Allium Restaurant + Bar on WAMC's Culinary Corner This Week

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. – On Wednesday, March 11, Chef Joe Nastro of allium restaurant + bar will be featured on WAMC Northeast Public Radio’s “Culinary Corner” segment. The segment is first in a series of four radio interviews that will highlight selections from allium’s menu.

The WAMC listening area is home to a vast number of restaurants and every Wednesday at 10:35 a.m., WAMC airs “The Culinary Corner.” A member of the WAMC staff visits with a talented chef from a local eatery and together they teach the listener how to make a dish from the chef’s repertoire. This Wednesday’s segment will spotlight allium’s Celery Root and Apple Soup with Sage Oil featuring locally grown ingredients including celery root and herbs from Indian Line Farm and Farm Girl Farm in Egremont, apples from Green River Farm in Williamstown and local cider from Maynard Farm in Connecticut.

Future segments featuring allium restaurant + bar will include Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Pizza Dough from allium’s very popular Ten-Dollar Pizza Tuesdays and Wood-grilled Berkshire Pork with Polenta, Broccoli and Crispy Buttermilk Onions. Selected recipes spotlight locally grown ingredients when possible.

Allium Chef Joe Nastro -- Photo credit Jason Houston


The Culinary Corner can be heard as part of The Roundtable on WAMC Northeast Public Radio frequencies and streamed live at wamc.org. Text versions of the recipes – along with a link to the podcast – can be found at wamc.org/culinarycorner.

Opened in May 2007, allium serves New American cuisine with Chef Joe Nastro’s varying seasonal menu focusing on local, farm-fresh ingredients, and features an exceptional, well-chosen wine list to accompany dinner offerings. Selected as Editors’ Choice in Yankee Magazine’s Travel Guide to New England in 2008, allium has also been awarded Boston Magazine’s Best New Restaurant. The restaurant is located in downtown Great Barrington at 42 Railroad Street, and serves dinner nightly beginning at 5 p.m. allium is a member of Slow Food and Berkshire Grown. For more information, call 413-528-2118 or visit alliumberkshires.com.

The full-service restaurant is part of Mezze Restaurant Group, committed to the ‘buy local’ mission providing a wide diversity of fresh, seasonal foods from neighboring family farms, celebrating the bounty of the Berkshire region. Mezze Restaurant Group also includes Mezze Bistro + Bar of Williamstown, Café Latino at MASS MoCA in North Adams and Mezze Catering, which provides full-service event design and planning. For additional information about Mezze Restaurant Group, visit mezzeinc.com.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Ex-Miss Hall's Teacher Indicted on Rape Charges

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A former Miss Hall's School teacher accused of sexually assaulting students at the girls' school has been indicted by a Berkshire grand jury.
 
Matthew Rutledge, 63, was indicted on Tuesday on three counts of rape following testimony provided by Melissa Fares and Hilary Simon, former students.
 
Pittsfield Police opened an investigation into Rutledge in 2024. Rutledge was alleged to have sexually assaulted students while serving as a teacher at Miss Hall's School dating back to the 1990s. In October 2024, the Berkshire District Attorney's Office announced that there were no charges able to be brought forward at that time; however, the office kept the investigation open. 
 
In late fall 2024, Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue took over the investigation, then tasked a team of special prosecutors and the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit, including resources from the Unresolved Cases Unit, to continue investigating the allegations.
 
In 2025, a summary of a report authored by Aleta Law Firm was released to the public. The report, which was commissioned by the Miss Hall's Board of Trustees, consisted of numerous interviews examining the school's culture. The report detailed a pervasive and chronic pattern of inappropriate staff conduct.
 
Using information gathered by both the DA's Office and the Aleta report, the team of special prosecutors say they found Rutledge to have violated state law. 
 
"It took a long time to get to Tuesday's indictment. I commend the prosecutors and detectives who worked tirelessly to bring this case forward," said Shugrue in a statement. "Most of all, I would like to recognize and commend Melissa Fares and Hilary Simon for their bravery and continued cooperation throughout this long, arduous process. 
 
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