Tuesday Afternoon Taste Test: Jae's Inn Williamstown
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| Crab and lobster cake "lunch box" meal at Jae's Inn in Williamstown, Mass.. |
Beautiful Decor
The restaurant, owned by regionally renowned restaurateur Jae Chung, is at 777 Cold Spring Road. The grounds offer ample parking and lush lawns accentuated by a large pond and plantings. An outdoor seating area hosts outdoor dining, season and weather permitting.
<L2>The restaurant's interior is extremely well-designed.
Generously-sized windows allow an abundance of natural light and the atmosphere is very bright, airy, and welcoming. A look upwards at the main dining room ceiling delivers a surprise; multi-glass-paned wooden framed doors hang length-wise from above.
My companion and I were seated at a quaint wooden-topped table for two outfitted with high-backed, fabric-covered, very comfortable chairs. Most of the tables were set for four diners and the chairs were wooden.
Our server brought water immediately as well as a wine list and our menus. We passed on wine but the list is extensive and offered a variety.
One Word: Delicious
My companion is a sushi fan. Her meal included maguro [tuna], ebi [shrimp] avocado maki, kappa maki, and included a serving of miso or hot and sour soup. She chose the miso soup and pronounced it delicious.
I opted for a crab-and-lobster cake "lunch box" which was served in an attractive, square-shaped serving dish that held each food item. The meal included a choice of hot and sour or miso soup and I selected the hot and sour soup. The soup was as close to a perfectly prepared as I have ever tasted.
The crab and lobster cake was served with a dollop of seasoned mayonnaise and the flavor was incredible. The lunch box meal included brown rice and a small salad. The greens and carrot curls were fresh and added attractive color to the meal and the brown rice was firm and flavorful.<R3>
Extensive Menu
Jae's Inn Williamstown offers an extensive dinner menu that includes appetizers such as shumai [$5.95], Jae's spring rolls [$8.95], fried calamari [$6.95], and vegetable tempura [$5.95], shrimp tempura [$7.95] and szechuan rock shrimp tempura [$9.95]. Sushi appetizers include a sashimi appetizer, which is assorted filets of raw fish, [$8.95], tuna tataki [$8.95], naruto [$6.95], and grilled spicy hotate [$9.95]. Soups include chicken noodle, lobster miso, Tom Yum Koong, and Yook Kae Jang.
Jumbo coconut shrimp [$16.95], pan-seared shrimp and scallops [$17.95], beef rib-eye teriyaki[$18.95], grilled tuna steak [$17.95] and unaju grilled eel over bed of rice [414.95] are included on the restaurant's entree menu. Jae's Specials include paradise chicken [$11.95], mango chicken [$11.95], shanghai boneless duck [$13.95], beef with asparagus [$12.95], and szechuan shrimp [$15.95].
<L4>The menu offers Korean specials, curry meals, a variety of stir-fried rice, and rice-and-noodle dishes. "Designer rolls" such as kappa maki, avocado maki, futo maki, scorpion maki, and Philadelphia maki are part of the menu.
The bill for our lunch was extremely affordable. Including the state meals tax, the restaurant check totaled $28.54.
As the minutes ticked past noon, the dining room filled with a diverse group of patrons. Women with several children sat at outdoor tables, while several groups of men and women sat inside the restaurant.
Jae's Inn Williamstown has developed a strong patron base and with its excellence of service, food, and atmosphere, the popularity of the eatery is certain to increase.
Jae's Inn in Williamstown serves lunch seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Dinner is served Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and on Friday-Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.. Dinner is served on Sunday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m..<R5>
Additional information about the Jae's Inn restaurant in Williamstown and a Jae's spa based in North Adams is available at a www.jaesinn.com Internet web site.
Susan Bush may be reached via e-mail at suebush@iberkshires.com or at 413-663-3384 ext.29.
