Northampton eats well for a city of 30,000. The concentration of college students, academics, and a generally food-conscious population has supported an unusually strong restaurant scene on Main Street and the surrounding blocks.
Spoleto on Main Street is a longtime local favourite for Italian; Haymarket Cafe (technically a workers' cooperative) is the reliable daytime option for vegetarian food and coffee. Old Town Alewife on Old South Street does serious craft beer and farm-to-table food. Thai Garden on Green Street is consistently good for the price. Northampton Brewery on Brewster Court is the original craft brewery in town, operating since 1987 in a renovated 19th-century building.
The Saturday morning farmers market at Thornes Marketplace (May through October) is excellent — some of the best early-season produce in the Pioneer Valley.