$60 for a Three-Course Seasonal Chef's Dinner for Two at Tusq ($120 Value)

Tusq

If you peer into the open kitchen at Tusq from visit to visit, you'll rarely see the same process twice. Mirroring its rotating tasting menu, Tusq has recently revamped the restaurant with new chic décor creating a swanky feel and a freshly updated menu to match.The tasting menu include flighty dishes that change at a few weeks' notice, offering a small window of time for guests to sample the likes of pan-roasted scallops or crème brûlée. Those interested in constancy can turn to the regular dinner menu. With duck confit wontons and a 9-ounce strip steak in a root-beer reduction, it's ample evidence of the chef's adventurous streak. Lunch is similarly creative, featuring sandwiches of orange-glazed salmon and penne pasta with wild game sausage.

Tusq serves these plates and made-from-scratch desserts in an upscale dining room. Two private rooms also host gatherings, one in a chic corporate lounge, and one in a bistro-style space with its own bartender. Still, the restaurant's atmosphere avoids pretension—after supper and wine, you can belt out your favourite songs at StaQatto, where a duelling pianos show entertains crowds every Friday and Saturday. The pianists take suggestions from a set list of 2,000 songs, and encourage audiences to participate by dancing, singing, or stretching strings from their mouths to their feet and serving as a standup bass.