Filet Mignon

THE CAPITAL GRILLE 900 Boylston St., Boston 617-262-8900 www.thecapitalgrille.com After 20 years in its Newbury Street location, the Capital Grille has moved on. At the end of August, the steakhouse relocated to the Hynes Convention Center. Why move? A little more breathing room never hurts. The new restaurant clocks in at 10,000 square feet, nearly double the size of the old, and seats more than 300. It also has a patio and five private rooms.

2011 BEGAN with an "Ole!" We rode in on a wave of tequila and yuppie tacos, as half a dozen upscale Mexican restaurants arrived on the scene almost simultaneously. This was the year Kendall Square and the South Boston waterfront took off as restaurant neighborhoods, albeit with very different flavors - the former a haven for small, independent establishments, the latter trending bigger and glitzier. Legal Sea Foods got a flagship with Legal Harborside, complete with roof deck and bouncers; the Fenway branch of El Pelon Taqueria returned from the ashes.

WOODSTOCK, N.Y. -- Like just about everything else here, the Bear Cafe has its roots in the local arts scene. The restaurant opened in 1971, not long after the influx of hippies into the area. Founded by Albert Grossman, a music industry veteran who managed artists such as Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, the Band, and Peter, Paul and Mary, it was operated by Bernard and Mary Lou Paturel, thrived until 1980, and then went into decline. Woodstock locals Peter Cantine and Eric Mann decided to refurbish and reopen the place in 1988.

THE CAPITAL GRILLE 900 Boylston St., Boston 617-262-8900 www.thecapitalgrille.com After 20 years in its Newbury Street location, the Capital Grille has moved on. At the end of August, the steakhouse relocated to the Hynes Convention Center. Why move? A little more breathing room never hurts. The new restaurant clocks in at 10,000 square feet, nearly double the size of the old, and seats more than 300. It also has a patio and five private rooms.

2011 BEGAN with an "Ole!" We rode in on a wave of tequila and yuppie tacos, as half a dozen upscale Mexican restaurants arrived on the scene almost simultaneously. This was the year Kendall Square and the South Boston waterfront took off as restaurant neighborhoods, albeit with very different flavors - the former a haven for small, independent establishments, the latter trending bigger and glitzier. Legal Sea Foods got a flagship with Legal Harborside, complete with roof deck and bouncers; the Fenway branch of El Pelon Taqueria returned from the ashes.

Red all over The Chicken Parmigiano at Russo and Sons in Watertown is dangerous – and not only because it’s just about the size of a Buick. The thinly sliced chicken filets are fried to perfection, the marinara has tang, and the sub roll is firm. You tell yourself you’ll eat half now and save the rest for tomorrow, and, well, good luck. Before you know it, your hands are drenched with red sauce, mozzarella cheese is dripping onto the table, and the thing is disappearing.

1. SEAFOOD CHARCUTERIE CAROLYN JOHNSON CHEF, 80 THOREAU: Chicken liver pate and pork rillettes are so 2011. Johnson foresees a rise in seafood charcuterie. At 80 Thoreau, she says, "we've done some different fish rillettes, smoked bluefish pate, various cured items - what everyone's been doing with pork for a few years. " Chef Will Gilson's North Truro pop-up, Eat at Adrian's, featured a fish charcuterie platter this past summer. At Bay Village Italian restaurant Erbaluce, chef Chuck Draghi...

43 Middlesex Turnpike, Burlington 781-202-3570 chateaurestaurant.com Sunday and Monday, 11:15 a.m.-9 p.m.; Tuesday, 11:15 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday, 11:15 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:15 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Major credit cards accepted Handicapped-accessible BURLINGTON – When ­Joseph and Mary Nocera opened The Chateau at 195 School St. in Waltham...

Detroit's Queen of Soul knows how to throw a Christmas party, and she welcomed in the holiday with glitter, a jazzy musical backdrop and a finale of "Silent Night" with the Four Tops. Aretha Franklin held her annual Christmas party on Friday at the Detroit Athletic Club, greeting guests in a teal blue gown accented with a silver sequined bodice. The Detroit News reports ( http://bit.ly/tPkXO9) that Franklin exchanged gifts with family and friends as Ursula Walker, Buddy Budson, Marian Hayden and Gayelynn McKinney played jazz in the background.

One only needs to read an airline magazine to realize that high-end steak houses are aimed at businessmen with fat expense accounts and, in some cases, bellies to match. But the same restaurants that specialize in offering bone-in porterhouse for the price of Apple stock are bringing new hope to the Rose Kennedy Greenway. For years, the city has waited for buildings along the Greenway to "turn around" and open themselves to the park. The new Palm steakhouse at International Place will offer outdoor dining on the Greenway, where it joins rival and fellow newcomer Smith & Wollensky.

WOODSTOCK, N.Y. -- Like just about everything else here, the Bear Cafe has its roots in the local arts scene. The restaurant opened in 1971, not long after the influx of hippies into the area. Founded by Albert Grossman, a music industry veteran who managed artists such as Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, the Band, and Peter, Paul and Mary, it was operated by Bernard and Mary Lou Paturel, thrived until 1980, and then went into decline. Woodstock locals Peter Cantine and Eric Mann decided to refurbish and reopen the place in 1988.

Located in the Hilton Boston Downtown/Financial District, Nix's Mate might seem like any other hotel restaurant. But the man behind the menu is chef David Nevins, previously at North End favorite Neptune Oyster and Todd English's Olives. (One could have imagined him returning to that Charlestown restaurant, which is still working to reopen after a May 2010 fire, but it appears that's not to be.) The restaurant is named for one of Boston's Harbor Islands, often spelled Nixes Mate.

How to get there Eden Mills, Vt., is 250 miles from Boston, about a five-hour drive. Take Interstate 93 north through New Hampshire to exit 1 in Vermont. Follow Route 2 west to West Danville, then Route 15 west to Hyde Park. Take Route 100 north to Eden Mills. What to do Eden Mountain Lodge 1390 Square Road 802-635-9070 www.edenmountainlodge.com Skijorers should arrive with their own cross-country ski gear. A two-hour lesson for you, your dog, or both is $250.