Restaurant in Amherst or Northampton?

I recommend the Blue Heron Cafe in Sunderland, which is just north of Amherst. If the weather's nice, try to get a table on the porch!

As for hotels, my parents usually stay at the Autumn Inn when they visit me in Northampton. It's nothing fancy, but clean and reliable.

Thanks so much, Susan!

Not too far are two of our favorite restaurants: Night Kitchen -- http://montaguenightkitchen.com/; and Restaurante di Paolo -- http://www.ristorantedipaolo.com/. Both are special places with excellent menus and high standards that make delicious meals. We drive about an hour from the north, but they're much closer to the Amherst/Northampton area.
Both towns have quite a few restaurants where we've enjoyed meals too. They're both sophisticated college towns and in an area with agriculture, you can expect to have good fresh locally grown food.