Boston | Sip Tripper

AAA Southern New England has announced that 50 hotels and 16 restaurants in Massachusetts have received AAA Five or Four Diamond awards for 2014, AAA’s highest designations for hotels and restaurants.

AAA inspectors visit more than 59,000 establishments annually across the United States and throughout North America. Five Diamond recipients are just 0.3 percent of the 59,000, and Four Diamond recipients are just 3.9 percent of the total inspected.

This year’s recipients are as follows:

Five Diamond Hotel

• Four Seasons Hotel Boston, Boston (first awarded in 1988)

• Mandarin Oriental, Boston (2009)

• The Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common, Boston (2010)

Five Diamond Restaurant

• L’Espalier, Boston (1999)

• Menton, Boston (2011)

• Wheatleigh’s Dining Room, Lenox (2005)

Four Diamond Hotel

• Boston

• Ames Hotel (2011)

• Boston Harbor Hotel (1987)

• Copley Square Hotel (2010)

• Fairmont Battery Wharf (2009)

• Fifteen Beacon (2000)

• Hilton Boston Downtown/Faneuil Hall (2000)

• Hilton Boston Logan Airport (2002)

• Hotel Commonwealth (2004)

• InterContinental Boston (2007)

• Loews Boston Hotel (2004)

• Millennium Bostonian Hotel (2011)

• Nine Zero Hotel (2002)

• Onyx Hotel (2004)

• Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel (2010)

• Revere Hotel/Boston Common (2012)

• Seaport Hotel & Seaport World Trade Center (2001)

• Taj Boston (2003)

• The Colonnade Hotel Boston (2010)

• The Eliot Hotel (1999)

• The Fairmont Copley Plaza Boston (1994)

• The Langham (1982)

• The Lenox Hotel (1998)

• The Liberty, A Luxury Collection Hotel (2008) (pictured, below)

• The Westin Copley Place (2001)

• W Boston Hotel & Residences (2010)

• Westin Boston Waterfront (2006)

• The Mansion at Ocean Edge, Brewster (2013)

• Hotel Marlowe, Cambridge (2003)

• Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Cambridge (2011)

• Le Meriden Cambridge, Cambridge (2004)

• Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston, Cambridge (2007)

• The Charles Hotel, Harvard Square, Cambridge (2000)

• Captain’s House Inn, Chatham (1986)

• Chatham Bars Inn Resort & Spa, Chatham (2004)

• Wequassett Resort and Golf Club, East Harwich (2002)

• The Charlotte Inn, Edgartown (2012)

• Renaissance Boston Hotel and Spa at Patriot Place, Foxboro (2010)

• Wheatleigh, Lenox (2003)

• The Wauwinet, Nantucket (2006)

• White Elephant, Nantucket (2009)

• White Elephant Village Inn-Residences, Nantucket (2010)

• Crowne Pointe Historic Inn & Spa, Provicetown (2000)

• Historic Jacob Hill Inn “A Providence Luxury Hotel”, Seekonk (2001)

• Stonehedge Inn & Spa, Tyngsboro (1989)

• The Westin Waltham-Boston, Waltham (2002)

• The Orchards Hotel, Williamstown (1986)

• Beechwood Hotel, Worcester (2010)

Four Diamond Restaurant

• Asana, Boston (2012)

• Aura, Boston (2001)

• Clio, Boston (1999)

• Deuxave, Boston (2013)

• Mamma Maria, Boston (2005)

• Meritage, Boston (1994)

• Miel, Boston (2007)

• Mooo…., Boston (2007)

• No. 9 Park, Boston (2002)

• The Café, Boston (2005)

• Rialto, Cambridge (2004)

• Stars at Chatham Bars Inn, Chatham (2013)

• twenty-eight Atlantic, East Harwich (2002)

• Topper’s, Nantucket (2006)

• The Old Inn on the Green, New Marlborough (2000)

• Left Bank, Tyngsboro (2007)

“AAA Four and Five Diamond hotels and restaurants provide guests with a personalized experience and attentive service in comfortable, high quality surroundings,” said Lloyd P. Albert, AAA Southern New England Senior Vice President of Public and Government Affairs. “These establishments consistently exceed the expectations of the most discriminating traveler – the AAA inspector. We are proud to have these dedicated businesses in our region.”

