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General Excellence: Rialto
If there's anything we’ve learned from fine dining’s shift toward farm-to-table cooking, it’s that the integrity of one’s cuisine is just as important as high-end ingredients and elegant presentations. And at Rialto, chef Jody Adams has quietly, unfailingly delivered food with care and purpose for 17 years. Her ability to meld New England’s seasonal bounty with...

Cookie: Hi-Rise Bread Company
Choosing just one of Hi-Rise’s cookies is a little like being forced to choose between your children. The almond macaroons taste like an intense nutty cloud. The oatmeal coconut, studded with whole pecans, are as chewy as can be. But it’s the deep, dark chocolate sandwich cookies — more brownielike than crunchy and double-stuffed with an extra scoop...

Steakhouse: Mooo
Scrap all the formulas for what makes a great steakhouse (clubby this, old-world that) and swap them for brave new interpretations. That’s just what the team behind Mooo (chef Jamie Mammano and partner Paul Roiff) did, and this year, the place has come into its own. The room hews more to regal French than chop house — as does the exacting, well-timed...

Inman Square: Tupelo
Down-home, classic southern food is what pulls locals through Tupelo’s doors, and the rustic charm and hospitality are what keep them at the table — downing andouille-and-okra-flecked gumbo and plates of fried oysters. Oh, and those folks wandering in after 9 p.m. looking for crispy grits and locally produced brews? Ain’t no thang; this is one joint where that kind of behavior is encouraged...

Sandwich Shop: Cutty’s
It may be heretical to say this in Brookline, but here goes: Go ye on the Sabbath to Cutty’s and get yourself some pork. The Saturday special pork sandwiches, to be specific. Once a week, the slow-roasted pig comes in fresh to this Brookline Village cafe and is sliced thin for inclusion in such delicacies as the pork-and-pickled-fennel sandwich with roasted garlic on a crusty sesame-seed bun...

Sushi: Oishii Boston
After a few years of flirtation with more-is-more sashimi decadence, we’ve come back around to sushi that’s simple, delicate, and pure. No gold-flaked lacquer, please. And hold the foie gras sauce, while you’re at it. We prefer to actually taste how fresh the fish is. This is Oishii’s enduring formula: seafood, allowed to shine beneath only the most carefully chosen sauces...

Fenway/Kenmore: Church
Don’t let the Korn-T-shirt-clad crowd outside the adjoining music club scare you off; once you get inside the restaurant portion of Church, you’re in for a mellow — and seriously enjoyable — dining experience. If tuna tartare is available, go for it; our favorite version is served with cucumber chunks and wonton chips. The grilled steak tips with truffle-Parm fries are also delicious...

Coolidge Corner: Cognac Bistro
Who knew a gas station could be so appealingly reborn as a restaurant? And yet, all of Brookline seems to be angling for a seat at this new bistro. Its classic French dishes teem with fresh, local seafood and sustainably raised ingredients (the mussels escargot and house-made gnocchi are particular coups). Bonus points for the occasional $1 oyster specials and first-rate desserts...

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