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Arcade Fire Unveils Single & Video for "Reflektor"
Arcade Fire has been more than a little bit coy about their new album, Reflektor, which drops October 29th on Merge Records. The band first began dropping hints about the project on their new Instagram account last month, suggesting something was imminent, using images to spell out "9pm 9/9," the intended release date of the first single from their follow-up to 2010's Grammy Award-winning The Suburbs. A couple of teaser trailers and an interview with Dutch photographer/filmmaker Anton Corbijn later, the Canadian indie rockers have finally released the single (and accompanying video). Also titled "Reflektor," the song, co-produced by James Murphy, is nearly eight minutes long and features David Bowie on backing vocals and some sparkly electronic flourishes, while the video is quintessential Corbijn, shot in inky black and white and employing spectacular use of a disco-ball glass.
Arcade Fire has also unveiled an interactive short film called "Just a Reflektor." Directed by Vincent Morisset and filmed in Haiti, the story explores the new album's themes via the story of a young woman who travels between her world and our own. The band will be the musical guest on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, hosted by the one and only Tina Fey, on September 28th.
Review: The Howling Hex's Knuckleball Express Is a Disarming Take on Blues Rock
The album may well be the most accessible entry in frontman Neil Hagerty's vast catalogue.4
An unintentional reminder of baseball's eerie absence from American life right now, the title of the Howling Hex's Knuckleball Express references our national pastime's weirdest, wackiest pitch, darting and dipping and befuddling hitters due to seemingly random movements resulting from its attenuated spinning motion. It's also a fitting moniker for yet another surprising change of direction by Howling Hex mastermind Neil Hagerty, who's sensibility has shifted from Pussy Galore's brutal noise assault to Royal Trux's trippy re-visitation of classic-rock decadence to the skeletal yet snaky arrangements of his solo work.
Compared to recent Howling Hex outings like the relentlessly demented carnival bop of 2013's The Best of the Howling Hex and 2016's Denver, Knuckleball Express is a comparatively straightforward take on blues rock. Opening track "Lies" sets the tone with an immediately catchy three-chord fuzz riff, retaining a looseness that makes its aphoristic refrain—"If you want to die, believe in lies"—less admonishing than matter of fact, as if Hagerty decided the best way to deliver his moral is to marry it to a propulsive ZZ Top-style groove.
The most dramatic change to the band's sound comes from newly enlisted singer-guitarist Nicole Lawrence, previously a collaborator on projects with Mary Timony and King Tuff. It's difficult to imagine Hagerty sharing vocal duties with a chanteuse other than Jennifer Herrema, his longtime battery-mate in Royal Trux (and one-time girlfriend), but Lawrence's dulcet singing is so diametrically opposed to Herrema's woozy drawl that it brings out a rarely glimpsed dimension of his songwriting: prettiness. "Mr. Chicken," for instance, initially proceeds according to the Howling Hex playbook, with Hagerty's scratchy voice buried under dueling bursts of distorted guitar, until the chorus drops everything but drums, keyboards, and Lawrence's light and beautifully lilted phrasing. The effect is disarmingly joyous.
Lawrence also helps spotlight just how intimate Hagerty's work can be. When Lawrence and Hagerty open "City in the Country" by repeating, "It's just another addiction now, uh huh/And that's why I won't be seeing you around me," their harmonizing expresses the melancholic acceptance of a romance undone by self-destruction while alluding more specifically to Hagerty and Herrema's tumultuous personal history. The introduction to the following track, "Heavy Curtains," also appears to make reference to that history, but here Lawrence alone delivers the commentary in a gentle coo over rudimentary keyboard plunks: "Last golden braid/Heavy curtains fall/No masquerade/No curtain call." Whether or not the song refers to the recent disintegration of a briefly reunited Royal Trux, this newly revealed sweet side to the Howling Hex proves remarkably successful.
The second half of Knuckleball Express slightly disappoints with three short tracks that feel more like sketches than fully developed ideas. But the album ends with "North Aquarian," which at nearly six minutes long provides Hagerty a shredding showcase while also giving drummer Kenneth Boykins a chance at a solo. Yet even "North Aquarian" could've been more than what it is, a would-be Hagerty epic in the vein of "Blue Is the Frequency" or "Trashcan Bahamas" that's instead cut off at the legs by an abrupt and awkward fadeout. This approach is also detrimentally applied to "Words" and "City in the Country," mitigating the album's warts-and-all tack by reducing its presentation of deep improvisation and experimentation.
Still, along with Royal Trux's Thank You and Hagery's 2002 solo outing, Plays That Good Old Rock and Roll, Knuckleball Express may well be the most accessible entry in the musician's vast catalogue. It's not a compromise or sell-out, but rather a welcome implementation of his talents to the foundational rock that's always undergirded his sound and sensibility.
Label: Fat Possum Release Date: April 17, 2020 Buy: Amazon
The 10 Best Albums of 1986
We take a look back and reflect on the music that defined one of the most definable of decades.
