Café Fleuri
Before it reopened after renovations and started serving only dinner, Aujourd'hui at the Four Seasons had a seemingly unshakable hold on the title of best power breakfast. Now that honor has been decisively usurped by Café Fleuri—a sunny, cushy space at the Langham Hotel where every weekday morning the elite now meet to eat. Financiers, lawyers, politicos, and every bigwig in between file in to carve up the universe while they're carving up their fruit-covered waffles and Maine lobster and soft scrambled eggs. Breakfast of champions, indeed. 250 Franklin St., Boston, MA boston.langhamhotels.com/restaurants/best_boston_restaurants.htm.
Au Soleil Catering
Turning out memorable meals in private homes—which often means tight quarters and picky palates—is a task that could sap any chef's muse. No surprise the catering arm of the vaunted L'Espalier/Sel de la Terre group is more than up to the challenge. Planning a small fete, we laid out the hurdles: seafood allergies, vegan diets, decorating don'ts. Au Soleil fired back with scads of ideas, including using petits fours as favors and dressing the table with bouquets of our favorite blooms. From intimate dinners to 600-person galas, this event-maker handles every gathering with aplomb. 148 Hampden St., Boston, MA 2119, ausoleilcatering.com.
Abe & Louie's
There aren't a lot of culinary bells and whistles on the menu at Abe & Louie's, which is just fine. This is, after all, a steakhouse. And on that front, chef Bill Bramlette delivers. He sticks to USDA prime cuts that are aged four or five weeks to succulent perfection. Choices run the gamut, from New York sirloin to bone-in filets and 24-ounce porterhouses. And unlike some kitchens we won't name, when you order your meat medium-rare, that's what you get. On the beverage end, a lusty list of wines, heavy on red grape varietals, provides the perfect match. 793 Boylston St., Boston, MA abeandlouies.com.
L'Espalier
Putting his own stamp on fusion fare, chef Frank McClelland has managed to combine the best of French culinary techniques with local New England ingredients to stunning effect. McClelland's legendary degustation menus are worth the splurge: When we get a hankering for pot au feu, tapenade, or petits fours, we head to Gloucester Street. Did we mention the cheese tasting—oh la la. Simply put, L'Espalier is where Bostonians turn when the meal just has to go perfectly. 774 Boylston St, Boston, MA lespalier.com.
Ember
When this hypnotically arty restaurant-bar designed and owned by a local architect made its debut four years ago, it not only lent zing to the South Shore dining scene, but also beckoned Cape-bound cosmopolites with its expertly shaken martinis, mod leather furnishings, and moody firelight. The arrival of new executive chef George Willette last fall boosted the culinary substance—e.g., tuna tataki, lobster and goat cheese pizza—to match Ember's abundant style, making this nightspot a white-hot proposition, indeed. 459 Plain St. (Rte. 139), Marshfield, MA 2050, .
Sports Club/LA
Buff, Lycraclad CEOs ogle the quads of passing yoga addicts; yoga addicts ogle the finely tuned glutes of venture capitalists; interior designers swap tall tales of ankle twists by the pool; and male and female models struggle to understand their StairMaster readouts. Boston has never seen a fitness club like this—largely because it's as much urban country club and schmoozefest as gym. In this top-dollar, luxury-ridden setting meld two of humanity's greatest aphrodisiacs: money and sweat. Pound for pound, this four-star spectacle has the most muscle in town. 2 Avery St., Boston, MA boston.sportsclubla.com.
George Wright Golf Club
This Donald Ross-designed course is tucked deep in the heart of Hyde Park. Once you're there, you'll find a challenging Depression-era par-70 layout that calls for patience: The two par fives are reachable in two shots only for the longer hitters, while the par fours vary from the very long (the 450-yard #10) to the very short (the 313-yard #2). Holes 8 through 10 can make or break a good round. Expect a good test of all facets of your game, in addition to some considerable time waiting to tee off. This is city golf, after all. 420 West St., Hyde Park, MA .
The Sunset Grill & Tap
True medical fact: If you sat down at the bar at Sunset and drank only four ounces of each beer in stock, you'd die a horribly painful death, probably by exploding. But if you're willing to take a more sober excursion through the world of malted, fermented beverages, the Sunset is your place. Silverback Gorilla Black Coffee Ale? Got it. Hacker-Pschorr Dunkel? You bet. All told, the Sunset boasts nearly 600 beers, including 111 on tap and three beer engines for those cask-conditioned ales. 130 Brighton Ave., Allston, MA .
