Bucolic Bounty

Naji Nejaime is spending more hours than ever in the kitchen these days. Owner of an eponymous Mediterranean restaurant, Naji’s on Stockbridge Road in Great Barrington, Nejaime has stripped down his staff in light of the COVID-19 crisis even as he has expanded his hours to catch whatever business he can.

Happily for the restauranteur, business is increasing daily as customers return to his open air porch and lawn. Take-out and catering continue at a brisk pace and now, with area parks and forests opening to visitors once more, he can again look to providing picnics-to-go for those who want to commune with nature while enjoying what one patron termed “some of the most delicious Mediterranean food I have ever eaten.”

Naji’s, a go-to spot for top-quality Lebanese food in the Berkshires, has long provided picnic meals for those on their way to Tanglewood or Jacob’s Pillow. Those markets are closed for this season but his meals can be enjoyed with equal gusto al fresco in field or forest.

The carry-out picnic meals come in four varieties, all priced between $23 and $25. “People ask me if they are big enough for two people,” Nejaime said. “I say, probably about one-and-a half people, depending on how much you like to eat. You could get four different dinners and share them with six people.”

Diners sharing a repast might combine the offerings from the “Stockbridge” (grilled chicken breast topped with eggplant, tomatoes and pine nuts, a Greek salad, Lebanese potato salad, hummus,and marinated green beans); the “Green River” (grilled salmon with tahini sauce, onions and tomatoes, fresh veggies, Lebanese cabbage salad and tzatziki sauce); the Vegetarian (hummus, tabouli, baba ganouj, stuffed grape leaves—yum!—tzatziki, spanakopita and marinated green beans) or the “Mediterranean” (one beef and one chicken kabob, rice, veggies, hummus and tzatziki). All picnic boxes come with pita bread, spring water and Mama’s Baklava.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I am a long-time fan of Naji’s food, so do not expect an unbiased assessment from me. I didn’t write the review above, but I might have. Nejaime brought his recipes straight from the Mediterranean, translating his mother’s and his grandmother’s culinary tradition to the Berkshires.

Naji’s provides the best tabouli I have encountered outside of the kitchen of my Syrian-American friends, who taught me how to make the dish, I have to agree with Nejaime, who once said, “I hate the woman who came up with tabouli—it is so much work to make.” But, oh, so good.

Making tabouli—traditionally made of tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, onion, cracked wheat and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt—entails hours of chopping fresh vegetables, one reason that Mediterranean women often do it together. The end result, however, is a delectable, light, refreshing, salad, perfect when scooped up with warm pita bread (Nejaime’s pita is made onsite and served warm).

Tabouli is by no means the only treat that awaits diners at Naji’s. The appetizers list tempts with such classics as hummus, stuffed grape leaves, baba ghanouj and baked eggplant with tomato sauce and pine nuts (all $8). Pitas and wraps offer fillings such as falafel ($9), accompanied by scrumptious French fries, coleslaw or potato salad, as well as chicken or beef shawarma ($10 and $11 respectively) or their lamb counterpart ($12).

These same fillings and more can be expanded for entrees, served with two choices of roasted potatoes, French fries, sautéed vegetables or a salad and ranging in price from $16 to $22 (lamb shish kabob being the most expensive).

Nejaime immigrated to America from Lebanon and he said family and hospitality are integral to that country’s society. “Lebanon offers hospitality you will never find anywhere else,” he asserted.

He had been interested in the hospitality industry from childhood but his hopes of going to culinary school in Lebanon were dashed by war. Civil War broke out in the late 1970s and Nejaime was exposed to the turbulence and fighting in the street. His family decided to get him out of danger by sending him to Stockbridge MA to live with his uncle who ran the popular Nejaime’s Market in that town.

While working part time in the family market—where he watched his uncle and cousins and learned the proper way to cut meat—he finished high school and attended college ultimately earning a degree in hotel and restaurant management from UMass Amherst.

He returned briefly to Lebanon in 1982, but fighting broke out once more and he came back to America. Nejaime’s professional career was nearly as circuitous. From the family market, he graduated to his own restaurant in Stockbridge on the site of the former Alice’s Restaurant of Arlo Guthrie fame. In 1994, he closed that venture and went to work in Norfolk before coming back to Lee where he ran the restaurant at the Lee Country Club until 2005.

Then he found his niche market in Great Barrington where he found an aggregation of international restaurants but none that served Lebanese food. Nejaime also found the proximity of Lenox with its Kripalu Center and Canyon Ranch beneficial because of the steady stream of vegetarians and vegans that come to his door. There are many yummy vegetarian dishes in the Lebanese cuisine made from lentils, chickpeas, hummus, falafel and marinated artichokes.

Naji’s, located at 405 Stockbridge Road, just north of the Price Chopper Plaza, is open for lunch and dinner, Monday-Saturday. He is currently closed Sunday as a result of staff reductions, but is weighing reopening that day as customer traffic picks up. Reservations are recommended for larger groups. Call 413-528-5540 or visit his website linked below.

PICNICKING ON THE GO
The tristate region offers a plethora of places to enjoy nature while feasting en plein air.
Among the businesses that provide picnics-to-go are:

Nejaime's Wine Cellars
60 Main Street
Lenox, Mass.
(413-637-2221)

3 Elm Street
Stockbridge, Mass.
(413-298-3454)
Nejaime's offers three set picnics for two ($49.95), four ($89.95) or six ($134.95) people. All include napkins, utensils, plates and plastic cups, baguette, dessert and spring water. There is the French Country selection (brie, pate, smoked chicken, eggplant salad); the Berkshire Summer Classic (hummus, tabouli and more); the Mediterranean Tapas (sopressata, olives, stuffed grape leaves, tabouli, eggplant salad, baklava and more). Individually designed or more elaborate picnics created to order; wine pairings can be recommended.

The Cascades
407 Warren Street
Hudson, NY
(518) 822-9146
The Cascades can make boxed lunches for groups or family picnics. Fillings include turkey, roast beef, ham, chicken salad, tuna salad or vegetarian on multi-grain or rye bread, or a tortilla wrap. There are pasta, fresh fruit, coleslaw and potato salads. Bottled water or canned soda included.
Boxed Lunch A includes a half-sandwich, two salads, chips, a homemade cookie and browned, and eating utensils. Boxed Lunch B is the same, but with a whole sandwich and one salad. Both cost $12.

The Ripe Tomato Deli
392 Torrington Road
Litchfield, CT
(860) 567-8002
The Ripe Tomato Deli will customize menus for a variety of events, including family picnics. You tell them the theme and they help you to create the menu.