In my introduction to Slant's list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1980s, I noted that, while '80s pop culture is largely remembered for its frivolity, the social unrest that stirred beneath the decade's brightly colored gloss and greed resulted in not just the guilt-driven good intentions of enterprises like the star-studded USA for Africa, but a generation of artists whose music genuinely reflected the state of the world. From political violence across the pond and the struggles and dreams of the American working class, to race relations, sexuality, and gender, no topic was left unexcavated by the pop, rock, and hip-hop artists of the Reagan era. As we enter the 2020s, an entire generation removed from the '80s, it seems as good a time as any to once again look back and reflect on the music that defined one of the most definable of decades. Sal Cinquemani
Honorable Mention: The Bangles, Different Light; Afrika Bamabaataa & Soulsonic Force, Planet Rock: The Album; Metallica, Master of Puppets; Talk Talk, The Colour of Spring; New Order, Brotherhood; Dwight Yoakam, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.; The Robert Cray Band, Strong Persuader; Throwing Muses, Throwing Muses; Randy Travis, Storms of Life; The Go-Betweens, Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express
10. Sonic Youth, EVOL
Jittery and eclectic, 1987's EVOL stands far apart from the later, more cohesive Daydream Nation; it's a difficult album that's nonetheless one of the best latter-day invocations of no-wave chaos. Full of sustained bursts of cathartic noise, the album kicks off with the jagged squeal of "In the Kingdom #19," which employs Minuteman bassist Mike Watt over a spoken-word account of a car crash, months after the death of bandmate D. Boon in similar circumstances. Lydia Lunch contributes vocals to the blown-out wasteland "Marilyn Moore," adding to the weird collegial air of one of the group's strangest albums. Jesse Cataldo
9. XTC, Skylarking
The story behind the recording of XTC's Skylarking is that the band absolutely hated working with producer Todd Rundgren, whom they found overbearing and snide, but none of that behind-the-scenes tension translated into the finished product, as joyous and buoyant a pop album as has ever been recorded. The songwriting is balanced between Andy Partidge's more twee impulses and Colin Moulding's grounded, dry wit, while Rundgren's on-point production splits the difference between the band's Pet Sounds inspiration and new wave's bounce. Even when the band explores headier themes, such as the working-class disaffect on standout "Earn Enough for Us" and the potent defense of atheism on minor-hit single "Dear God," their melodies are outsized and sunny. Skylarking might not have been fun to record, but it's still a blast to listen to. Jonathan Keefe
8. Run-DMC, Raising Hell
It wasn't the album that made hip-hop "safe" to white, middle American audiences (that didn't come along until M.C. Hammer's Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em), but Run-D.M.C.'s landmark Raising Hell was the album that truly gave a broader pop audience an entry point into hip-hop music. That Run-D.M.C. were able to break through on such a massive scale without sacrificing their aggressive sampling of harder-edged rock music or their inimitable lyrical flow speaks to the skill, unrivaled at the time, that they displayed on Raising Hell. Thanks to producers Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, the fans who were initially hooked by the group's cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" discovered the depth of sound, purposeful use of samples, and razor-sharp wordplay that made the mid-'80s rap music's golden age. Keefe
7. Madonna, True Blue
Sure, some of the production choices on True Blue sound chintzy and dated in comparison to those on Madonna's other '80s releases, but there's no getting around the fact that five of the album's nine tracks are among the strongest individual singles of her career. More importantly, though, True Blue was the album on which it became readily apparent that Madonna was more than just a flash-in-the-pan pop star. It's when she began manipulating her image—and her audience—with a real sense of clarity and purpose and made sure she had quality songs to back up her world-dominating ambition. Keefe
6. R.E.M., Lifes Rich Pageant
In which the college (rock) kids graduate and head into the real world, ready to take over. And, in R.E.M.'s case, they came pretty close to doing just that. Lifes Rich Pageant stands as a nearly seamless transition between the band's formative period and their commercial dominance. The ragged, frenetic energy of R.E.M.'s early work is captured on "Just a Touch" and "These Days," while "Fall On Me" and their cover of the Clique's "Superman" showcase a newfound emphasis on pop hooks. In striking that balance, Lifes Rich Pageant is a template for how the "alternative" music the band was largely responsible for originating would, less than a decade later, become the dominant narrative in the music industry. Keefe
Review: Sam Hunt's Southside Is a Shallow Attempt at Genre Pastiche
The album boasts some genuine earworms, but its lyrical content is sophomoric.2
Sam Hunt's sophomore effort, Southside, has an ingratiating charm, boasting some genuine earworms, but its lyrical content is puerile and its attempts at genre pastiche feel shallow. Released back in 2017, the album's first single, "Body Like a Back Road," features a catchy hook that recalls a nursery rhyme and an extended simile that draws a tired comparison between sex and driving. The second single, "Downtown's Dead," is more broadly thematic—about how the whole world can lose its luster when your heart is broken—but the music isn't particularly memorable, driven by heavy drums and a repetitive, dull shuffle.
The disjunction between those two tracks is emblematic of Southside as a whole. Hunt spends most of the album playing a game of musical whack-a-mole: Sometimes his lyrics rise above the level of trite barroom poetry, and occasionally the melodies are infectious, but seldom at the same time. Hunt's music is unquestionably bro-country in its lyrical concerns, but he incorporates some elements of hip-hop, a fusion that only occasionally bears fruit. "Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90's" is a goofy bit of half-sung, rose-colored nostalgia and the midtempo "Kinfolks" is a moderately sweet song about introducing your partner to your family.
More often, the album's approach to blurring the lines between genres falls flat. "Hard to Forget," a song about a woman who drives Hunt crazy, opens with a chopped-n'-screwed sample of Webb Pierce's tear-in-my-beer country classic "There Stands the Glass," but Hunt's sentiment doesn't gel with the beer-soaked miserablism of Pierce's song. It feels more like Hunt is trying to steal some cred by showing he knows who Pierce is than actually trying to establish some sort of intertextual relationship.
Southside reaches its nadir with "That Ain't Beautiful," retrograde dreck in which he mansplains to a woman about how her life choices "ain't beautiful." The reductive lyrics feature a series of clichéd images of a past-her-prime party girl that feel ripped straight from Bill Simmons's drafts folder. Hunt assiduously eschews any attempt at rhyme or wordplay, which makes the song feel overly self-serious. The lyrics are also oddly plagued by specificity, with Hunt tsk-tsking his subject for spending too much on an airplane ticket for the wedding of a person she's known for less than a year. Hunt isn't charmless as a performer, but the song is plodding and maudlin, and his delivery has a distinctly drunken karaoke feel to it.
There are worse purveyors of bro-country spiced up with hip-hop (here's looking at you, Florida Georgia Line), and Hunt has an ear for melody, but his reliance on lyrical clichés and hit-you-over-the-head genre fusion makes Southside worth little more than a shrug.
Label: MCA Nashville Release Date: April 3, 2020 Buy: Amazon
The 10 Best Albums of 1985
We take a look back and reflect on the music that defined one of the most definable of decades.
