In a California idyll along the Russian River in Sonoma wine country, the husband-and-wife team of Kyle and Katina Connaughton crafted this home for an intensely meticulous marriage of the finest points of Japanese cuisine and NoCal rusticity —  with an inn and an accompanying farm to add to the arsenal.

Website: singlethreadfarms.com

Address: 131 North St. Healdsburg, Calif.

Phone number: 707-723-4646

Number of seats: 52

Eleven-course tasting menu: $225

Popular dishes: Ora King Salmon “Ibushi-gin”: shio koji vinaigrette, char roe, and myoga; Black Cod “Fukkura-San”: broth of ember-grilled cod bones and saikyo miso;

Pave of duck confit with pickled vegetables, ice filtered duck broth and matsutake tea.

What others say: “The thread tying Japan to Sonoma is visible in every aspect of the restaurant. No one is as obsessed with ingredients as the Connaughtons, backed by flawless technique. They use a Japanese almanac that lists 72 seasons, and they are keeping their own journal so in time they will understand how Sonoma’s seasons parallel those in Japan.”  — Michael Bauer, San Francisco Chronicle

Black Cod “Fukkura-San”: broth of ember-grilled cod bones and saikyo miso

Th dining room

In the Venetian on the Las Vegas strip, big and burly burgers rule the roost at this offshoot of a burger concept born in New York City.

Website: blacktapnyc.com/locations

Address: 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas

Phone number: 702-414-2337

Number of seats: 138 inside, 52 outside

Entrée price range: $14-$19

Popular dishes: All-American Burger: Prime burger with lettuce, tomato, pickles, American cheese and special sauce: Greg Norman Burger: Wagyu beef with house buttermilk-dill dressing, blue cheese and arugula; Black Tap Wings: spicy Korean barbecue sauce, toasted sesame seeds, scallion and buttermilk-dill dressing.

What others say: “Michelin-starred chef Joe Isidori will build the sixth U.S. location for his New York-born Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer in Las Vegas and the wildly successful and rapidly expanding chain is headed to the Venetian. Self-described as a “classic luncheonette. Modernized for the Instagram age,” long lines at its original Soho and Meatpacking District locations were stacked with customers who also wanted to sample its outlandish milkshake creations.”  — Bradley Martin, Eater Vegas

Chili Cheeseburger

A salad

In Fort Collins, Colo., this multipart enterprise by the Denver-based Sage Restaurant Group (responsible for Urban Farmer locations around the country and individual eateries in different cities) features market offerings as well as grab-and-go foods as well as a full restaurant experience.

Website: emporiumftcollins.com

Address: 378 Walnut St. Fort Collins, Colo.

Phone number: 970-493-0024

Number of seats: 98

Entrée price range: $8-$32

Popular dishes: Bison Bourguignon with braised Colorado bison, applewood bacon, mushrooms, baby carrots and celeriac purée; Skuna Bay Salmon en Papillote with braised fennel, fingerling potatoes, baby beets, Pernod and Niçois olive butter; Hunter’s Chicken with pan roasted breast, ballotine, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, sweet potato, white wine, tarragon and cream

What others say: “Fort Collins is long on community gathering spots; breweries fill with neighbors on nights and weekends and locals turn out in force to support a vibrant live music scene. But until this week, it was lacking an upscale hub for business meetings and lingering lunches. Enter the Emporium Kitchen and Wine Market, a Sage Restaurant Group creation that just opened at 378 Walnut Street, in the heart of downtown.”  — Laura Shunk, Westword

Bison Bourguignon

The interior

In Naples, Florida, chef Vincenzo Betulia channels the food and fever of Paris by way of his otherwise Italian-inflected approach to rustic cuisine.

Website: thefrenchnaples.com

Address: 365 5th Ave., South Naples, Fla.

Phone number: 239-315-4019

Number of seats: 230

Entrée price range: $22-$42

Popular dishes: Poulet Roti ($26): Oven roasted chicken with English peas, bacon lardons, potato mousseline and chicken jus; Brasserie Steak Frites: Grillled hanger steak, maitre d'hotel butter, pommes frites and sauce Béarnaise; Cuisse De Canard Aux Cerises: crisp duck leg confit, locally grown kale and sour-cherry gastrique

What others say: “Fine French restaurants are like diamonds —  you can never have too many. So when I heard that Southwest Florida was gaining another take on the French brasserie, I was delighted. And when I learned that chef Vincenzo Betulia of Osteria Tulia and Bar Tulia local fame was behind the new venture, I knew we’d hit the culinary jackpot.”  — Artis Henderson, Gulfshore Life

Beef short rib bourguignon

Red leather banquettes and murals

Patrons at this live-wire comfort food den in Denver are encouraged to “dine hard.”

