Ceraldi
With just two seatings per night and a daily-changing, seven-course menu highlighting mainly local ingredients—corn flan with lobster and sea beans; parsley tagliatelle with heirloom tomatoes and basil—chef Michael Ceraldi's summertime dinners are a fleeting delicacy to be remembered and cherished. 15 Kendrick Ave., Wellfleet, MA 2667, ceraldicapecod.com.
PB Boulangerie
At this convivial South Wellfleet gem, chef Philippe Rispoli—a native of France—turns out superb French dishes (the spit-roasted chicken is not to be missed). Add in the top-notch cocktails, fresh-baked bread basket, and impressive selection of artisanal cheeses, and you'll soon be saying au revoir to fried seafood. 15 Lecount Hollow Road, South Wellfleet, MA 2663, pbboulangeriebistro.com.
Abbicci
At first, we were hopelessly distracted by the eye candy, as Abbicci's exotic-looking French and Peruvian servers floated by sensuously to a soft instrumental soundtrack. Once the food arrived, though, our gazes were fully focused on the Mediterranean-inspired plates before us: scallion-and-pistachio-stuffed Peppadews, scotch-glazed squad, and pan-seared pork loin with sweet and sour pepperonata. Owner Marietta Bombardieri fiercely edits her wine list to match her menu. As for other types of matchmaking, you're on your own. 43 Main St. (Rte. 6A), Yarmouth Port, MA abbicci.com.
C Salt Wine Bar & Grille
In the land of beach bars and clam shacks, C Salt is a breath of fresh (salt) air. This tiny house looks more like a ski chalet than an oyster bar, but the locals who pack the dining room don't let that distract them. From an open kitchen, chef Jonathan Philips turns out root-beer-braised short ribs and a spicy tuna tartar tostada with avocado-cilantro aioli worth bottling. The clincher: the coldest, stiffest martini we've ever enjoyed. 75 Davis Straits, Falmouth, MA 02540, csaltfalmouth.com.
Twenty-Eight Atlantic
A true destination restaurant, Twenty-Eight Atlantic got an extra boost this year from the addition of former L'Espalier chef James Hackney to the kitchen. And the incomparable ocean vistas? Here they don't replace superb cooking—they make it that much easier to savor. 2173 Massachusetts 28, East Harwich, MA 2633, wequassett.com/dining.
Restaurant 902 Main
The bathroom alone is worth a visit. The ladies' powder room sports a chandelier covered in strings of pearl necklaces, and sinks that sparkle with embedded gems. The service and food shine even brighter: Sautéed lobster with truffle risotto and baby spinach, and beef tenderloin and lamb chops topped with cabernet sauce stand out among the first-class options. 902 Main St. (Rte. 28), South Yarmouth, MA .
Chester
In a town where buff young men in designer newsboy caps spend the better portions of their sun-filled days debating the question of where to eat dinner, said dinner had better be worth the discussion. At Chester, it is. Even if it didn't boast a cosmopolitan interior of butter-yellow walls and bright art, a handsome, diverse clientele, and attentive service—Chester would be worth it for such culinary lovelies as foie gras with rhubarb confit and just-off-the-boat lobster in rich lobster coral sauce. Cap it off by ordering the orange blossom-honey mousse with caramelized blood oranges. Now the only question left is where to work off the calories. 404 Commercial St., Provincetown, MA chesterrestaurant.com.
Nightstage
<p>The life span of most nightclubs is short, largely because crowd loyalties tend to change about as often as the Republican candidate for governor. Fortunately, however, that fact has always kept the city's impresarios on their toes. Local club owners know that to make it, they've got to make it happen. With clean sight lines and state-of-the-art acoustics. Or an interior that's as sleek as it is comfortable. Or a consistently solid lineup. Or the right kind of crowd.</p> <p>Club managers Sam Marcus, Robert Gregory, and Chloe Sachs have put together all those elements—under the same roof, no less—at Nightstage, an upscale Cambridge music room that opened a day after Hurricane Gloria, and with all the storm's gusto, last September.</p> <p>Six years ago, Sachs, a devoted fan of the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, sensed a blues revival coming and gambled on it. "Our basic love was the blues," says Sachs. "But we were tired of seeing the acts we wanted to see in such grody conditions."</p> <p>According to Sachs, the concept behind Nightstage, located at 823 Main Street, was "to create a comfortable and sophisticated space in which to hear the music we wanted to hear and to attract the kind of crowd we wanted to attract—namely, people in their middle twenties and older." Six years later the reality is exactly that.</p> <p>Although Nightstage—a two-level room coated in muted lavender, taupe, and gray with recessed lighting, wall-to-wall carpeting, and a mahogany bar—is arguably the best-dressed club in the area, its real success has hinged on the breadth of its nightly (except Monday) performance schedule.</p> <p>Since opening, Nightstage has attracted top names in blues (Memphis Slim, Sippie Wallace, Albert King), jazz (Sun Ra, Carla Bley), folk (Leo Kottke), Latin (Tito Puente), pop (Girls' Night Out), and bluegrass (Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys), plus local talents like the Screaming Coyotes.</p> <p>Says Sachs: "The best part of it all has been the diversity of the crowds and the music we've been able to pull in. We feel that culturally we have really given something to the city, and that's been incredibly gratifying."</p>
Michael Shane
James Shane ain't heavy; he's the brother of Michael Shane, founder of the fabulously successful Leading Edge computer company of Canton. Unfortunately for James, he was also on the wrong end of a $1.3-million judgement awarded his brother, Michael, in a suit over an old business deal that went awry.
Gwen Butler so impressed Swiss financier Erich Sager with her work behind the bar at the Federalist that he offered to buy her a restaurant of her own as a tip. More than a year and $2.5 million of Sager's money later, the planned Back Bay restaurant Zita (named for the patron saint of waiters and waitresses) hasn't opened.