Big night

Restaurants to splurge on

Dining Out by Rob McKeown

DINING OUT

This is a time of year when even the most frugal of us are willing to break open the bank account for a top-notch dining experience. Here, a guest critic revisits 10 restaurants Phoenix reviewers found exceptional -- and adds two of his own favorites.

The Blue Room: I have a food-obsessed friend who likes to describe the Blue Room in Kendall Square as "pound for pound, the best meal in town." He isn't far from the truth. Chef/owner Steve Johnson's food is very good and very honest, characterized by bold Mediterranean tastes and intelligent flavor forays into Asia and North Africa. General manager Deanna Briggs is responsible for an astute wine list that focuses on character in regional France and Italy, with finds from all over the world. The atmosphere bridges city swank and Cambridge tweedy, and entrée prices are kept under $20. What you have here is a true contender.

No. 9 Park: When friends come into town and ask me where they should go if they have one night to dine here, I often find myself recommending No 9. Park. Chef/owner Barbara Lynch, who grew up in Southie, runs a restaurant that embodies tasteful Boston. In a Bulfinch building overlooking Boston Common, Lynch cooks voluptuous and soulful renditions of French-Italian food -- a natural combo in the Milan of yesteryear -- with an eye to tradition. Her handmade pasta is an expression of her fabulous cooking instincts, and sommelier Cat Silirie's list provides plenty of well-chosen foils from all over Europe and the US. Is there room for improvement here? Always. But from Tommy Mastricola's cocktails to the expert service, there's much that impresses.

Clio: Unlike other cities, Boston does not have one chef who is simply better than others. But one thing is for sure: Clio's Ken Oringer is capable of doing things with food that almost no one else can. His cuisine is an erudite reconciliation of Asian cooking structures and beautiful, rugged French flavors. Though his plates may be museum beautiful -- don't miss his Mondrianesque signature of checkerboard yellowtail and yellowfin -- he cooks with incredible heart, and can serve a sashimi of razor clams alongside grilled turbot with dandelion greens, garlic cream, and lemon confit without batting an eye. Clio's smallish dining room matches Oringer's cuisine -- sexy, elegant, with the shock of the new in a leopard-print rug. Its fabulous (though pricey) wine list and tasting menu are the city's ultimate splurge.

Truc: Some come for the sex appeal of the emerald-hued front room or the comfy Berkshires feel of the back room. Others are attached to the savvy wine program run by Karen Densmore. But most leave this intimate restaurant remembering chef Amanda Lydon's food. It's French, yes, but leaving it at that would be deceiving. What separates Lydon from her brethren is her ability to mine the traditions and history of regional cooking and come up with something that seems new but tastes right. It's a talent that makes her one of this city's bright young stars.

Hamersley's Bistro: Hamersley's may not be trendy -- though it did give birth to the South End dining scene -- but it is a part of the culinary vanguard. Chef/owner Gordon Hamersley's food is well-crafted, drawn from the rural cooking traditions of France, and devoid of ego in a way that testifies to his maturity as a chef. What separates Hamersley's from the rest of the pack is that the place never loses sight of its goal -- the diner's pleasure. This ambition is reflected in the knowledgeable servers, the ever-changing wine list, and the fact that, after more than a decade, people still get excited when the seasons change and certain dishes (like the cassoulet) reappear on the menu.

Bomboa: Dining out a lot sometimes makes me wonder whether restaurateurs have forgotten how to have fun. That's when I go to Bomboa. The idea for this yearling restaurant came, we're told, from the utter chic implied nowadays by the direct flight between Paris and Rio. It's what inspired the borderline-erotic feel of a room decorated in purples, zebra prints, and other sexed-up tones. Going too far? Perhaps. But what is eating if not a sensual pursuit? Chef E. Michael Reidt understands this and imbues his food with the creative flair of a Brazilian footballer and the traditionalism of a Frenchman. Word to the tipplers: the bar is worth an early visit for caipirinhas, apple martinis, and a fabulous drink called Lulu's Ruby Slipper.

KingFish Hall: Todd English really hit on something when he opened KingFish Hall. It may call touristy Faneuil Hall home, but with its raucous warehouse atmosphere and a kitchen serving some of the best seafood in town, this is just the type of place where people want to eat in Boston. Chef David Kinkead's dishes are lusty and layered in the English tradition, but his menu is clearly in service of helping swimmingly fresh seafood do nothing but taste good. I've had more home-run dishes here than I have had at Olives itself. The wine list, designed by Glenn Tanner, can't get enough credit for making obscure wines understandable.

Grill 23: Most steakhouses are one-trick ponies. But Grill 23 is an impressive restaurant in the most complete sense. Sure, there are suits and cigars and big red wines. But there's plenty more, like chef Jay Murray -- whose name is mentioned much less than it should be -- and the way he crafts dishes like a seared red snapper with smoked-trout-and-potato salad, or steak tartare with tile bread and tomato confit. Or sommelier Alicia Towns, who could sell me vintage Moxie but fortunately deals in finds from Australia, the Rhône, and, of course, California and Bordeaux. And yes, the steak is fabulous.

Salts: Salts may be the most original, least heralded restaurant in the city. Chef/owner Steven Rosen's inspiration is the faintly sweet, unabashedly rugged food of Eastern Europe, and he injects grandmotherly lovability into creations like pickled sturgeon with dill blini and crimson horseradish, arctic char glazed with hard cider and smoked bacon, or black-tea-smoked lamb with black barley and herbed lasagna. Tucked away on a side street near Central Square, the room is dumpling-size and done in striking tones of mustard and black. Lisa Mandy-Rosen presides over the service and the wine list with a signature blend of top-shelf professionalism and familial warmth.

Radius: Radius buzzes, flows, and wows -- and when it doesn't, it sure tries hard. It is the first solo venture for owner Chris Myers and chef/owner Michael Schlow, and their desire to be remembered is more than evident in this Financial District destination. The dining room is modern and seems to get more comfortable by the day, and there's a communal table that's a blast when it's full. Schlow's food is contemporary and French and stunningly precise, sometimes to the point of being cold. But when he's on, the "taste this, look at that" fireworks are abundant. There's more work in the details here than perhaps at any other restaurant in town. Service is orchestrated like a Prussian army, general manager Esti Benson is charm incarnate, and the wine list is a blockbuster. Radius is also home to a pastry talent of the highest order, Paul Connors, so don't miss dessert.

MCKEOWN'S PICKS

L'Espalier: Frank McClelland's L'Espalier is an experience, and that may be why it holds such a special place in the hearts of many who have dined there. With its setting in two floors of a 19th-century townhouse in the Back Bay, its doting Old World service, and McClelland's intricate (sometimes too much so) taste creations that reconcile New England heartiness with a global palate, L'Espalier is very much one man's passionate stab at the ephemeral. The key is simply resigning oneself to this fact, ordering the tasting menu or that special bottle of wine, and letting McClelland and his army of Givenchy-clad servers do their thing.

Il Capriccio: One hears a lot about the suburban dining craze these days, so it pains me when Il Capriccio is left out of the conversation. For almost two decades, owners Jeanne Rogers and Rich Barron have been providing diners with one of the most memorable Italian dining experiences around. Barron's food evokes the lush sophistication of Northern Italian cooking from the Piedmont, Tuscany, and even obscure areas like the Alto Adige. Rogers is his alter ego, ferreting out little-known wines from Italy that literally no one else in America is serving. Let's put it this way: this is one meal that's more than worth the drive to Waltham.

Rob McKeown writes about food for Stuff@Night. Robert Nadeau is on vacation and will return next week.

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