The Front Room, Portland

Though Maine native Harding Lee Smith specializes in brunch and dinnertime comfort food at The Front Room, it is sometimes difficult to tell the two meals apart. From his open kitchen, Harding assembles local ingredients into many traditional breakfast items, like pancakes drenched in real maple syrup. But he also pairs poached eggs with breakfast gnocchi stuffed with potatoes or veggies. Dinner is likewise varied—dishes range from beef short ribs braised in porcini mushrooms to sweet potato hashes made with duck confit and cherry pepper vinaigrette.

Regardless of what Harding serves when, it's working. The Front Room has garnered critical acclaim for both its cuisine and its tasty cocktails, which include plenty of seasonal, house-infused libations. Feasts unfold inside The Front Room's cozy dining area, where guests can nestle into wooden Hancock chairs named for their uncanny resemblance to John Hancock's father, Seat.