photo: Courtesy of Nick Flandro

Though Green Dolphin Street may be named after a jazz tune, it's just as much a destination for discriminating diners. Enjoy steaks, seafood, lamb chops and more in the gorgeous wood-accented main dining room (reservations recommended), and take your time with the extensive wine list. Entrees run from $23-$60, plus you'll want to try the interesting appetizers and sides like oysters filled with spinach, pecorino, crabmeat, lobster and saffron essence and topped with hollandaise sauce as well as a crispy crab and shrimp cake with fried leeks.

Feeling a little guilty about all the money you spent on your meal? Take solace in the fact that you get free admission to the adjacent club as a dining customer. You can catch live music here every night of the week except Monday, running the gamut from big band and bebop to Latin jazz and salsa lessons accompanied by live DJs. The sophisticated club is warm and candle-lit, with thick red curtains shutting out distractions from next door.

Typically well-dressed crowds (no hats or athletic wear allowed) gather around the wood-paneled bar or at one of the many white-clothed tables, sipping martinis and mixed drinks for $6 and up. The bar menu, while still well above standard bar fare, is drastically different from the main dining room eats: Try the four-cheese pizza, the bacon-cheddar burger or the Dungeness crab cake, all under $12. Peek past the curtains in back and you'll find a second, smaller bar leading out to several party rooms and the patio, which is open in warmer months.

Centerstage Reviewer: Ben Rubenstein