AAA will present the awards at luncheons in Boston and Lenox in February and March.

The New Year is all about self-improvement, whether taking up a new hobby, exploring an area of interest or becoming an expert in a particular subject. Embracing the spirit of learning in 2014, beloved brasserie Eastern Standard gives guests an inside look at its unique, collaborative approach to staff training and culture with “Standard” Education – a day of interactive classes that recreate the restaurant’s pre-meal team teaching sessions and emphasize its above-and-beyond standards of internal education.

The day-long program on Saturday, Feb. 8, gives guests of all experience levels – from industry vets to longtime fans – the opportunity to learn with and from members of the ES team in their craft of expertise, tying in various aspects of the restaurant’s lauded food and beverage programs with tastings and demos including:

Demystifying Sherry ($40)

Jackson Cannon (Bar Director of Eastern Standard and Proprietor/Bar Director of The Hawthorne)

11:00 – 11:50 AM

Fresh off a week in Jerez, Spain, Bar Director Jackson Cannon leads guests on a virtual tour through the country’s primary Sherry production region with a tasting of fortified wines from various bodegas and an overview of the winemaking process. The class will also debunk common misconceptions about Sherry (grandma drink it is not!), discuss its comeback among bartenders and drinkers alike and show how it can be integrated into cocktails.

Raw Food: Classic and Modern ($40)

Patrick Campbell (Executive Chef)

12:00 – 12:50 PM

Explore the raw side of brasserie-style cuisine with Executive Chef Patrick Campbell, tasting through both classic and modern raw preparations (think oysters and tartares served alongside crudo and carpaccio). He’ll offer tips for preparing & serving raw items at home (including shopping tricks!), showcase raw dishes beyond seafood (venison carpaccio, anyone?) and elaborate on how the raw program fits into the ES dining experience.

Vermouth Unveiled ($40)

Bob McCoy (Beverage Programs Liaison)

1:00 – 1:50 PM

This hands-on walk through the history of Vermouth with Beverage Programs Liaison Bob McCoy includes a discussion on the loss and rebirth of the spirit, a look at its use in classic cocktails, an overview of new artisanal production and a tasting/comparison of dry Vermouth, sweet Vermouth and Eastern Standard’s house-made rosé Vermouth.

The Wines of Sud-Ouest France ($40)

Colleen Hein (Wine Director)

2:00 – 2:50 PM

Though Southwest France is one of the country’s largest winegrowing regions, it remains largely unexplored and underappreciated by way of glass and palate. Wine Director Colleen Hein sheds light on the diverse terroir of the Sud-Ouest, tasting through both familiar and lesser-known varietals to showcase the natural spirit of the grapes grown and its vignerons.

Cheese as Dessert ($40)

Matt Baum (Cheese Buyer)

3:30 – 4:20 PM

Tackle the age-old question of whether to cap off a meal with a traditional treat or a cheese course by taking a look at cheese in both sweet and savory settings. Cheese Buyer Matt Baum brings guests through the ES cheese program beginning to end, honing in on what to look for when purchasing cheese and how to form a classic cheese progression (with samples of cheeses unique to the restaurant, of course!).

The Study of Scotch ($40)

Naomi Levy (Assistant Bar Manager)

4:30 – 5:20 PM

With interest in Scotch growing across the country, Assistant Bar Manager Naomi Levy breaks down Scotland’s native spirit by style, region and raw materials. She also dives into how Scotch has made its way into current cocktail culture, when/why people drink Scotch, how to taste spirits and proper serving techniques.

Eastern Standard Gallery Room is located at 528 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. Tickets are $40/person per class, sold a la carte, or $200 for the full day of classes. With the purchase of three or more classes, guests may also choose to add on a five-course dinner at Eastern Standard ($70 for food; $40 for optional beverage pairings) and/or an overnight stay at Hotel Commonwealth at a special rate ($169 plus taxes).

Please visit http://easternstandardeducation.eventbrite.com or emaildmarlette@easternstandardboston.com for package and pricing inquiries. For more information, visit www.easternstandardboston.com or call 617-532-9100.