Restaurants in Chicopee

When China invaded Tibet, Thondup and Dolma Tsering's family escaped to India, and the two children enrolled in school for Tibetan children. They graduated and eventually moved to the United States in 1997, where they founded a business where they would celebrate their culture: Lhasa Cafe. Today, chef Tenzin Tsewang leads the staff at the restaurant, and Thondup and Dolma can still be found helping out around their authentic Tibetan restaurant on weekends. In the kitchen, chef Tenzin and Kalsang cook all dishes to order and make dumplings in-house from scratch; they use only fresh ingredients and refuse to use MSG or decorative glitter.

The staff follows recipes according to the Tibetan culinary tradition, which incorporates subtle seasoning and a lot of ginger, garlic, and the emma peppercorn. There’s also an emphasis on yak meat, which is lean and low-cholesterol and tastes comparable to beef. It takes center stage in dishes such as traditional mo-mo dumplings, pan-fried noodle dishes, and stews. Also on the menu: vegetable dumplings, vegetarian noodle soups, and lamb and chicken curries.

Determined to introduce the public’s collective palate to creative Asian-inspired food, the cooks at Noodles prepare their namesake dish following both traditional Thai recipes and their own unique formulas. They craft a multitude of soups ranging from the classic udon noodle soup to the unconventional nava noodle soup, which combines seafood, minced chicken, fish balls, fish cake, and crushed peanuts in a spicy lime broth.

Customers shouldn’t let the name fool them, though—the culinary team has more than noodles and broths in their wheelhouse. They also prepare six meat-based rice bowls and 10 salads that combine ingredients such as steamed shrimp, mint, crushed peanut, and carrots. The chefs also have their own specialties, including shrimp and tofu curry and Duck in Red—roasted duck simmered in panang-curry sauce and topped with string beans, bell peppers, and herbs. This is not to be confused with Duck in White—a female duck on her wedding day.

The aroma of seared Atlantic salmon, new york strip steak, and pork tenderloin waft through the dining room as each cut arrives simmering atop a volcanic stone heated to more than 750 degrees. This dramatic presentation is based on a European tradition more than 2,000 years old, and it creates an interactive dining experience that encourages guests to tend to their own sizzling proteins until they're either grilled to perfection or evaporate into a meaty mist. Hot-rock cooking forms the culinary foundation for Europa Black Rock Bar and Grill's menu, which also highlights Mediterranean-inspired pastas and flatbreads and Portuguese specialties such as paella and salt cod. For guests in search of a different kind of heat, the restaurant also hosts live music and the scorching beats of live DJs every Friday and Saturday night.

The University Club & Restaurant’s New England roots are evident not just in its creamy, New England-style clam chowder, but in its very building. Nestled in two colonial-era farmhouses, one of which is the oldest, most wrinkly house in Amherst, the eatery is a venerable institution to the history of Massachusetts. The Boltwood-Stockbridge house contains the Daniel Chester French room, named for the Lincoln Memorial Statue sculptor who lived there as a child, and the Tory room, where nine loyalists hid during the American Revolution.

Today, the loyalists have given way to diners feasting on fare that changes with the seasons. Dinners consist of upscale proteins such as new york strip steak, braised lamb shank, and pan-seared salmon complemented by a farmer’s-market risotto loaded with fresh local produce. Alternatively, lunchtime visitors—or diners sampling the bar’s lighter fare menu—can nosh on a Black Angus burger or a jalapeño crab-cake po' boy.