Ritz-Carlton is reinventing the typical hotel restaurant. The oceanfront Burlock Coast is a café, market, restaurant, and bar all rolled into one, and it entices locals as well as tourists. It offers a marketplace for artisanal goods, grab-and-go lunches, retail bottles of small-batch rums, and a formal restaurant. The emphasis here is on locally sourced ingredients, from raw bar offerings like king crab cocktails to mains like New York Strip steaks ($46), plus a tomato bruschetta made with Little Pond Farm heirloom tomatoes. In the restaurant's carefully curated marketplace, patrons can find breads made by revered Miami baker Zak Stern (aka Zak the Baker), a hot cup of Panther Coffee, or charcuterie from Miami Smokers. And on top of all the local goodness, cocktail lovers can build their own drinks using a selection of Caribbean, French, and Spanish rums.
Readers' choice: Boatyard