Food for thought about living in Amherst (literally):
Atkins Farms Country Market is a a really one of a kind speciality grocery store that also makes its own apple cider (and cider donuts, which are quite popular). All the food they sell is seriously great though, somehow seemingly fresher and better tasting than bigger name speciality stores like Whole Foods. And they have a little cafe where you can read a book and eat, but it's kind of like a senior citizens center sometimes.
The Lone Wolf is the best breakfast and brunch place in the region. It's open from early morning til about 2 or so and serves wonderful food with an emphasis on southwestern flavors. Very nice atmosphere. Extremely vegan friendly, but not in the way that detracts from meat eaters like myself. If you're there early, you might also check out a used bookstore across the street that opens at some absurdly early hour. I believe 6 am.
Next door is the Black Sheep, which is a nice hippie coffeehouse, deli, and bakery. Sometimes it's crowded, but it's a good place to go for some fair trade coffee or a delicious croissant.
The Moan and Dove is a wonderful bar located on the bus route between Amherst and Hampshire Colleges. It's small, pretty low key except on weekends, and has a great selection of hard-to-find beers. And if you or someone you know is interested in microbrews, try the Spirit Haus liquor store as well. They have a large selection and an awesome-sounding name. The Amherst Brewing Company and Northampton Brewery both brew their own beers and have decent food as well.
Chez Albert in the town center of Amherst is a really nice French restaurant. Entrees are in the $18-$25 range, so a bit expensive on a graduate school budget. But it's a nice special occasion place.
Sibies has awesome pizza that can be delivered if you live close enough to it.
In Amherst's town center, there's a place called Antonio's that sells great pizza by the slice. It tends to be overrun with frat boys, but that doesn't detract from the quality of the food at least.