Less Than Greater Than
‘Hand-crafted cocktails, incredible cuisine and a truly quirky story. Now this is the kind of place we call a hidden jewel. And that’s a phrase we throw around a lot on this show. But this place is quite literally hidden. it’s as if the owners don’t even want you to know it exists. It’s a quirky and eccentric little restaurant and bar in Hudson, Massachusetts known as Less Than Greater Than.
This is Main Street in Hudson, Massachusetts, where a few years ago a group of friends and business partners decided that this fast-growing town needed a really good restaurant. So they opened one, the Rail Trail Flatbread Company specializing in amazing pizza and craft beer. Then a couple years later, right across the street they opened New City Microcreamery, a one of a kind farm-to-table ice cream parlor that makes super-premium ice cream right in front of your eyes using liquid nitrogen.
Now the ice cream here in absolutely incredible, thank you very much. But this is where the story gets really interesting. Because past the counter, past the kitchen, there’s a hidden jewel inside of this hidden jewel. As a matter of fact, all you gotta do is come around the bend and down this ramp, and you end up right over here. At a locked door. And next to it, a sign that says ‘Switch on the light and wait for delight.’ Let’s switch on the light and see what happens.’
‘Hello?’
‘The cobbler sent me.’
‘Alright, let me get the door for you.’
‘Welcome to Less Than Greater Than. I’m in! Now let’s talk about atmosphere, they keep the lights purposely kind of dim, going with that speakeasy kind of vibe, so you have candlelight all over the place. And amazing behind the bar with all the hard to find and obscure spirits that they have there. And the bar itself made of Italian soapstone and they built it kind of low. That way, you get a front row, pristine view of your bartender hand-crafting your cocktail right in front of your eyes.
Cocktails is what this place is really known for. And perhaps the biggest wow factor of all, their specialty is something called Spirits and Cream. It’s like a milkshake and a cocktail all frozen together right in front of your eyes. It starts with a sweet ice cream base, then they add some fine spirits, and then it is whipped and frozen to order. And they chill it the same way they do it at the ice cream shop next door, with liquid nitrogen that is running at negative 320 degrees Farhenheit. So it is frozen fast.
If you ask the staff to recommend one dish, they will definitely tell you to order the Dandan Noodles. It’s the house favorite. You have fresh noodles, braised pork, pickled mustard greens, kimchee, bok choy, Italian peppers, and smoked peanuts. That is a mouthful. Literally. They key to this dish, sauce is on the bottom, gotta stir it up. All you gotta do is twirl it and stuff your face. This Dan approves of this Dandan.
Everything on the menu has an Asian twist including tacos. Tacos are supposed to be Mexican, right? And these are but they do have an Asian twist. This is the avocado taco, vegetarian one that has pomegranate hoisin sauce on it, a little water kimchee, awesome creaminess from the avocado, and amazing sweetness from that pomegranate hoisin sauce. That’s a crazy bite right there.
This might be the star of the menu: the Vietnamese style banh mi sandwich. It has slow cooked confit pork, pickled vegetables, lots of cilantro, all served on hot, fresh-made, house-made crunchy bread. Just how crunchy? Yes, yes, yes! No less than. Just greater than.
In addition to the food and cocktails, you’re gonna want to get dessert here because they have one called Destroy All S’mores. They take your traditional s’mores, basically smash it down, and then on top torched marshmallow beautiful gooeyness. You can hear it, you can smell it, and you can eat it. Oh yeah. No one should eat anything that tastes this good.
In terms of decorations, this place falls somewhere between an episode of Antiques Roadshow and Hoarders. I mean there is some weird stuff up in this place. Coconut monkeys and ducks and shoes. Lots of lots of old shoes. And there’s a story behind that too. You see, this space used to be an actual shoestore. And for many years, Hudson was one of the shoemaking capitals of America. So to this day, the only sign you’ll see out front says ‘Cobbler’.
When the food is this good and the booze is this good, it’s worth a little extra effort to find a place like Less Than Greater Than. Cheers.’
