I’m happy to report that I made it through this past weekend’s dreaded polar vortex, arctic chill, the coldest of cold fronts, etc., which hit New England head-on early Friday evening and relentlessly stuck around until late Saturday afternoon. With dangerously high winds and a chill that dropped temperatures into record-breaking negatives, a lot of people I know had lost power or had pipes burst over the course of the storm- but I was fortunate enough to ride it out in the comforts of my overly-heated apartment with good food and plenty of documentaries to binge watch from under every blanket I own. I outright refused to step foot outside for over 24 hours.
… Until Saturday night, anyway!
When Dan asked if I wanted to bundle up and grab some food and a couple of drinks in Easthampton on Saturday night while he was on an assignment, I jumped at the chance. Cabin fever was beginning to kick in just a little bit- and by that point the weather outside was no longer life-threatening. Easthampton is one of my favorite places in the Pioneer Valley, and for good reason!
Our first stop was New City Brewery, where we took in some live music and local artwork within the renovated and spacious mill building before we made our way over to Luthier’s Co-Op & Backstage Bar, which is a guitar shop by day and a bar/restaurant/venue at night! There was more live music happening, and Dan and I took the opportunity to listen in while we grabbed some sandwiches and loaded tater tots (the best pre-cocktail food, by the way!)
Finally, it was time to walk a few doors down from Luthier’s to Gigantic. I’ve written about Gigantic plenty of times before (it’s one of my favorite bars!) but they recently kicked off their ‘Escape The Northeast’ tropical/Tiki-inspired event with a limited cocktail menu and a lot of fun décor. I had a couple of passion fruit-flavored, rum-filled drinks and thoroughly enjoyed myself until last call before it was time to reluctantly put all the layers back on and brave the late night cold again.
I had such a great weekend that I’d all but forgotten how freezing and gusty it had been just hours earlier- and I’m hoping to find more ways and places to help me get through “Frigid February” in the coming weeks ahead. I gotta’ keep pushing forward to the Springtime!
xo
Coffee & Chiffon 