In my introduction to Slant's list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1980s, I noted that, while '80s pop culture is largely remembered for its frivolity, the social unrest that stirred beneath the decade's brightly colored gloss and greed resulted in not just the guilt-driven good intentions of enterprises like the star-studded USA for Africa, but a generation of artists whose music genuinely reflected the state of the world. From political violence across the pond and the struggles and dreams of the American working class, to race relations, sexuality, and gender, no topic was left unexcavated by the pop, rock, and hip-hop artists of the Reagan era. As we enter the 2020s, an entire generation removed from the '80s, it seems as good a time as any to once again look back and reflect on the music that defined one of the most definable of decades. Sal Cinquemani
Honorable Mention: LL Cool J, Radio; Talking Heads, Little Creatures; John Cougar Mellencamp, Scarecrow; Lizzy Mercier Descloux, One for the Soul; The Velvet Underground, VU; Husker Du, New Day Rising; Grace Jones, Slave to the Rhythm; Various Artists, The Indestructible Beat of Soweto; The Smiths, Meat Is Murder; The Mekons, Fear and Whiskey
10. R.E.M., Fables of the Reconstruction
Thematically, Fables of the Reconstruction is one of R.E.M.'s most cohesive albums, drawing heavily from Southern iconography and folklore. Bands like Drive-By Truckers have, in recent years, taken up the cause of reconstructing and deconstructing the mythology of the modern South, but R.E.M.'s take on the subject is, unsurprisingly, far less literal. Southern myths are often preoccupied with mysterious, hermit-like older men, and many such characters serve either as protagonists or sources of inspiration on the album. "Life and How to Live It" was famously inspired by the life story of Brev Mekis, a schizophrenic man from the band's native Athens, GA, who bifurcated his home into two completely distinct dwellings. "Maps and Legends" is a complex tribute to Reverend Howard Finster, one of the most famous figures in the "outsider art" movement. What makes Fables of the Reconstruction such a rich, deeply rewarding work is that it isn't simply a retelling of these myths or a hagiography for these men, it's that the album is a pointed, thoughtful consideration of what these stories mean and, specifically, of how the band perceives them. Jonathan Keefe
9. The Pogues, Rum, Sodomy & the Lash
Landing chronologically and stylistically in the Pogues's discography between the extremely drunken revelry of Red Roses for Me and the extremely drunken but more refined If I Should Fall from Grace from God, the also extremely drunken Rum Sodomy & the Lash may well be the quintessential Pogues experience. These rowdy drinking songs, both traditional and original, are of course tremendous fun. But it's the album's (relatively) sober laments—"The Old Main Drag," the historical ballad "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda," and "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day," featuring lovely gender-bending vocals by Cait O'Riordan—that proved the band's Celtic folk-punk wasn't just a novelty, but a rich and inventive new form. Jeremy Winograd
8. New Order, Low-Life
If Movement was the funeral and Power, Corruption, and Lies was the haunting, then Low-Life was the exorcism, the moment when New Order fully freed themselves from the ghost of Ian Curtis and set in motion their second life as the U.K.'s finest purveyor of electro-pop dance-floor fillers. Even the song that's about Curtis, the funereal "Elegia," isn't overly indebted to the band's post-punk roots. From the galloping opener "Love Vigilantes" to the glitchy "Face Up," Low-Life is the product of a band whose members are deeply in sync and pushing each other in new directions. Bernard Sumner is still finding his voice here—lyrics were often New Order's Achilles' heel, and this album features some cringey turns of phrase—but the band's musicianship has been honed to a razor's edge. Bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris are locked in with each other, and Gillian Gilbert's synths pair dramatically with Sumner's spare guitar lines. The highlight is "The Perfect Kiss": When that keyboard part picks up, Thatcher is in 10 Downing Street and it's midnight on the Hacienda's dance floor. Seth Wilson
7. The Cure, The Head on the Door
The Cure's The Head on the Door is a cheery pop album as envisioned by a goth-rock master. And weirdly, it works perfectly. Monster hooks flow effortlessly out of Robert Smith, and notably, none of them sound much alike. The speedily strummed "In Between Days" is easily the album's catchiest song, but nearly every other track is of the same melodic caliber. The joy of The Head on the Door is the dizzying array of different styles Smith manages to cram into easily digestible pop packages. From the high-drama guitar riffs of "Push" and the driving flamenco rhythms and Arabic accents of "The Blood," to the plinky atmospherics of "Kyoto Song" and the hopped-up minimalism of "Close to Me," each new element is as surprising as it is hummable. The Head on the Door isn't as sprawling as some of the Cure's other beloved albums, but that's exactly why it's one of their most essential: It cuts right to the gooey melodic center at the heart of Smith's songwriting. Winograd
6. Tears for Fears, Songs from the Big Chair
In which an attempted primal scream ends up coming out as an incredibly pitch-perfect crying jag. (Boy, am I glad the word "emo" wasn't around in 1985, though Richard Kelly's use of the dreamy "Head Over Heels" in his frowny sci-fi teen-angst epic Donnie Darko paid back that particular favor with interest.) British synth-pop act Tears for Fears' follow-up to the critically acclaimed The Hurting may have seemed a sellout at the time, but heard anew today, the cathartic, shuffling hit "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" seems like one of the great indictments of the materialism and false triumphalism of the decade. Eric Henderson
Review: The Weeknd's After Hours Is a Triumphant Depiction of Heartbreak
The album explores new levels of sonic innovation, expanding on old themes while finding new shades of emotional maturity.4
The Weeknd's music has, to this point, focused on three major subjects: having sex, doing drugs, and having sex on drugs. Despite the ostensible physical pleasure of these activities, Abel Tesfaye's vocal delivery and sonic landscapes have often felt anhedonic. He writes about chasing pleasure not for the thrill, but out of habit, like a dog chasing a car—best exemplified by his hit "Can't Feel My Face," a galactic love song about getting so high that your emotions shut down. The Weeknd's fourth album, After Hours, is reportedly a chronicle of Tesfaye's on-again, off-again relationship with model Bella Hadid, and he straight-facedly embraces vulnerability like never before, resulting in his most personal album to date.
Though his work is pop-oriented, Tesfaye has always been willing to chase wild hares. On After Hours, he collaborates with electronic artist Oneohtrix Point Never, né Daniel Lopatin, who composed the score for the Safdie brothers' Uncut Gems, in which Tesfaye was featured. Lopatin worked on three tracks here, but his influence is palpable throughout the album, as Tesfaye embraces the type of crystalline electronica Oneohtrix Point Never is famous for.
On the standout "Hardest to Love," Tesfaye delivers one of the most affecting vocal performances of his career over a glitchy pop soundscape. The song's lyrics are direct: "I've been the hardest to love/You're tryna let me go," shouldering the blame for a relationship's demise. The song's catchiness belies its melancholy, a sophisticated combination that's a testament to Tesfaye's depiction of a relationship that results in a confusing morass of emotions that we seldom process them in a linear fashion: anger, sadness, gratitude, elation, loneliness. On this song and throughout After Hours, Tesfaye navigates these conflicting emotions in a way that captures the experience of being lost in that swirl.
Elsewhere, "Scared to Live" displays the grandeur of a pop ballad, with a swooning earworm of a chorus and lyrics that tenderly reflect on a past love, and with a maturity that comes only with hindsight. The song nearly edges into schmaltz, but it's full of surprises, including a nod to Elton John's "Your Song" that's so well integrated into the chorus it's easy to miss.
