Where'd You Get That?!
The Northampton Shopping Blog is a new feature on our website which profiles various downtown Northampton shops, restaurants, and services. Check back here frequently as we will be updating this segment with new content often!
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Viva Fresh Pasta started out as a fresh pasta take-away on Martha's Vineyard in 1984, moved to Northampton in 1986, and settled into their current full-service restaurant location at Main & Masonic Streets in 1991. Originally focused on supplying both retail and wholesale clients with freshly-made pasta and sauces, Viva Fresh Pasta has been gracing the plates of many fine meals prepared both in private and professional kitchens for nearly 30 years.
Immediately enamored with the wild mushroom and walnut ravioli, my husband and I both decide that it will be the featured dish at our next dinner party. While trying to match the selection of 30+ wines that Viva has on offer may be a little more challenging, impressing friends and family with meals made of fresh, handmade pasta is as easy as stopping by Viva Fresh Pasta on the way home to pick-up your favorite variety... The fact that you didn't have to spend hours laboring in the kitchen to craft each perfect noodle can be our little secret.
Connect with Unite on Facebook, or visit thier retail location at 202 Main Street, in downtown Northampton. Open 7 days a week, 12:00pm - 6:00pm, Sundays until 5pm. 413-585-5774 - Online shopping available.
Whether I am looking for a gift, a sweet treat to bring to a dinner party, or feel like I deserve a reward for getting through some sort of challenge or another, good chocolate always seems to fit the bill. Aw, who am I kidding? I really don't need a reason to indulge in good chocolate. And with all of its health benefits, there's really no guilt involved with this pleasure.
Connect with Heavenly Chocolate on Facebook, or drop by to sample these heavely treats yourself at thier kiosk location, located on level 1 of Thornes Marketplace, 150 Main Street, in downtown Northampton. Open 7 days a week, 10am - 8pm, Sundays until 5pm. 413-586-3800 - Online shopping available.
The first thing you notice when you step into The Artisan Gallery is that it is housed in a much larger space than it's storefront suggests. The second thing you notice is the sheer variety of carefully curated works on display; and the third thing you notice is how each of these items, the staff, and even the space itself exudes an open, honest warmth - this could be no more obvious than on that chilly March afternoon when I first walked into the gallery while on a shopping safari of downtown Northampton with my visiting mother-in-law
It wasn't long before we found ourselves both intrigued and entertained by the vast selection of jewellery, artworks, clothing, ceramics, and furnishings; each speaking out to us with it's own individual character, seemingly wanting to tell us it's own story of how it came to be.
Indeed, The Artisan Gallery takes great pride in educating it's customers as to what exactly goes into each and every item that they feature. With 4 exhibitions per year plus their annual Cup & Mug Show, there is plenty of opportunity to learn about the back-story to each of these artworks.
My mother-in-law found a sweet pair of earrings to remind her of her first trip to New England, while I left lusting after the hand-turned cherry wood French-style rolling pins made by a craftsperson in Vermont, and a note to pick up one of the adorable Woolbuddy Do-It-Yourself felting kits as a hostess gift for the next time that I visit with one of my crafty friends - fortunately, they have as many different kits as I have crafty friends to visit!
Connect with The Artisan Gallery on Facebook, or drop by the gallery located at 162 Main Street, in downtown Northampton. Open 7 days a week, hours vary. (413) 586-1942