Website: fngrestaurant.com

Address: 3940 West 32nd Ave., Denver

Phone number: 303-963-5931

Number of seats: 84 in dining room, 12 at bar

Entrée price range: $6.75-$16.50

Popular dishes: Gnocchi “chowder” with littleneck clams, house bacon and chives; crunchy tater tot waffle with chopped smoked salmon and green aïoli; rotisserie lamb slider with red pepper pesto, grilled onion and lamb jus

What others say: “While we can’t print what Chef Troy Guard’s new Highland restaurant FNG stands for, we can tell you what to expect. The culinary rock star behind TAG, Los Chingones, and Guard and Grace is opening a rock-inspired restaurant with a comfort-food-with-a-twist menu.” - Allyson Reedy, The Know

Enchiladas

Interior

In Washington, D.C., this opulent, worldly seafood haven has lured diners to the base of the boutique Darcy hotel.

Website: sirenbyrw.com

Address: 1515 Rhode Island Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.

Phone number: 202-521-7171

Number of seats: 113 + 20 bar + 40 patio

Entrée price range: $29-$65

Popular dishes: Poached Alaskan halibut with mishmish spiced octopus, sopresata emulsion, almond milk, and farro grano arso; big eye tuna with kalamansi, sesame seed, wakame seaweed, macadamia nut and avocado mousse; salt crusted royal bass with grilled citrus and a complementing sauce.

What others say: “When the owner of the new Darcy hotel approached Robert Wiedmaier about creating a restaurant for the boutique property, the veteran D.C. chef asked, ‘What are you looking for?’ ‘What do you want to do?’ replied KHP Capital Partners, the San Francisco-based real estate private equity firm. ‘Seafood from around the world,’ Wiedmaier told the company. And vegetables and jazz, he added, taking into account not just his personal taste, but what the chef says he hears from his customers.”  — Tom Sietsema, The Washington Post

Alaskan Halibut

Interior booths

This Kansas City favorite mixes adventurous fine-dining with musical offerings in both a “Supper Club” and “Tasting Room” atmosphere.

Website: corvino.com

Address: 1830 Walnut St., Walnut St, Kansas City, Mo.

Phone number: 816-832-4564

Number of seats: 110 in the Supper Club, 18 in the Tasting Room

Entrée price range: $10-$34

Popular dishes: Roast chicken with smoked cheddar grits and soft egg, Swiss chard and chile butter; crispy pork ribs with fish sauce, fried garlic and crushed peanuts; gnocchi with roasted squash, Parmesan milk and sage-brown butter.

What others say: “There’s a stage. There will be live music most every night. But make no mistake, there’s a reason this Kansas City newcomer is called Corvino Supper Club & Tasting Room. ‘The dining experience comes first, it's not a music venue,’ says chef Michael Corvino, who made a name for himself in town at legendary institution the American Restaurant.”  — Hillary Dixler Canavan, Eater

Seaweed donuts with trout roe and cream

Interior

Homey vibes guide this deceptively progressive and sophisticated comfort-food favorite from a husband-and-wife team in Portland, Maine (the same couple, as it happens, behind the popular Portland Hunt & Alpine Club).

Website: littlegiantmaine.com

Address: 211 Danforth St., Portland, Me.

Phone number: 207-747-5045

Number of seats: 65

Entrée price range: $14-$27

Popular dishes: Little gem salad with green goddess dressing, watermelon radish, Parmesan and rye bread crumbs; mushroom agnolotti with winter squash, cranberry beans, house-made ricotta, Swiss chard and breadcrumbs; moxie-braised pork belly with smoked onion purée, pickled blueberries and toasted hazelnuts

What others say: “Both dining rooms, one casual and one slightly more formal, whisper ‘hygge’ as a form of dinnertime seduction.”  — Andrew Ross, Portland Press-Herald

Table top 

Dining room