Of course, since this is an album that deals with a troubled relationship, not every song is a magnanimous, gentle reverie. "Save Your Tears" revels in spite, flaunting how over-it Tesfaye is in front of his ex while teasing the possibility of reconciliation. Tesfaye's distinct brand of R&B consistently draws from other genres, but hearing him embrace a straight-up synth-rock sound here is an exciting change of pace. "Repeat After Me" is grimly comic, with Tesfaye repeating, "You don't love him/You're just fucking/It means nothing to me," before later adding, "You're thinking of me." Lopatin's spare production and the cyclical pattern of the lyrics make it clear that he's trying to convince himself.
After Hours, the first Weeknd album to feature no guest vocalists, isn't completely divorced from Tesfaye's usual themes, as he turns to substances to assuage his feelings. Lead single "Heartless" is a dark fantasy about driving too fast and engaging in joyless sex while experiencing amphetamine-driven nausea, while the chilling "Faith" chronicles a codependent relationship that leads to a drug-fueled emotional collapse. The song's centerpiece is a ghoulish fantasy of two people enabling their worst impulses: "If I O.D., I want you to O.D. right beside me." Tesfaye sings the line in a tone that can best be described as disastrously triumphant, which is also a fitting description for the album as a whole.
Label: Republic Release Date: March 20, 2020 Buy: Amazon
Review: Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia Is a Euphoric Escape Hatch to Pop's Past
The album understands that the best diversions are as fleeting as they are exhilarating.4
When Dua Lipa decided to name her sophomore effort Future Nostalgia, she couldn't have fathomed that the album would be released in the midst of a socially and economically devastating global pandemic. It's unlikely that future generations will look back on 2020 with wistful nostalgia. Fortunately for us, Future Nostalgia leans into the latter half of its oxymoronic title, offering a well-timed escape hatch to pop music's past.
A throaty mezzo, Lipa is capable of churning out an album full of the sort of power ballads that were liberally sprinkled throughout her self-titled debut. But like Mariah Carey before her, the grooves are just as important to the English pop singer's success—though the closest Carey ever got to a full-fledged dance album was Glitter. Which is, perhaps, an apt point of comparison, since Carey's 2001 movie soundtrack and Lipa's Future Nostalgia—coincidentally both released during national crises—are doggedly devoted to '80s pastiche.
The album's mix of past and present is best captured on two tracks that draw overtly from their sources: "Love Again" is a dizzying dance-floor filler that pairs lush orchestral swells with a sample of the canned strings from White Town's 1997 single "Your Woman," while the guitar hook from INXS's "Need You Tonight" provides the melodic basis for "Break My Heart." Both songs demonstrate Lipa's knack for wringing pathos from everyday dating woes and pouring it into sublime dance-pop. It's a role that once squarely belonged to Robyn, whose long sabbaticals Lipa seems more than willing to fill with kiss-offs like "New Rules," "IDGAF," and "Don't Start Now," the nu-disco slower burner that served as Future Nostalgia's lead single.
The album's second single, "Physical," interpolates Olivia Newton-John's 1981 hit of the same name but eschews that song's loose R&B rhythm for the frenetic future-pop of Newton-John's "Twist of Fate." That makes Lipa's song, with its admittedly robotic hook, a bit of a bait-and-switch, but the album is nothing if not surprising. Chic-indebted guitar licks, sleek mono synths, and judiciously appointed cowbell bump up against more contemporary pitch-modulated vocal effects on tracks like "Pretty Please" and "Levitating." The latter is a feel-good earworm that, like the cheeky "Good in Bed," conjures Lizzo-esque pop-funk.
Occasionally, the album's commitment to juxtaposition feels strained. The title track, which soars when it unabashedly embraces early-'80s electro and the ivory-soul stylings of Teena Marie, falls flat when Lipa attempts Kesha's brand of talk-singing amid references to futurist architecture. And "Hallucinate," Future Nostalgia's most bald-faced gesture to clubland, is a Kylie Minogue-style house banger with a Lady Gaga-esque hook that, on a lesser album, would be a highlight but feels generic when sandwiched between the simmering "Pretty Please" and the euphoric "Love Again."
Notably missing from the album are those aforementioned power ballads. The closest equivalent is the closing track, "Boys Will Be Boys," a baroque-pop anthem that tackles gender politics and the media: "When will we stop saying things 'cause they're all listening/No, the kids ain't all right/And they do what they see 'cause it's all on TV/Oh, the kids ain't all right." It's theoretically an enervating way to end an album whose primary virtue is its sense of escapism, snapping us back to a reality where kids predictably emulate the bad behavior of our leaders and one ill-advised remark can send the stock market into a nosedive. At just 37 minutes, however, Future Nostalgia seems to understand that the best diversions are as fleeting as they are exhilarating, so we should enjoy them while we can.
Label: Warner Release Date: March 27, 2020 Buy: Amazon
The 10 Best Albums of 1984
We take a look back and reflect on the music that defined one of the most definable of decades.
In my introduction to Slant's list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1980s, I noted that, while '80s pop culture is largely remembered for its frivolity, the social unrest that stirred beneath the decade's brightly colored gloss and greed resulted in not just the guilt-driven good intentions of enterprises like the star-studded USA for Africa, but a generation of artists whose music genuinely reflected the state of the world. From political violence across the pond and the struggles and dreams of the American working class, to race relations, sexuality, and gender, no topic was left unexcavated by the pop, rock, and hip-hop artists of the Reagan era. As we enter the 2020s, an entire generation removed from the '80s, it seems as good a time as any to once again look back and reflect on the music that defined one of the most definable of decades. Sal Cinquemani
Honorable Mention: Minutemen, Double Nickels on the Dime; R.E.M., Reckoning; Meat Puppets, Meat Puppets II; Madonna, Like a Virgin; U2, The Unforgettable Fire; Laurie Anderson, Mister Heartbreak; Chaka Khan, I Feel for You; Run-DMC, Run-DMC; The Bangles, All Over the Place; Los Lobos, How Will the Wolf Survive?
