The UXLocale

10/24/2026

get your sweet on.

10/21/2026

Last week taught me a few things. This Week, We're Ready.

The cooler weather threw us a curveball Saturday, and our last-minute decision to close the greenhouse for seating meant fewer tables and longer waits. This week, we're better prepared. We'll use the patio and greenhouse for guests waiting for tables, and I've brought back our 90-minute seating reminder. With fewer seats as the weather turns, a little give-and-take helps everyone enjoy the fun. I've also doubled down on food orders. We are NOT running out of anything Saturday night!

And what a week we have ahead!

Friday brings a private afternoon party, then regular dinner service, and live music with Weasel Step at 7 pm.

Saturday kicks off with a painting workshop led by our favorite Bob Ross instructor, Caryn P., and DJ Proud Larry takes over the evening.

And Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Our first Chef's Table dinner of the season, featuring Murder Hill Brewery! P.S. It's my first VEG Chef's Table!

Speaking of food, our new Lamb Duo was inspired by a dinner I had in Ireland. We've got Guinness on tap, and this week I used it to deglaze all those delicious brown bits for the lamb stew. I've also mastered splitting the G. Sometimes a little silly goes a long way.

And speaking of silly-fun events, our TEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY is getting closer! BT Smokehouse just joined the lineup, and we've already hit 100 RSVPs! Please RSVP through our website so we can plan for the crowd. It's shaping up to be a be-there-or-be-square kind of day!

Our updated b**r lineup is online, too.

Ten years in, I'm still learning, adjusting, and figuring out how to do things better. We have a big week ahead, and we'll do our part to make sure everyone gets their fair share of what makes this place special.

Thanks for sticking with us, rolling with the changes, and keeping this little hill hopping. Sometimes better, not perfect, is exactly how you get there.

Murder Hill B.T.'s Smokehouse Murder Hill
Guinness

10/14/2026

A Little More Warmth,

Our fall and winter menu is taking shape: slow braises, roasted root vegetables, wild mushrooms, fresh herbs, and good ingredients given the time they deserve.

Our Lamb Duo pairs garlic-butter-seared chops with a slow-braised stew finished under golden béchamel. Short ribs simmer in red w**e and beef stock, then tossed with fresh pappardelle, and a half chicken gets a generous rub of butter, garlic, and thyme before heading into the wood-fired oven.

And I'm especially excited about our two vegetarian additions! Our Winter Is Coming Pizza brings together roasted squash, caramelized onions, chèvre, rosemary, and a little maple-hot honey. Our New England Mushroom Pot Pie, featured in photos, packs a wonderful mix of locally grown mushrooms, leeks, and carrots, all tucked beneath a golden cheddar biscuit crust.

Five dishes, each with its own personality, from the deep umami of slow-cooked meats and mushrooms to the sweet-and-savory mix of roasted winter vegetables.

This is the food that makes me look forward to shorter days and colder nights. Good company, a glass of w**e, something bubbling away in a cast-iron skillet, and absolutely no reason to rush home.

So maybe skip cooking tonight, change those plans, and see what we've been up to.

10/08/2026

I want to write better, and if you haven’t figured it out by now, I’ll find a way to do it here at The UXLocale.

I want to write more, finish what I start, and get better at saying what I mean without piling on words. Partly for the UX—I want to capture what this place is, why we do what we do, and what shapes it —and partly for myself.

I’ve traveled, eaten, cooked, met people, stood in places that have changed me, and learned things I don’t want to lose. Then there’s the ordinary human stuff—love, aging, grief, joy, family, work, mistakes, change, and small moments that don’t seem important until later.

I have stories to tell, thoughts to sort out, and things I want to get on paper before they slip away.

I just read:
Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences by Neal Allen & Anne Lamott, and one piece of advice stopped me:

FINISH IT.

That one got me. I have so many drafts and starts tucked away because they weren’t ready—or maybe I wasn’t ready to finish them. I want to change that.
So I’m VERY excited about our TWO new writing workshops with Lynn Leschke of Pop! Writing, who brings 35 years of teaching writing to the table.
If you have stories rattling around in your noggin, unfinished pages tucked away, or simply want to write better, come learn alongside me.



Pop Writing

10/07/2026

Saturday’s terrarium workshop was a little smaller than our last one, and somehow that made it especially sweet.

Outside in the greenhouse, everyone was busy building their own tiny worlds—layers of earth, moss, plants, crystals, glass beads and all those little details that made each terrarium completely different.

Meanwhile, inside, we were busy building something else: sandwiches.

And a huge thank you to Michelle, who put so much heart and soul into this workshop. She propagated so many of the plants herself, collected all sorts of interesting vessels, and gathered the crystals, glass beads and fun little treasures that let everyone make something truly their own. There was a lot of work behind all that whimsy.

I love these workshop days. People come in, settle down, make something with their hands, have lunch, talk to people they may not have known when they arrived, and spend a few hours doing something completely different from their everyday routine.

A smaller group this time, but such a lovely one.

Thank you to everyone who spent part of their Saturday making things with us—terrariums outside, sandwiches inside, and a pretty sweet afternoon all around.

And if this looks like your kind of Saturday, keep an eye out for our next workshops. We’d love to have you join us around the table.

10/03/2026

09/30/2026

so I used Edits to make this video except I didn’t edit anything. 🤘🏼

09/30/2026

The weather is FINALLY looking good.

I’m putting the massive amounts of rain lately in the category of “no good deed goes unpunished.” Apparently, after giving us perfect temperatures nearly every weekend this summer, Mother Nature had some catching up to do.

But I’m actually excited for fall and winter. The kitchen changes when the weather changes, and this is my favorite kind of cooking.

Right now: a new special pizza and Flounder Florentine. And we’ve made one seasonal switch on our current menu—Summer Truffles have given way to Burgundy Truffles on our Pappardelle: silky Parmigiano-Reggiano Alfredo, sautéed wild and portobello mushrooms, cracked black pepper, and shaved Burgundy truffles. These autumn truffles have a rich, nutty flavor and that wonderful musky, hazelnut aroma.

I’ve also finished the menu for our Vegetarian Bavaria-Meets-New England B**r Pairing Dinner with . Below ❄ is a little snippet of our FOUR brand-new dishes coming for late fall/winter:

Crispy Potato Rösti — cider-braised cabbage, apple, horseradish crème fraîche and caraway.

Lamb Duo — seared chops + slow-braised lamb and root vegetables.

Wood-Fired Roast Chicken — butter, garlic, thyme, carrots and onions.

New England Mushroom Pot Pie — mushrooms and winter greens under a cheddar biscuit crust.

New menu launch details TBA.

So if you love THIS menu, get in here. Fall is coming, and We’ve been cooking.