Yankee Magazine chooses the best restaurants in Massachusetts for 2012. Did your favorites make the list?
BEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | CANDLELIGHT DININGOld Inn On The Green,New Marlborough
There’s no electricity in the dining rooms of this 200-year-old former stagecoach inn, but candlelight makes the setting all the more romantic for chef/owner Peter Platt’s American bistro cooking. In warm weather, diners may opt for gardenside dining on a patio. Entrées: from $29; fixed-price three-course menu: $35.
134 Hartsville/New Marlborough Road (Route 57), Village Green. 413-229-7924; oldinn.comBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | LOBSTER WITH SUNSETLobster Pool,Rockport
This quintessential seafood-in-the-rough establishment not only offers great fish and shellfish, but also features a fabulous westward view over Folly Cove. That makes it perfect for cracking a crustacean just as the sun goes down. There’s no charge for bringing your own wine or beer. Seafood rolls: from $13; seafood plates: from $8.95.
329 Granite St. 978-546-7808; lobsterpoolrestaurant.comBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | GRILLED-CHEESE SANDWICHRubiner’s Cheesemongers,Great Barrington
One of the East Coast’s great cheese shops, Rubiner’s stocks many good local cheeses and obscure imported taste treats. Given the range of cheeses to work with, it’s hard to predict which grilled-cheese sandwich will be featured. Sandwiches: from $7.50.
264 Main St. 413-528-0488; rubiners.comBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | ART-SIDE DININGGramercy Bistro,North Adams
Work up an appetite strolling the galleries at MASS MoCA, then replenish your energy with chef Sandy Smith’s eclectic and thoughtful international menu (paella, lasagna, coq au vin), which uses predominantly Berkshires farm products. Entrées: from $18.
87 Marshall St. 413-663-5300; gramercybistro.comBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | SMALL-TOWN PUBPeople’s Pint, Greenfield
As the shire town for Western Massachusetts’ back-to-the-land movement, Greenfield has always hungered and thirsted for the quintessentially local. The People’s Pint delivers on both, with well-rounded ales crafted with an edge of hops, plus a menu tailored for all tastes and diets. (Try the peanut noodles or beef sirloin kebabs.) Entrées: from $8.25.
24 Federal St. 413-773-0333; thepeoplespint.comBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | RESTAURANT WINE LISTLeft Bank Restaurant,Tyngsboro
The owners of the Stonehedge Inn & Spa have been buying great wines young and aging them for years, resulting in an unparalleled choice of fine vintages at surprisingly modest prices. The contemporary American menu offers something elegant and flavorful to match any bottle. Entrées: from $24.
160 Pawtucket Blvd. 978-649-4400; stonehedgeinnandspa.comBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | EXOTIC BURGERSBrew City Grill & Brew House,
Worcester
The proprietors claim several trillion possible combinations, but who’s checking the math? With a choice of ground Angus, Piedmontese, or Kobe beef–not to mention super-lean buffalo meat–every burger is packed with intensely meaty flavor. The “Crunch-Time,” with potato chips and barbecue sauce inside a giant onion roll, is the most fun. Burgers: from $8.
104 Shrewsbury St. 508-752-3862; brew-city.comBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS |OLD-WORLD BAKERYSwiss Bakers, Reading
Pop in for some of the region’s best coffee and a pastry in the morning, or fuel up at lunch with a tomato-mozzarella-pesto sandwich on golden-crusted pretzel bread. Pastries: from $1.25; sandwiches: from $3.75.
Reading Train Depot, 32 Lincoln St. 781-942-1199; swissbakers.comBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | AMERICAN TAVERN FAREScarlet Oak Tavern,Hingham
This historic roadhouse features casual chow (chicken pot pie and hanger steaks) at its atmospheric bar and contemporary American bistro fare in the upstairs dining rooms. Succulent Angus steaks are a house specialty, and most of the seasonal produce hails from a nearby farm. Entrées: from $17.
1217 Main St. 781-749-8200; scarletoaktavern.comBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | PIECenterville Pie Company,Centerville
Your family can feast on sea-clam or chicken pot pie before swapping plates for a slice of blueberry, cherry, apple, peach, pumpkin, or lemon meringue pie. Fruit pies: from $8; savory pies: from $9.
1671 Falmouth Road (Route 28). 774-470-1406; centervillepies.comBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | BAKERY BISTROPb Boulangerie Bistro,Wellfleet
You’ll have to line up for croissants or pain au chocolat at breakfast or for croque monsieur or a tuna confit sandwich at lunch. But make a reservation for dinner and you can be seated on the open porch or in an inside dining room to enjoy seared local swordfish with herb sauce. Pastries: from $2.50; sandwiches: from $8.50; entrées: from $21.
15 Lecount Hollow Road. 508-349-1600; pbboulangeriebistro.comBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | INTIMATE CAPE DININGTen Tables,Provincetown
On rainy evenings, the dining room contains the promised 10 tables, but on most nights this little bistro expands onto a splendidly broad patio, while offering small-plate dining and creative cocktails upstairs in the bar. The seafood comes from neighboring Wellfleet, the vegetables from Cape farms. Entrées: from $21.
133 Bradford St. 508-487-0106; tentables.net/provincetown.htmlBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | ISLAND ALESOffshore Ale,Oak Bluffs
The brick-oven pizzas are big and imaginative (roasted duck with pancetta and leeks, for example), and the seafood, ribs, and burgers all go nicely with Offshore’s Nutbrown Ale. Entrées: from $10. 30 Kennebec Ave. 508-693-2626;
offshoreale.comBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | ISLAND ITALIANVentuno, Nantucket
If Nantucket were an Italian island, the food might taste something like what Ventuno serves every night. Cape Cod clams become spaghetti alla vongele with the addition of enough garlic. Wild halibut meets locally grown green spring veggies to become merluzzo alla vignarola. Pasta: from $9; entrées: from $29. 21 Federal St. 508-228-4242;
ventunorestaurant.comBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | EARLY-BIRD TREATSKane’s Donuts,Saugus
Insomniac doughnut junkies can get their fix at Kane’s from 3:30 a.m. every day. Established in 1955, this internationally acclaimed small-town bakery makes plain, chocolate coconut, honeydip, and a myriad of other doughnuts so large you’d need a bowl of coffee to dunk them. Doughnuts: $1.50 each.
120 Lincoln Ave. 781-233-8499; kanesdonuts.comBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | DOCKSIDE DININGThe Back Eddy,Westport
Dishes like wood-grilled striped bass and crisply fried bluefish with Portuguese chourico sausage are only enhanced by the water setting. Some diners show up hours early for drinks outdoors on the dockside deck before heading indoors to eat when the sun goes down. Entrées: from $19.
1 Bridge Road. 508-636-6500; thebackeddy.comBEST RESTAURANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | LOCAVORE DININGOro,Scituate
Owners Jill and Robin King are tight with the local fishermen and farmers, and it shows on their French-inspired menu. Even the classic roasted chicken might be accompanied by a salad of local potatoes and Brussels sprouts with mint pesto. Entrées: from $18.
162 Front St. 781-378-2465; restaurantoro.com
