Robin's and Rubiner's

[Technically, this post was intended to go up yesterday. But somewhere between the power being turned off for half the day to replace a transformer and Blogger refusing to download these pictures for who-knows-what-reason while the power was on, I had some trouble making that happen. Better late than never, right?]

Last week, while Dan's mom was visiting for Mother's Day (Hi, Mom!) we took a little trek to Great Barrington, about 15 minutes away. Even though we had heard a lot baout it, Dan and I had yet to really explore that nook of the Berkshires. We figured the warm spring day, heavy with the scent of blossoming fruit trees, was perfect for taking a walk through town.

We discovered quickly that Main Street is, in fact, the main street. It's lined with unique shops, ranging from artsy clothing stores to trendy cafes to a handmade furniture store to a natural foods co-op and more. We'll definitely be back to do a bit more intensive exploring, but for now I'd like to tell you about two of the most memorable places we went.

First is Rubiner's Cheesemongers, located in the old bank building on Main Street.

This gourmet foods store is just plain brimming with imported candies, artisanal cured meats. fancy mustards and chutneys...


and as the name implies--cheese. Oodles and oodles of beautiful, wonderful, heavenly cheese...




Not only do they have an incredible selection of cheeses (runny and hard and stinky and blue and aged and fresh and sheep and goat and cow, oh my!) but the staff is knowledgeable and helpful. Not that you'd really need a helpful staff member when you can help yourelf to one of the seven or eight varieties of cheese set out to sample each day. That's right seven or eight different cheese samples. While there I tried a young asiago, an aged piave, a waxy jack, parmigiano reggiano, and....

...this odd and intriguing cheese whose name I didn't catch. It was something like an aged cheddar, to say the least. Its scent was of a robust beer, which turned into a sweet, caramelly, cheddar-like taste when it hit the tongue. As the sweetness faded, the saltiness came, followed by a bit of tart sharpness reminiscent of a swiss. Complex doesn't even begin to cover it.

If I were going to Tanglewood and needed a some fancy cheeses, fresh breads, and high quality meats for my picnic on the lawn, I'd go to Rubiner's.

And walk out with 17 kinds of cheese and an empty wallet.

Is that such a bad thing?



After going to Rubiner's we took a few steps down the street and stumbled on this:

Robin's Candy Shop has struck the perfect balance between nostalgia, whimsy, and fun. How can you not love a store with a warning sign that says, "unattended children will be given espresso and a free kitten"? How could you not love a store that sells imported licorice, cotton candy scented perfume, Zagnut bars, and lolipops with real crickets inside?

There's something magical about walking into this place. You can't help but feel a little bit like Charlie walking into the Chocolate Factory. Or maybe it's more like Augustus Gloop when he first sees the chocolate river. I fear that I might be more Augustus than Charlie.

No matter how you feel (awed, nostalgic, gluttonous) there's bound to be something here for you. A box of cupcake shaped bandaids? A pair of cartoonishly large cat-eye glasses? Maybe a gumball shaped like Frankenstein?


At the very least, you're sure to find dessert for your Tanglewood picnic. Let's just hope your empty wallet from Rubiner's has a credit card in it on which you can charge all this candy.

Also, You might want to pack some insulin too. Just to cover the sugar rush.


With Love,
~Brande N.