Tuesday Afternoon Taste Test: Jae's Inn Williamstown

By Susan BushPrint Story | Email Story
Crab and lobster cake "lunch box" meal at Jae's Inn in Williamstown, Mass..
Williamstown - A noontime luncheon stop at Jae's Inn was a wonderful experience that will be repeated. The service, the menu and a Tuesday-only "Sushi Festival" combined to deliver pleasurable dining in very attractive surroundings.

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.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Williamstown Board Opts to Negotiate with College on Water St. Lot

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff

Newly elected board member Nate Budington, far left, participates in his first in-person meeting along with, from left, Matt Neely, Stephanie Boyd, Peter Beck, Shana Dixon and Town Manager Robert Menicocci.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday decided to enter into negotiations with Williams College on the sale of the vacant town-owned lot at 59 Water St.
 
But the board members made it clear that the college's proposal to acquire the lot is a starting point, not a final deal that the elected officials would accept.
 
"For the sake of continued conversation, I'm in favor of [awarding Williams the site], but if this process wasn't continued with the opportunity for further negotiation, I wouldn't vote to continue this," Peter Beck said. "I think that next step is necessary for us to get to a yes on this."
 
"I think there's wide agreement on that," Matthew Neely said just before the 5-0 vote to enter talks with the college.
 
Williams was the sole respondent to a town-issued request for proposals to develop the former town garage site, currently a dirt lot.
 
The college's stated intent is to build a new Facilities office and create up to 170 parking spaces at 59 Water Street. That use will allow the college to redevelop the current Facilities building site and parking lot as part of a reconception of the school's indoor athletic and recreation facilities.
 
Under the terms of the RFP, the college's proposal was subjected to review by an ad hoc advisory committee to the town manager, who brought the question to the Select Board. That board will have the final say on any purchase and sales agreement.
 
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