Restaurants in Massachusetts

Though churrasca restaurants are popping up everywhere, Ivan Utrera is generally recognized as the first bold soul to open a Brazilian steakhouse in America, bringing family recipes from his native city of Sao Paulo. For nearly 20 years, Rodizio Grill's teams of gauchos have presented three-foot skewers of rotisserie-grilled meats tableside, giving guests the opportunity to sample as much as they can shake their fork at. The selection of seasoned meats includes picanha com parmesao—sirloin encrusted with parmesan—and frango agri-doce, chicken glazed in a sweet and spicy sauce. The gauchos also present skewered fruits and vegetables, including Rodizio's signature grilled pineapple.

The menu keeps it simple with only a few other embellishments, but they certainly share the spotlight with the churrasca. Unlimited appetizers include polenta and banana poppers, and a gourmet salad bar features whipped potatoes, Brazilian black-bean stew, and grilled veggies with parmesan cheese. Everything is homemade, including the desserts and the specialty limeades concocted from fresh limes and sweet cream. Because the menu is centered on meat and vegetables, 90% of the restaurant's dishes are gluten-free and wouldn't know the first thing about how to approach a carb at a dance party.

If its name doesn't tip them off, visitors to Campanale's Restaurant need only glance at the menu to realize this place is Italian to its core. More than 10 specialty pizzas take up but a small slice of real estate on the menu and include the chicken fradiavlo loaded with hot cherry peppers and onions. The rest of the menu features familiar Italian favorites, including marsala and parmigiana, alongside dishes that are a bit harder to come by such as grilled swordfish and sirloin pizziola–a 16-ounce sirloin topped with mozzarella and spicy marinara sauce. For added convenience, Campanale's also has a gluten-free spread packed with many of its regular dishes.

Twin Springs Golf Course presents memorable shot-making challenges in a nine-hole, par 34 course that meanders through tree-speckled meadowland and small, rolling hills. The course's two eponymous springs come into play on all but three holes, forcing players to fight off swirling winds, large sand traps, and the impulse to chop down intervening trees with underperforming irons. At Twin Springs' signature hole, the 318-yard, par 4 sixth, golfers can opt to reach the green in two with conservative, 150-yard shots around a dog-leg left fairway or go for the green in one by cutting the corner with a Herculean drive that must soar over a gallery of towering pine trees. Golfers can stretch their swing at Twin Springs' driving range, where PGA teaching professional Bob Keene presides over private and group lessons. The aromas of sandwiches and appetizers emanate from the Twin Springs Bar & Cafe, which lets guests enjoy a post-round nosh while watching live sports or catching a cool breeze on the spacious outdoor deck. Visitors can also relax in the club’s new lounge or host small events such as a bridal shower, birthday party, or team meeting in the banquet space.

Though he’s a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America whose resumé spans stints across the U.S., Brian Treitman has never lost his affinity for one food—roadside barbecue. At B.T.'s Smokehouse, Brian pays homage to multiple styles of Southern barbecue, starting with dry rubbing each cut of meat, from the pork shoulder and beef brisket to both types of ribs, in a blend of spices. He then places the slabs into a Southern Pride smoker, where the velvety plumes from local apple and hickory wood slowly cook the meat for up to 14 hours.

The cuts emerge with a crisp, blackened exterior surrounding a juicy, fall-apart-soft interior, and are plated with cornbread and sides such as collard greens and mac ’n’ cheese. Brian's approach has earned him a loyal following, a spot on Worcester'sBestChef.com's 2011 People's Choice Awards, and at least two awkwardly long hugs from diners.

Upscale ingredients such as pancetta and aioli imbue Public eat+drink's menu of casual American fare with a gourmet touch. Beneath exposed-brick walls bedecked in brightly colored artwork, friends’ forks share small plates such as tempura-battered red onion rings ($5.95) or baked brie with apples and walnuts ($8.95). Rubbed with herbs and cooked under a brick, the cornish hen entree sails to tables with a helping of roasted root vegetables ($15.95), and fish ‘n’ chips dip into a side of house tartar aioli ($10.95). And, like a self-portrait made from Easy Mac, a blend of pancetta and smoked gouda elevates mac ‘n’ cheese from comfort fare to high art ($13.95). Although alcohol is not included with today’s Groupon, Public eat+drink also pours an extensive list of craft beers and signature cocktails.