Best splurge restaurant
For all the ink spilled in questioning Ken Oringer's sense of economy, not a drop is wasted on debating his sense of gastronomy: even his most cost-conscious critics concede that, though each precious bite of the daring fare at Clio takes an even bigger bite out of your wallet, both bites are better than none. The Eliot Hotel's signature New French restaurant is where elegance meets edge: just as the dining room's leopard-print carpeting gives its otherwise sedately formal décor a sly jolt, so the menu's uncommon ingredients - sea urchin and goat's milk, hibiscus and spruce vinegar - lend exotic zest to its nouvelle refinement. And though the bill may give you a sudden jolt, the memory of the meal will provide long-lasting succor.

For every couple heading to the Charles Hotel's swanky Rialto to celebrate their anniversary this fall, there'll be a dreamy-eyed foodie there to celebrate the restaurant's own. Now 10 years old, Jody Adams's Mediterranean jewel of a joint is serving up a greatest-hits menu to remind you - as if you, savvy voters, needed reminding - why you fell in love with it, expense be damned, in the first place. So whether lightning first struck over grilled littlenecks or soupe de poissons, Tuscan-style sirloin or slow-roasted duck, prepare to experience culinary electricity all over again.

Clio, Eliot Hotel, 370A Comm Ave, Boston, (617) 536-7200, www.cliorestaurant.com; Rialto, Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett Street, Cambridge, (617) 661-5050, www.rialto-restaurant.com.