owe a debt of gratitude to their foodie forefathers (and mothers).
From a converted stagecoach shop where dinner is served by candlelight to a father-daughter-run red-sauce Italian joint, these five OGs win our unofficial longevity award for laying the foundation for today’s culinary cornucopia. Each and every one of them deserves a chef’s kiss!
Aurelien Telle, Alta
Like a lot of immigrants, Aurelien Telle came to America for a job, and stayed here for love. The native of France arrived in Western Massachusetts 22 years ago to work in the kitchen at the gone, but never forgotten, Wheatleigh in Lenox.
“The restaurant manager there had gone to the same school as me in France,” Telle recalls, “and I wanted to improve my English, so I took an 18-month contract, and 15 months into it, I met the love of my life, so I stayed for her.”
The two just celebrated their 19th anniversary at the start of the summer, and have three children together. They also have Alta, which Telle opened on Church Street in Lenox in 2008, and which he did not name after the ski resort in Utah, though Telle is an avid skier himself.
“I wanted a short name, starting with an A to be on top of the listings,” he says. “My initials are in there, and ‘alta’ means high in Spanish. For wine to be called ‘alta,’ it has to be aged for quite some time, so it’s a sense of reserve, of quality, that I’ve been trying to achieve for nearly 20 years.”
Alta specializes in Mediterranean fare, but unlike most places that say they’re Mediterranean but only focus on one part of the region, Telle’s philosophy is more encompassing: “When I say we’re a Mediterranean restaurant, we are a restaurant that uses flavor from all the countries around the Mediterranean area. Every single country that borders the Mediterranean Sea.”
The mix of European, African, and Middle Eastern flavors is unlike anything else in the Berkshires, and is a big reason why Telle’s vision has been so popular for so long. That, and the team that Telle has put together to bring that vision to life.
“A restaurant is not a one-man show, and I’m extremely lucky to have such an incredible team with me. A resume is great, but if you’re not a good person at heart, if you’re not committed, motivated, kind, respectful, I’m not interested in working with you,” he explains. “We can always train people how to serve, to bartend, to cook. That’s fairly easy, but I cannot train who you are as a person. People come here and they feel that, and I think that’s part of why they keep coming back.”
Signature Dish: Roasted duck with salty caramel sauce
altawinebar.com
Tony Mazzeo, Mazzeo’s
For Tony Mazzeo, the secret to his success comes down to one simple thing: family. He started his eponymous restaurant in 1988 with his parents, Pasquale and Maria Gabriella, works alongside his “utility player” wife Melissa, and his daughter, Mia, is a key part of the team who helps make the growing operation go. And then there’s his executive chef, Lee Silverman, who is not technically family, but as he’s been with the restaurant since 1989, he might as well be.
The name of the restaurant is “Mazzeo’s,” but it could just as easily be “Mazzeos,” without the apostrophe.
“Gabriella was always in the kitchen, talking about the right way to do things, and Lee listened,” Melissa says. “Tony’s mom and dad knew what was good—what made this so good and that so good—and that’s what people really see every time they eat here.”
Indeed, the Mazzeos bring something inescapingly authentic to the dining experience. “Customers say, ‘Oh my god, you could have had this in Italy.’ It’s what keeps people coming back,” says Melissa. “It might take another minute, it might cost a few cents more, but we’ve been to Italy to visit with Tony’s family, and everything revolves around food and family. They just put love into every single thing they make, and you can taste it.”
It helps that everything is made in house, from the eight different kinds of pasta to the marinara and assorted other sauces. Additionally, the restaurant’s selection of meats and seafood is so high quality, it’s also the in-house butcher and fishmonger for Guido’s, 100 yards up South Street.
Mazzeo’s, which has been in the same spot on South Street since 2010, is more than a name. It’s become a brand, with jars of its marinara sauce for sale at local groceries, and a new market and sandwich shop just down the road in Lenox, managed by Mia, who is clearly preparing to take over the family business when Tony hangs up his apron.
“I’ve been very lucky, very fortunate. I work very hard, I’ve done literally everything in the business,” Tony says, “and I’m there at the restaurant pretty much every night. I love being there and seeing my customers, a lot of whom are like family.
“But,” he adds, “everybody’s getting old, so it’s another generation of people coming up.”
Signature Dish: Eggplant parmesan
mazzeosristorante.com
Michael Soldato, Mario’s
You cannot talk about Mario’s in New Lebanon, New York, without talking about the Soldato family as a whole. Michael Soldato was two years old when his parents, Mario and Julia, opened the place in 1964. He has spent his entire life there, joined by his wife and two daughters, all of whom are involved in the business.
But as important as his family has been, the key to success for the man who owns three of the biggest and most popular restaurants in the region comes down to an innate competitiveness and a love of the grind.
“Everything I’ve done, I’ve taught myself,” says Soldato. “I have no formal training. I’m just a very motivated, competitive individual, with a lot of passion, a lot of respect for the business and the craft.”
It’s that passion and drive that have led him to open Zucchini’s and Roasted Garlic in Pittsfield, while continuing to do the little things at the flagship restaurant that keep people coming back. “We do a lot of things that most people probably don’t know about,” he says. “For example, we grow all of our own herbs behind Mario’s. I just finished planting them this week.”
The restaurant’s classic Italian menu goes beyond pasta, though that, of course, is a major part of the cuisine. The gnocchi, lasagna, cavatelli, rigatoni, and mafaldine are all made in house, which fits with a place that grows its own herbs.
