Stockbridge— We who live here in the Berkshires are fortunate to enjoy our cultural and historic gems on a year round basis.
One such gem is The Red Lion Inn. My earliest memory of going to The Red Lion Inn is as a five-year-old with my family to celebrate my father receiving a promotion at work. Now, forty+ years later, it is still a wonderful place for a celebration. In fact, a few weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated New Year’s Eve at The Red Lion Inn for the second year in a row. As we approach our fifties, we aren’t enjoying boisterous parties like we once did, and home has become our favorite place to be. Still, it’s nice to do something extra special on New Year’s Eve, and The Red Lion Inn is the perfect home away from home to celebrate. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a party, but one that manages to be festive, elegant, and relaxing at the same time.
This year’s party theme was Midnight Masquerade, which gave me a chance to get creative making masks for my husband and me to wear. I wore my mask with a black dress that I already had hanging in my closet, giving it new life. The partygoers and staff looked festive and lovely in their masquerade attire. We greeted each other while enjoying a welcome cocktail, of which I did not get the recipe. My guess is Prosecco with pomegranate juice and elderflower syrup. Nonetheless, it was delicious and festively dressed for the occasion.



The passed canapés were excellent, updated from last year. My favorite of which were the Polenta Bites with Pickled Peppers (chef’s kiss!), while my husband preferred the Parmesan and chive arancini with tomato jam. The hors d’oeuvre course also included miso deviled eggs with furikake, smoked salmon crostini with whipped cream cheese, and prosciutto and marinated melon, all of which were good.

From there, my husband and I found a table for two and visited the fabulous raw bar offering fresh-shucked oysters with a choice of mignonette sauce or chili-lime sauce, shrimp cocktail shooters, and Ceviche de Pescado. An oyster with the chili-lime sauce and a little hot sauce was one of my favorite bites of the evening (chef’s kiss!) and the ceviche was delightful.

Next, we visited the Plowman’s Table piled high with cured meats, local cheeses, grilled and pickled vegetables, pates and terrines, baguettes, flatbreads, fruits, and candied nuts. I particularly enjoyed the duck pate this year, it was quite lovely. Here, we also found the “salad” which is called “A Trip Through the Garden,” a shooter of baby carrots, celery, cucumbers, herbs, green goddess dressing, and roasted potato “soil.” This dish was inspired, beautiful, artful, and delicious. Bravo to the chef!


At this point of the evening, my husband and I took a break from eating and enjoyed a cocktail and some fresh air on the porch, which is enclosed for the winter. Enclosed or not, it always feels so special to sit on the famous porch of The Red Lion Inn. After that, we visited the photo booth. I put on a pair of giant red sunglasses, we took some super cute photos and were given a photo strip to commemorate the experience, which we hung on our refrigerator next to the one from last year.
The evening was accompanied by the Chris Conte trio. If you get invited to an event at which they are playing, accept the invitation. Chris Conte’s crooning is so enjoyable. They performed a deeply soulful version of “You Are My Sunshine,” that was super interesting. Upstairs, there was a fun casino for party guests to enjoy. The all-inclusive evening included the casino chips and the prizes were awesome!

It was at this point that we were ready to visit the glorious prime rib carving station, which was the highlight of the evening. The hand-carved prime rib was served with popovers, demi and horseradish sauces, and herb-roasted potatoes and vegetables, all of which were delicious. The hot, freshly carved roast with the horseradish sauce, simply put, hit the spot.



Saving room for dessert, I wasn’t able to enjoy a plate of Executive Chef Jon Sterrett’s traditional “Good Luck in the New Year, with Love from Pittsburgh,” a dish of roasted pork belly, potato purée, and herbed sauerkraut, a nod to the chef’s hometown tradition of eating pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Eve. My full belly didn’t stop me from having a bite, and that bite was perfect. The pork belly was slow-roasted with a crispy caramelized crust, and it just melted in my mouth. It left me wanting more, but my sweet-tooth won the battle, as I held strong to saving space for dessert.
There was an entire room dedicated to the “Sweet Treats” dessert display. The main attractions were cook-to-order bananas foster served with vanilla ice cream and gorgeous champagne panna cotta shooters. I turned my attention to the brownies, macarons, and assorted cookies, which just wowed me. The brownies were the second best brownies I have ever had (the first being from a now-closed bakery in Brooklyn.) The macarons were lovely, and my favorite cookie was the caramel tuile (chef’s kiss!), which can be found on the Inn’s regular dessert menu as a topping on their French chocolate mousse, which I highly recommend. It was a delightful way to end this journey of a feast. At this point, glasses of Prosecco were being poured for the toast, but I had turned into a pumpkin, and we left a little early.


I always find the warmest welcome at The Red Lion Inn. I find this embroidered poem hanging on its wall fitting:
Who’er has travelled life’s dull road
Where’er his stages may have been found
May sigh to think he still has found
The warmest welcome at the inn
And, when we had our fill of warm welcome, music, and delectable delights, we drove back to our home, where we snuggled back in, counted our blessings, and counted down to midnight — a perfect evening!
