THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING

STURBRIDGETIMES
THE
MAGAZINE
OCTOBER, 2012
THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE 16
DINING OUT
By Richard Morchoe
Since the dawn of humanity, people have been search-
ing for truth. Finally, we can stop, at least in Sturbridge.
The lovely building at 420 Main Street now is home to
Veritas, Latin for truth.
You will not find philosophers debating what is the
good. Instead, diners seeking victuals and staff preparing
and presenting them are there. When we entered we
were cordially greeted and taken into the colonial dining
room.
Our waiter, Rick came by to ask if we had a drink
order. We told him that we would choose a wine with the
dinner, but would like the fried calamari appetizer. Rick
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Veritas
in Sturbridge:
a truly fine
dining
experience
THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING 17
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took the order but quickly returned with a breadbasket. A
buttery sweet potato spread came with the bread. It seems
sweet potato is in everything these days, which is not
something to complain about.
The calamari came in due course, served with feta, ca-
pers and field greens with an aioli sauce. It was crunchy
and gone quickly.
We ordered dinner when the appetizer arrived, and it
came soon after we had finished the calamari.
My choice was the sauerbraten, a German pot roast.
The menu described it as being made Rupprechts way.
Rupprechts way is a well-flavored serving of beef. It was
accompanied by a sweet and sour sauce and spaetzle. I
like spaetzle, a soft noodle and the sauce was nice. Better
was the wonderful red cabbage that completed the plate.
Brd, my daughter, ordered the ahi tuna steak. It was
large and cooked medium rare. The noodles, seaweed
salad, and ceviche on the side were all full flavor and fun
additions
The hit of the afternoon however was the Salmon
Oscar my wife ordered. The salmon itself was pan seared
and had a delicate flavor and tenderness. The asparagus
in barnaise sauce with basil garnish was lovely and of
course, who does not love garlic mashed potatoes.
My wifes desert was the Crme Suchard, which is a
light chocolate mousse, whimsically called Moose on the
menu. She described it as delightful. It is composed of
chocolate, whipped cream and cookies and served in a
martini glass.
My key lime pie came with pineapple, mango coulis, a
cool dish on a warm early evening.
Brd ordered the bread pudding. She described it as
tender, flavorful, and large. Also the brandy sauce was
killer.
As you approach the restaurant at the front door, there
is a sign with the legend, In Vino Veritas. This is a hint
as to the truth Kelly and Kurt Soukup were looking for.
The phrase translates as In wine, truth. It means after
enough wine, one cannot lie. Kelly and Kurt were look-
ing for truth in good wine for a wine bar they contem-
plated opening in Hartford. That did not happen, but
they loved the name and would use it twice.
What is immediately evident about the couple is they
love the restaurant business. Kurt started at 14 years of
age doing dishes at the old Lakehouse in Wilbraham. His
true education began at the Student Prince, a Springfield
Institution. Under the tutelage of Chef Rupprecht he
learned everything from butchering to the formal table-
side service.
Kelly started waitressing 14 years ago. Obviously, she
got along with Kurt and now gets to run the front of the
operation. This is not the first Veritas. On the American
Caribbean island of Vieques, they operated an open-air
restaurant for three years. They still own the home they
built there.
The Soukups came back to Massachusetts because of
family. It cant be the weather. Fortunately they found
420 Main Street and signed a lease. They have only praise
for the landlords at the 420 complex who have been there
for them.
Everything is made on the property, including catsup
and pickles. They do their best to source locally. Their
goal is to be consumer friendly and economy friendly
given the current financial environment.
The happy hour menu is a budget bill of fare. Espe-
cially so is the build your own burger option. The top-
pings list is exhaustive. Mondays is burger and beer night,
a pint of the beer of the month and a 9oz burger is $11.
Continued on page 25
THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING
THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE 25
seen as big a fight since. Instead,
the Republicans had to make a
man no one was excited about
palatable. The Dems had to
make the case that their man is
on the right track economically,
albeit at a pace that would make
a snail look like Usain Bolt.
I look forward to the debates
with hope and trepidation. I
hope that they will be real de-
bates between the candidates.
More likely, network newsread-
ers will just get to make points.
What the conventions left
me with was the conclusion that
while we are voting for a chief ex-
ecutive with vast power, it has
the flavor of high school. Maybe
TV makes everything banal or
the electoral process is, in the
end, trite. It may have been a
long while since I did time in
secondary school. Still, the con-
ventions had the feeling of a
campaign for student council
president.
I vaguely remember
Lawrence of Arabia, in his book
about his war in the Middle
East, saying the Bedouin pre-
ferred the Brits to the French be-
cause they thought it unseemly
to pander in an election to be
head of state. Either we bring
back the Articles of Confedera-
tion or find a monarch.
Silly season
Sturbridge Trails
We also sampled the Stone Pie. No, it is not a pie
made of stone, but a pizza made in a stone oven. We
have good pizza in Sturbridge, but the stone pie is New
Haven style, which is popular in the lower Nutmeg
State. New Haven style pizza in Sturbridge is news.
We sampled the Giardino, a vegetable topped thin
crust pie. There is a Wednesday deal of $30 for a pizza
and bottle of wine from the Forever $21 wine list.
On Sunday nights, Prime Rib is on special.
The interior of the dining rooms is in an appealing
colonial dcor. The bar upstairs is a cozy room. Kurts
mom made all the drapes and his dad framed the
prints. Veritas is a welcome addition to the Sturbridge
restaurant lineup.
Continued from page 17
Continued from page 19
Veritas
been printed. Special thanks go out to Bill Kenyon
for the graphics and financial assistance from the STA
for covering printing costs. Copies are available at
the Heins Farm Kiosk, Conservation Comm office,
Town Hall and the Sturbridge Tourist information
Ctr.
So whats next for the Trails Committee you ask?
Well by the time you read this, their fall volunteer day,
National Public Lands Day will have been held on
Sept 29th with continuing work projects of:
Minor improvements to the Shattuck Rd park-
ing area with removal of brush around the trail head.
Continuing sign installation on Heins Farm
and Leadmine Mt properties
Construction continuation of another section
of the Gateway Trail.
Clean up of fine tree debris from the Arbutus
Park trail, and trail shoulder trimming of the Pond
Loop trail at Heins Farm.
Old Growth Trail re-opening
Later this fall volunteers, along with various con-
tractors, will be working on improvements to the
West Ridge Trail and the west side of Arbutus Park
Trail and continued construction of the
Gateway trail all on LMT.
The progress on our trail system is only
limited by the number of volunteers we have.
The Sturbridge Trails Committee is al-
ways looking for more volunteers. They are
looking for all skills and no skills, this in-
cludes people who dont like to be on the
trail but want to contribute, to avid trail
users. They need administrative people,
(minutes/web site/press releases) project co-
ordinators, contractors, researchers, moms,
dads, Grandmas and Grandpas, scout and
youth groups. The time commitment is
what you want to give, no minimum or max-
imum, one project on one day or a multiple
month ones. Spread the word to your
friends and neighbors!