Copyright berkshireeagle
OTIS — Got a yen for a freshly made Margherita pizza? How about cheesesteak or meatball sandwich? Until snow flies, Rustik Eats is offering just that from its food truck at Paige’s Place on Route 8 in the center of town, 199 S. Main Road, along the Farmington River. Rustik Eats’ owners may look familiar to residents — they live in Otis. Kristina and Sinti Lin had long dreamed of opening a business in their hometown and this fall spoke with Paige’s Place owners Eric Danforth and Megan McClure, who offered them a spot during times when their restaurant isn’t open. Paige’s Place, a breakfast place where a diner used to sit, opened in 2024. Rustik Eats set up shop at this new regular location this fall. Depending on the weather, they’re open Tuesdays and Saturdays, Kristina Lin said. The Lins invested $40,000 in an 8-by-12-foot trailer and outfitted it with two electric deck ovens. In summer 2024 and last summer, the couple set up the food truck in Great Barrington, Sheffield and Lee. They’ve also parked at events. But none of those locations were a regular spot in Otis, their hometown and longtime location goal. “The owners of Paige’s Place are just really sweet people,” Kristina Lin said. “We asked them if we could park here and they didn’t mind.” Lin said she hopes they can assist with plowing in the winter if the restaurant needs that. “We’re offering kind of like a trade off,” she said. “They’re just really nice, and they’re all about the community.” The reception so far has been welcome in town, Kristina Lin said. “The locals so far seem happy that we’re here,” she said. Rustik Eats cooks on the spot, food made to order. The Lins can't take calls because cell phone service is spotty in the center of Otis, but their pizzas take 10 to 12 minutes to prepare and cook. “We’re trying to be creative,” Kristina Lin said. “One of our best pizzas is the Brie pizza. It’s got chili fig jam and Mike’s Hot Honey.” They also offer a buffalo chicken pizza and a pesto sweet chili meatball pizza with mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, beef meatballs, onion, sweet chili sauce and extra virgin olive oil. The menu also includes sandwiches and hot dogs. Their prices range from $21 for the popular 12-inch Brie pizza 12-inch Philly Cheese Steak Pizza (add-ons extra for each) to a 9” Long Dog, a hot beef-and-pork hot dog with chips, for $6. Their menu is available at https://rustikeats.com Rustick Eats still sets up shop at events on days they are not open in Otis, such as cocktail and spirit-tasting nights they attended in June at Berkshire Mountain Distiller in Sheffield. The Lins’ next dream: to move toward local sourcing and their own pizza dough. For now, they’re keeping it simple with the limited space in their trailer, where they do all food preparation. Sinti Lin previously worked in the kitchen at Canyon Ranch resort in Lenox and was the head baker at Kripalu, a yoga retreat in Stockbridge, for two years. “Someday, this is my husband’s dream to own this, we’d want to have a small little takeout shack in the future somewhere,” Kristina Lin said. “You never know where you’re going to be in the future.”