10. Husker Du, Zen Arcade
With 1984's Zen Arcade, Hüsker Dü married their fast and furious brand of punk with swirling psychedelica, elaborate noise arrangements, and a newfound melodious side. Bob Mould's cacophonous solos and treble-heavy riffing are raw and intense, while his sullen acoustic jams are gorgeous in their own melancholic way, and he even gets raise-your-fist anthemic with "Turn on the News." With all this sonic shapeshifting, and an exhausting 70 minutes on the clock, Zen Arcade is something of an operatic frenzy, one where violent forays of rapid-fire punk are set to eccentric and elaborate structures. Huw Jones
9. Art of Noise, Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise
"In the nineteenth century, with the invention of the machine, Noise was born," wrote Luigi Russolo in a letter to fellow Italian futurist composer Balilla Pretella. And in the late 20th century, avant-garde electronic-pop collective Art of Noise, who took their name from Russolo's famous essay, was born, concocting cacophonous collages of digital beats and samples that would influence an entire generation of knob twirlers. The group's 1984 debut opens with the proto-political "A Time for Fear (Who's Afraid)," portions of broadcasts from the U.S. invasion of Grenada building to industrial beats and a minimalist sub-bass that informed the work of future pioneers like Björk and Tricky. Surprisingly, it's the album's least noisy track, the 10-minute instrumental chill-out "Moments In Love," that truly veers off into some exhilaratingly strange, unexpected territory. Russolo would be proud. Cinquemani
8. Cocteau Twins, Treasure
No, you still can't make out a damn thing that Elizabeth Frazer sings on Treasure. But you don't need to: Her rolling, ululating syllables impart the kind of feelings that verbal communication is notoriously ill-suited for, and besides, when she swoops between the extremes of her range on a devastating number like "Lorelei," you'll swear you're speaking her language. Robin Guthrie's hypnotic guitar playing, by turns majestic and muscular, is everything that dream-pop guitar should be—if not for My Bloody Valentine, maybe all it ever would be. Critics sometimes protested that the Cocteau Twins shouldn't really be considered a rock band at all, and that's fine by me: When "Donimo" closes the album with operatic splendor, it's clear that they're something far more special. Matthew Cole
7. Tina Turner, Private Dancer
Like another mega-successful pop monster, Michael Jackson's Thriller, Private Dancer is a staggering display of self-affirming artistry and vocal expression. For Turner, who was 45 when the album was released, it also represented a kind of vindication, with songs like the gritty, powerful "What's Love Got to Do with It" and the sultry ultimatum "Better Be Good to Me" all but destroying the false pretense that she was somehow only fit to play second fiddle to Ike. Both a personal liberation and sonic redemption, Private Dancer established Turner not only as a genuine diva, but a bona fide force of nature. Kevin Liedel
6. Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense
Inseparable from Jonathan Demme's concert doc of the same name, arguably the finest concert film ever made, and subject to endless hemming and hawing among Talking Heads's diehards for the elisions made to said concert's set list when the soundtrack was being produced, Stop Making Sense remains a divisive album. A 1999 reissue rectified many of the most common complaints about the original release, nearly doubling the length of the album and restoring some continuity to the band's performance, but that takes nothing away from the fact that Stop Making Sense, even in its truncated original form, is a testament to one of the most compelling, forward-thinking bands of the rock era at the peak of their craft. Jonathan Keefe
Through the Years: Madonna's Iconic "Vogue" Turns 30
From MTV to Madame X, the queen of pop's ode to voguing continues to endure three decades later.
Released in March of 1990, Madonna's "Vogue" wasn't just a hit single—it was a cultural phenomenon. Ironically, no other song better exemplifies both the singer's influence on pop culture and the accusations of appropriation that have been lobbed at her over the years. The track, produced by Shep Pettibone, is at once a musical map of disco, shamelessly ripping MFSB's "Love Is the Message" and Salsoul Orchestra's "Ooh, I Love It (Love Break)," and an enduring prototype of its own, spawning countless copycats and spoofs in the early '90s and inspiring covers by more contemporary acolytes like Britney Spears, Rihanna, and Katy Perry. The queen of pop herself has even paid homage to her own hit, erupting into the song's refrain at the end of her 1992 single "Deeper and Deeper" and sampling elements of the track on 2015's "Holy Water" and her most recent club hit, "I Don't Search I Find." Like the Harlem drag balls that inspired it, "Vogue" is about presentation, and unlike, say, "Like a Virgin," the queen of reinvention has found little need to fuss with perfection. Sal Cinquemani
Music Video (1990)
Look closely when that butler brushes off the bannister. Nope, no dust there; the finger pulls clean. Those who objected to Madonna's co-opting two vibrant New York scenes—ball culture and the house underground—had every reason to cast any available aspersions once the instant-classic music video for "Vogue" hit the airwaves. Directed with diamond-cut precision by David Fincher long before he became the fussiest of the A-list auteurs, the already plush song became a plummy fantasia of Old Hollywood luxury, and an actualization of the sort of glamour Paris Is Burning's drag queens and dance-floor ninjas openly longed for. And it came with a steep price tag. "It makes no difference if you're black or white," goes the familiar refrain, but it's unclear whether Madonna realized to what extent the clip's flawless, monochromatic cinematography would underline the point. To some, the video (like New York's ball scene) represented the ultimate democratization of beauty. To others, a presumptuously preemptive eradication of the racial question entirely. Eric Henderson
Blond Ambition Tour (1990)
Compared to the spectacles Madonna would go on to stage for the song over the next quarter century, the premier live performances of "Vogue" were surprisingly quaint. Stripped down to the bare basics (aside from the dancers' headdresses, even the costumes consisted solely of simple black spandex), the Blond Ambition version of the song came closest to capturing the essence of the gay ballroom scene the lyrics were inspired by: presentational, preening, and all about the pose. Cinquemani
Rock the Vote (1990)
Along with "Vogue," this year also marks the 30th anniversary of Rock the Vote, the nonprofit organization aimed at mobilizing and registering young voters. In 1990, the group made its national debut with a TV spot featuring Madonna and two of her Blond Ambition dancers harmonizing to a cheeky, revamped version of her then-recent smash. In what might seem tame by today's standards, the sight of the world's biggest pop star draped in the American flag, comparing freedom of speech to sex, threatening to give non-voters a "spanky," and name-dropping Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., all while dressed in red lace lingerie, twisted more than a few panties among the Moral Majority. And that was before it was revealed she wasn't even registered to vote. Cinquemani
MTV Video Music Awards (1990)
Indulging in a cheeky bit of dress-me-up make believe, Madonna's performance at the 1990 VMAs gracefully elided politics altogether in favor of lace-front cosplay. Borrowing liberally from Dangerous Liaisons, specifically costume designer James Acheson's cleavage-crushing bodice, Madonna and regalia flitted around a rec room, taunting a bevy of eligible suitors in short pants, punctuating every tease with an audible snap of fans that sounded more like trashcan lids. Sandwiched as the song was between "Like a Prayer" on one side and "Justify My Love" and Erotica on the other, it was nice to see at least one performance of the song that revels in the simple thrill of innocent ribaldry. Henderson
The Girlie Show Tour (1993)
Not by any stretch the most iconic performance of the tune, and in fact very likely the most rote of the bunch, especially when you consider its place in context with the surrounding Erotica-heavy content, against which "Vogue" can't help but sound just a smidge "Let's All Go to the Lobby." The Mata Hari headdress promises subversion that never really materializes, which is hardly a surprise given Madonna—clad in a boy bra and chunky platform military boots—has probably never looked more rectangular. This marked the last time she would perform the song in concert for more than a decade, and the vague sense that an increasingly doom-obsessed Madonna was vaguely bored with the song's escapism is palpable here. Henderson
Review: Pearl Jam's Gigaton Finds the Band Locked in a Holding Pattern
The more the band moves outside their comfort zone, the worthier they become of their apparent permanence.3
"I changed by not changing at all," Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder once solemnly intoned on 1993's "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town." That sentiment has become something of a guiding principle for a veteran rock band that, despite lacking Nirvana's raw emotion and the Smashing Pumpkins's sense of theatricality, has managed to outlast many of their alt-rock contemporaries. While Vedder has penned some indelible rock songs—"Yellow Ledbetter" is but one example—Pearl Jam has been locked in cruise control since the late '90s, and their latest, Gigaton, is largely more of the same.