Mirbeau Inn & Spa
Provence touches down in Plymouth at Mirbeau, a resort inspired by French country manors just a short putt away from where the Mayflower met shore. Boasting 34 lavishly appointed guest rooms, the turreted main house overlooks elegant grounds with Monet-worthy ponds and gardens and a Jack Nicklaus–designed golf course. The transportive ambiance extends to the stone-walled spa and Four Diamond–rated restaurant, which hosts farm-to-table dinners right in the middle of a local cranberry bog. Continental class, imported to the South Shore. 35 Landmark Dr., Plymouth, MA 02360, plymouth.mirbeau.com.
Galley Diner
After enduring Whitey’s old neighborhood badly rendered in countless movies and reality shows over the years, it’s comforting to find a place that is perfectly, authentically, and effortlessly Southie. This describes the Galley Diner, with its 12-stool counter and four tables, to a T. The joint has all the diner classics, of course—the corned-beef hash is even better stuffed inside the "Southie" omelet with cheese—but if anything deserves to be featured in a movie, it’s the handcarved ham, sliced fresh in front of your eyes, heated on the griddle, and smothered in eggs and hash browns. Now that, we’d argue, deserves top billing. 11 P St., South Boston, MA 2127, thegalleydiner.com.
Emerge Spa
When was the last time you pulled up to a spa, threw your keys to the valet, and were led into a private VIP suite? The answer, obviously: never. But now you can do just that at the four-story Emerge, Boston's new grande dame of day spas, which boasts a host of standard and medical services for both genders (men get their own area), two in-house doctors, a juice bar, and locker rooms stocked with posh Kerstin Florian products. Spend an afternoon here, and you needn't exit as discreetly as you arrived. 275 Newbury St., Boston, MA 2116, emergespasalon.com.
Charles Street Inn
In the comely Henry James room, a fresh orchid echoes earth tones and the arc of a tree depicted in the Hudson River School painting behind it. Such details are characteristic of the Charles Street Inn, built as a Victorian townhouse in 1860 and revived four years ago as a beautiful inn by proprietors Sally Deane and Louise Venden. Today's rooms call up prominent Bostonians—Emerson, Gardner, Holmes. The Henry James Room, for example, offers lovingly restored classic antiques along with a thoughtfully stocked mini-fridge. The personable staff operates on the rare and precious middle ground between friendliness and respect for guests' privacy. 94 Charles St., Boston, MA .
XV Beacon
Paul Roiff's much-hyped Beacon Hill hostelry actually qualifies as a boutique hotel, with only 61 rooms and the hushed luxury of a truly exclusive property. But the attention to detail, from fresh orchids placed in the bathrooms daily and specially packaged Kiehl's bath products, to the stately but comfy four-post beds, makes this hotel the in the city. Nowhere else can you sleep in style and have the calling cards to prove it; the hotel specially provides "in residence" business cards for each guest to make sure that every high-powered deal or clandestine affair goes off without a hitch. 15 Beacon St., Boston, MA xvbeacon.com.
Yankee Clipper Inn
There are surprisingly few seaside inns within an hour of Boston. But when you've found this one— and can afford the upper-end price tag— who needs others? Many of the 26 rooms located in four diverse buildings of the inn's compound overlook the ocean. Many have fabulous sun decks or glassed-in porches with a view of waves directly below. Thick lawns and colorful gardens roll down to the water's edge. There's no sandy shore, but there is a pool and a gazebo. Plan ahead: The dining room is strictly BYOB, as Rockport is a dry town. 96 Granite St., Rockport, CT .
Toro
A truly great brunch must hit four marks: a tasty and varied menu, a strong bar, a relaxed atmosphere, and outdoor seating. Over the past year, South End tapas joint Toro boosted its performance on the food-and-beverage front (it had already aced the chill mood and the patio), adding a selection of tapas and pinchos—tortilla Espanola, yellowfin crudo, etc.—to its regular lineup of vanilla-bourbon-banana French toast and huevos rancheros. It also hired bar manager Courtney Bissonnette (hubby is chef Jamie) to jazz up the cocktails. By so doing, Toro has cracked, poached, and scrambled its more conventional challengers. 1704 Washington St., Boston, MA 2118, toro-restaurant.com.