Since the restaurant business is in his blood, it makes sense that his two daughters have followed in his footsteps. Sage manages Mario’s, while Madison runs Roasted Garlic, and both have been instilled with the integrity and work ethic of their dad. Considering he’s still in the kitchen five to six days a week and clocks about seven miles a day while he’s in there, Michael Soldato walks it like he talks it.
“Failure is not an option to me. It took me a long time to get where I’m at. Patience, perseverance, hard work, and grinding it out every day. There’s no quick fix,” he explains. “It’s a million simple things that are going to translate into something bigger. Stay focused, stay determined. I know I’ve had a level of success, but to me it’s not like I’ve reached a pinnacle and can relax. I constantly strive to be better each and every day, just a little bit.”
Signature Dish: Tournedos of beef; mushroom beignets
mariosrestaurantnewlebanon.com
Terry Moore, The Mill
There aren’t many restaurants that hand out books of matches anymore, but The Mill in South Egremont is an old-fashioned place that believes in having a good time. In fact, that’s exactly what it says on the backs of those matchbooks: “Never miss an opportunity to have a good time.”
“That’s what restaurants should be,” says Terry Moore, who first opened The Mill in 1978. “You won’t walk into my restaurant and see plaques on the wall with reviews or stars or anything like that. It’s just about making you feel good. I might not have the best food in the Berkshires, I might not have the best wine list, but nobody can beat me in hospitality.”
Moore’s whole life has been about that very thing, making people smile, and giving them a place to call home. A native of England, he first came to the U.S. in the early 1960s, landing in New York City. He worked in and ran bars there for more than a decade before finding his way to Western Massachusetts in 1977.
“I grew tired of life in the city in the ’70s. So I went to a realtor, and said, listen, I don’t have a lot of money, but I’d like to open a restaurant. He said, ‘I’ve got a place in the Berkshires.’ I said, ‘Where are the Berkshires?’” he recalls. “That was my introduction to this place, in 1977, and I loved it. It had a lot of potential, because there was nothing up here.”
A year later, he opened The Mill, though at the time, and for decades afterward, it was known as The Old Mill. That changed in June 2024, after most of Moore’s key players wanted to retire, and his chef wanted to open his own place—Chris and MJ’s in Sheffield. Moore thought it was time to retool.
“I decided to close and completely change the concept,” he recalls. “I was a little tired of operating what was known as a ‘fine dining’ establishment. Visiting my son in NYC, he would take me to some wonderful lounges and clubs. So I changed the whole interior and made it more of a lounge.”
With that came a name change. Out with the “old,” as it were. “To be honest,” he admits, “I was never really comfortable with The Old Mill, as there are many Old Mills around the country.”
A year later, he reopened The Mill, and he’s been at it ever since. While the food is still excellent, the menu has loosened up a bit, with a vegetable curry and The Mill burger now mixed in with the steak frites, pan roasted chicken breast, and sautéed calves liver. Though he’s no longer able to work the line and cook every night, he’s still the face of the place, and does everything he can to give his customers that sense of comfort that he knows they crave.
“It’s basic hospitality. Once you step over my threshold, you come into this environment, I want to make you happy. So often today, you go out and there’s a coldness to a restaurant,” he says. “I want to embrace you as soon as you walk in, and that’s what’s given me this longevity, being able to recognize people, know their names, know their birthdays, and they come back.”
Signature Dish: The Cioppino (The San Francisco version of Bouillabaisse)
oldmillberkshires.com
Peter Platt, The Old Inn on the Green
Peter Platt and his wife, Meredith, wanted a change. Peter was working as a sous chef at the Parker House in Boston, but city living was wearing on them, and a job at the Wheatleigh brought them to the Berkshires. Around 2002, he started working at The Old Inn on the Green and, two years later, he found himself in a unique situation.
“The owner at the time needed to sell the property, so we were in the right place at the right time,” he recalls. The restaurant is also a hotel, which gives it an added dimension, as does the building’s history, which Platt acknowledges is part of the property’s charm.
“It was built as a stagecoach stop, so it’s not just any old restaurant. There’s a whole aura, a mystique about the property and the building,” he says. “We try to honor and respect that, so when people come here, they’re clearly at a different place.”
They also might feel like they’re walking into a time machine. The dining room is entirely candlelit and, if that doesn’t offer enough ambience, the roaring fireplace during the winter adds even more.
Unlike a lot of restaurateurs in the region, who started out in the kitchen and have since branched out to the front of the house, Platt is still in the back of the house every night, working the line with his sous chefs, leaving Meredith as the face of the operation.
“She does a great job,” he says. “She reminds me of people’s names and where they’re from, and how often they come in.”
But it’s the cooking part of the job that gives Platt the most joy, creating a seasonal menu that works with local farms to use native ingredients. While other chefs connect with their customers face to face, Platt does it through his food.
The three course prix-fixe menu features classics like Caesar salad and baby iceberg lettuce wedge alongside grilled asparagus and burrata, a lobster pasta, and a soup with three different kinds of mushrooms (cremini, hen of the woods, and porcini). There’s also pan-roasted filet of halibut, herb-roasted chicken breast, and a parsley-crusted rack of lamb, all of which tend to earn some fairly spectacular reviews on TripAdvisor.
“It’s always been a fine dining destination, so we try to have things on the menu that we enjoy ourselves, that we think are of value, and that are upscale in a way you won’t find at other restaurants,” he says. “When people love their experience here, that’s what it’s all about.”
Signature Dish: Roasted beet tarte tatin, with herbed chevre
oldinn.com