The album's opening track, "Who Ever Said," comes out swinging with some growling, interlocking guitar riffs. Vedder's voice is likewise in fine form (he's beginning to sound a bit like Chris Cornell, who was always a better singer) and he delivers some clever wordplay: "'It's all in the delivery,' said the messenger who is now dead." The song's hook—"Whoever said it's all been said?"—seems to directly confront the notion that the band is out of ideas. And for a couple of minutes, Pearl Jam sounds determined to prove their naysayers wrong—until the song shifts into a meandering second movement and ultimately peters out. In that way, it serves as a microcosm of the album as a whole: a few good ideas and moments of experimentation alongside some baffling head-scratchers.
Most baffling is "Superblood Wolfmoon," which boasts a two-step rhythm with skittering cymbal fills, giving it a nervous energy that's matched by Vedder's clipped delivery. But the kludgy guitars feel oddly out of sync with the song's too-muchness, and the lyrics read like an attempt to confront political catastrophe through the prism of personal loss and weird fiction. Elsewhere, "Buckle Up" suffers from a lyrical fuzziness: "Firstly do no harm, then put your seatbelt on, buckle up!" Vedder seems to be trying to address the importance of self-care, but the song's loping rhythm and his warbly delivery make the lyrics sound like a goofy P.S.A.
Occasionally, Vedder and company's experimentation works. Despite its silly title, "Dance of the Clairvoyants" is a successful reworking of the band's signature sound. The track's elastic, funk-inspired rhythm section and unsettling synth riff are a good match for Vedder's vocals, which sound alternately enraged and exhausted. "When the past is the present and the future's no more/When every tomorrow's no more," he sings, sounding like a man who's lived more lives than he can remember. In sharp contrast to that track's maximalism, "Comes Then Goes" is a gentle, country-inflected ballad that showcases Vedder's often under-appreciated vocal range. Reliability may be what's made Pearl Jam such a powerful mainstay, but the more they move outside their comfort zone, and away from their longstanding identity (or lack thereof), the worthier they become of their apparent permanence.
Label: Republic Release Date: March 27, 2020 Buy: Amazon
Review: Walking Proof Finds Lilly Hiatt in Full Command of Her Craft
The singer melds influences as disparate as backwoods country and garage punk into a cohesive signature sound.4.5
Lilly Hiatt's songs are disarmingly personal and immensely endearing, even when she's singing about fucking up—which is pretty often. There's an almost parasocial element to Hiatt's songwriting: Her voice is like that of an old friend who's perpetually in various stages of getting her shit together. Her love life, in particular, always seems to be a mess, and she's looking for a shoulder to lean on.
Hiatt's fourth album, Walking Proof, forms something of a thematic trilogy with her last two: 2015's Royal Blue, a portrait of a relationship in its death throes, and 2017's harder, darker Trinity Lane, which depicted its immediate aftermath. Hiatt spent both albums seeking solace and guidance for her troubles everywhere she could, from family to her favorite records. On Walking Proof, she's emerged wiser and more confident, ready even to dispense advice of her own. She also finds herself in full command of her broad stylistic palette, melding influences as disparate as backwoods country and garage punk into a cohesive signature sound.
Written for the singer's sister, Georgia Rae Hiatt, the album's opening track, "Rae," offers a hint of Hiatt's new, more positive outlook. It's the kind of sweet, tender ode, built around a pretty tremolo rhythm guitar riff, that could have appeared on either of her previous two albums, but in the context of the songs that follow, the hook line sounds almost like an atonement: "I put so much on you, Rae." She appears to have put some of her problems behind her, and that becomes clear on "P-Town," ostensibly another Lilly Hiatt song about a failed relationship. This one, however, is electrifying and ebullient, sounding like a classic Loretta Lynn track amped up with huge, fuzzy guitars. "I don't think I'm who we thought I was," Hiatt suggests, perhaps taken aback by her newfound sense of defiance.
The rest of the album's first half showcases Hiatt's impressive musical range, shifting from the punk-tinged power-pop of "Little Believer" to the brittle guitar rock of "Some Kind of Drug" to the sweet balladry of "Candy Lunch." Walking Proof hits an emotional apex at its midpoint with a pair of country songs. The title track is a gorgeous slice of electric guitar-infused mountain music that suits Hiatt's high, keening voice perfectly, as if it's wafting down from the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her ethereal presence underscores the authority and experience behind her words: "I could tell you that it's easy, but that wouldn't be the truth/If you ever need to call me, well you know there's walking proof." She could well be singing to her past self as much as anyone else. The same goes for "Drawl," a call to embrace one's idiosyncracies rather than conform: "I've hid behind my hair too/Told myself I'm nothing new."
There are a couple of lingering references to Hiatt's past relationship problems. But when, in the hauntingly stark closer "Scream," she claims, "I swear to God I'm done with him," it's convincing this time. That's because she sounds so invigorated by her new beginnings, romantic and otherwise. "I got a man…He makes me feel real good/Yeah he treats me right," she declares on the country anthem "Never Play Guitar." On "Brightest Star," she assures the new guy: "So don't worry 'bout that other guy/You just got the right tattoos/The brightest star in my whole sky is you." These aren't exactly the most poetic or complicated of romantic pledges, but given Hiatt's history, they're rather profound in their simplicity.
Label: New West Release Date: March 27, 2020 Buy: Amazon
Review: Sam Hunt's Southside Is a Shallow Attempt at Genre Pastiche
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Absolute classic
An absolute classis of adventure gaming. The graphics are really nice, even if dated by today´s standards, but the true gem is the design: characters, towns, the wonderful automatons toys are a real delight thanks to Sokal´s beautiful art. The story is of high quality as well. A wonderful journey. Note: Buy this with Syberia II to complete the story.
by Prince Leo, Denmark - Sep 30th 2017

subset: commoncrawl


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Note: When using the OLM format your contacts and calendar events will not be migrated - OLM only supports e-mail messages.
Import an Outlook Data File (.pst or .olm)
You can import an Outlook for Windows Data File (.pst) or an Outlook for Mac Data File (.olm). These data files can contain large amounts of data of multiple item types. Outlook Data Files are frequently used as an archive or to transfer data between computers.
- On the Outlook for Mac File menu, click Import.
- Click Outlook Data File, and then click the right arrow.
- Select a data file type, and then click the right arrow.
- Locate the data file on your computer, and then click Import.
- When the import process is complete, click Done.
The imported items appear in the navigation pane under On My Computer.
NOTE Outlook for Mac can only import Unicode-based .pst files which are the standard format for Personal Folders files for Outlook (for Windows) 2003 and later versions. ANSI-formatted .pst files, also known as Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders Files, were the standard personal folder format for saving data in Outlook for Windows in versions 97-2002. This file format can't be imported into Outlook for Mac. If you have the older version of ANSI-formatted .pst file, there is no automated procedure to convert that file to the newer file format. However, you can create a new Outlook Data File (.pst) in Microsoft Outlook for Windows 2003 or later, and then import items from the older file into the new file. You can then import the new .pst file into Outlook for Mac. For more information about how to create .pst files and importing items, see Help for your version of Outlook for Windows.
Import Entourage information from an archive or an earlier version
You can import information such as e-mail messages, contacts, and events from Entourage 2004, Entourage 2008, or Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition. You can also import from an Entourage archive, which has an .rge extension.
- On the Outlook for Mac File menu, click Import.
- Click Entourage information from an archive or earlier version, click the right arrow, and then follow the instructions.
- If you used a Microsoft Exchange account with Entourage, all items in the Exchange account are downloaded from the Exchange server after the import process is complete. Any rules or schedules related to the Exchange account will need to be reconfigured in Outlook.
- If you import items from Entourage 2004 or Entourage 2008, category information for items in an Exchange account aren't imported to Outlook. However, with Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition, category information will be downloaded from the Exchange server.
- Outlook doesn't include Project Center. If you used the Project Center in Entourage and then import your Entourage information into Outlook, Project Center associations are converted to categories. For example, if you added items to a project that was titled "Research Paper" in Entourage, these items are assigned a category that is called "Research Paper" in Outlook.
- Custom views, search settings, and event travel time information from Entourage aren't imported into Outlook. Outlook events don't include any travel time information.
Import contacts from a text file
Outlook can import contacts that are saved in a special kind of text file, sometimes called a CSV file. A CSV file has items that are separated by commas or tabs. Many e-mail services and e-mail applications can export contact information into text files. To find how to export contacts to a text file, see the Help for your e-mail service or contacts application.
- In the e-mail service or application that you want to export from, export the contacts as a text file, and then save the text file to your Mac.
NOTE If you export contacts that have a notes field, you can help prevent problems by removing the paragraph returns from notes.
- On the Outlook for Mac File menu, click Import.
- Click Contacts or messages from a text file, and then click the right arrow.
- Click Import contacts from a tab- or comma-delimited text file, and then click the right arrow.
- Locate the text file that you want to import, and then click Import.
On the Import Contacts screen, the Mapped fields box shows the fields that Outlook matched. The left column of the Mapped fields box shows the fields that are available in Outlook. The right column of the box shows the fields of the imported text file.
- Drag fields from the Unmapped fields box to the right column of the Mapped fields box. For example, drag the "Business Phone" field to the right column of the Mapped fields box next to the "Work Phone 1" field.
You can also drag fields within the right column of the Mapped fields box.
- To view other contact records and verify that the data is mapped correctly, click Next or Prev.
TIP To prevent data loss, select the Import unmapped fields to "Notes" check box.
- When you have finished mapping fields, click Import.
Import contacts from the Apple Address Book
You can export contacts from the Apple Address Book as a vCard, and then drag the vCard file into Outlook to import your contacts.
TIP As an alternative to importing contacts from the Apple Address Book, you can turn on Sync Services for your Outlook contacts. Turning on Sync Services syncs your Outlook contacts with the Apple Address Book, MobileMe, and other applications or devices that you set up in Apple iSync.
- In the Apple Address Book, select the contacts that you want to export, and then drag the selection to the desktop.
The contacts are saved as a vCard file that contains all the contacts.
- In Outlook for Mac, at the bottom of the navigation pane, click Contacts .
- Drag the vCard file from the desktop to the Contacts item list.
NOTE Contact groups in the Apple Address Book are converted to categories in Outlook.
Source: http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/mac-outlook-help/import-information-into-outlook-HA102928320.aspx


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19 February, 2011
My First U2 ConcertI found out that U2 can really put on a show. The giant golden arch and all thelights were amazing. I am incredibly excited to see them return to an upgraded stadium in May 2011. I also hope that the University of Utah's "U" on the mountain will again feature a 2 next to it.
23 September, 2009
Finally!May 3, 1997 They came back after playing a small club in the early 80's to an ungrateful gathering of people. Bono vowed never to come back. But enjoyed an oversized welcome and apologized for the 14 year wait. A local radio station fashioned a giant "2" out of bed sheets, and placed it next to the 100 foot high U on the hill about the University of Utah. The band said they could see if from their plane when the flew in. Bono quipped "it's a good thing we're not the Red Hot Chili Peppers". They played to an audience of 35,000 and an estimated audience of 20,000 outside of the stadium just wanting to hear U2 play. Rage Against the Machine opened. The show was great for only the 3rd of the tour. During Bullet the Blue Sky, a plane happened to fly low over the stadium while the spot lights were shining up on it adding a great visual coincidence to the song. Glad they came back to Salt Lake City! Great seats..2nd row. No GA seating.


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The Most Romantic Restaurant in Every State
The lighting is dim, the tablecloths are white, the waiters are wearing black vests, and a fireplace sets the mood at this legendary restaurant, which was focusing on local and sustainable ingredients before anyone coined the phrase "locavore." Highlands Bar & Grill put the Birmingham, Alabama, dining scene on the map when it opened in 1982, and chef and co-owner Frank Stitt (who runs Highlands with his wife, Pardis) has already been inducted into the James Beard Foundation's Who's Who of Food & Beverage. The restaurant has been nominated for Outstanding Restaurant seven times. What to expect from a meal at Highlands? It's sometimes best to hear it straight from the source: "We serve a daily changing menu informed by classic French technique, incorporating the foods of our Southern region."Highlands Bar & Grill
Alaska: Crow's Nest (Anchorage)
Upscale, discreet, classy, and located in the luxurious Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, Alaska, Crow's Nest offers 360-degree views and a high-end menu from chef Reuben Gerber. It's a AAA four-diamond restaurant with plenty of dark woods and a 10,000 bottle wine list, and the menu is positively luxurious: Indulge in foie gras with pistachio, gooseberries, apricots, and fruit coulis; a daily risotto; Alaska king crab bisque with sherry gelée; prime beef rib-eye with roasted broccolini and bordelaise; and duck breast with porcini duxelles, Parisian gnocchi, duck pancetta, spruce tip salt, and crowberry gastrique.Becca C./Yelp
Arizona: Cress on Oak Creek (Sedona)
Candlelight dining alfresco alongside a babbling creek lined with cottonwood and sycamore trees? Sounds romantic to us! At Cress on Oak Creek, located in the upscale L'Auberge de Sedona in Arizona, even the interior tables - with their white tablecloths and flower vases - are romantic, but the outdoor tables overlooking the creek really are something else. The restaurant offers only fresh, seasonal ingredients, in three-, four-, or six-course tasting menus.Cress on Oak Creek/Yelp
Arkansas: One Eleven at the Capital (Little Rock)
A serene and stylish white-tablecloth restaurant inside the Capital Hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas, One Eleven has hardwood floors, original artwork on the walls, and plenty of natural light; once the sun goes down, the romance factor is kicked up several notches. Executive chef Joël Antunes won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast in 2005 for his Atlanta restaurant Joël, and his culinary skills are on serious display here in dishes like cured and smoked pork loin with mostarda chutney; roast duck breast with duck tortellini and honey ginger sauce; grilled prime beef fillet with bordelaise; and seared diver scallops with shiitake mushrooms, potato gnocchi, and lemon beurre blanc. The wine list is also expertly curated.Capital Hotel
California: The Little Door (Los Angeles)
"Charming" is a word often used to describe the Little Door in Los Angeles, California, and that might be an understatement. Entering the (literal) little door to the storybook garden makes diners feel as if they've discovered their own special spot; indoors, eating by the fireplace is an inviting option. Start your meal with seared foie gras and a fried duck egg on baguette French toast, follow up with grilled filet mignon with green peppercorn and tarragon gastrique demi-glace, and wash it all down with a nice bottle of wine. Sure, this place does bill itself "the most romantic restaurant in Los Angeles," but it's not a gimmick: This place really is that romantic.Vivian L./Yelp
Colorado: Pepper Tree (Colorado Springs)
A Colorado Springs fine dining institution, Pepper Tree offers just about everything you look for in a romantic restaurant: Its hilltop perch affords stunning vistas of the city, tables are well-spaced and covered in white tablecloths, and, as icing on the cake, many dishes are also prepared tableside. They also serve quite possibly the most romantic dish around: Chateaubriand, a 16-ounce center-cut filet mignon with béarnaise and vegetables, prepared tableside, of course.Ash K./Yelp
Connecticut: Vue24 (Mashantucket)
Vue24 is an upscale and very high-end restaurant perched on the 24th floor of Foxwoods' Grand Pequot Tower, and it's insanely romantic. Elegant and refined, with well-spaced tables, live piano music, incredible views from huge windows of woodland as far as the eye can see, and a high-end French-inspired menu. This is old-fashioned Continental dining at its finest: beef tartare, foie gras, escargot, shellfish towers, oysters, caviar, veal Oscar, tableside chateaubriand, steak Diane, USDA Prime rib-eye and New York strip. This Connecticut charmer is textbook romantic, and it executes that ambition perfectly.Foxwoods Resort Casino
Delaware: Green Room (Wilmington)
The Green Room, located inside the elegant Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington, Delaware, is about as romantic as a restaurant can get. The walls are oak-paneled, the ceiling is coffered and oak beamed, rich draperies hang from the windows, and lighting is provided by ornate chandeliers and sconces. It's also been recognized with the AAA Four-Diamond Award and Forbes Four-Star Award. Even though it may be dripping with Gilded Age opulence, chef Keith Miller's menu is anything but staid. Standouts include pan-seared sea scallops with smoked blueberry purée and cheddar grits; grilled veal porterhouse with roasted garlic demi-glace, creamed fingerlings, and tri-color baby carrots; and fillet of salmon with red curry coconut cream sauce, forbidden rice, and local asparagus.Green Room/Yelp
Florida: Norman's (Orlando)
Known as the founding father of New World cuisine, chef Norman Van Aken is acclaimed for his fusion of Latin, Caribbean, and Asian flavors using traditional European techniques. At Norman's in the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Florida, guests can eat in the opulent dining room or on the restaurant's outdoor terrace overlooking the hotel's lake, the Greg Norman-designed 18-hole golf course, and the lush gardens. Sit inside and you can enjoy your meal in a large, octagonal dining room with light marble walls and floors, elegant chandeliers and sconces, towering wine displays, and tall arched windows. The menu changes according to availability of seasonal ingredients, but one thing that remains constant is its air of elegance and romance.Susan P./Yelp
Georgia: Canoe (Atlanta)
Canoe is nestled in a manicured garden along the banks of the Chattahoochee River, and a peaceful stroll through the grounds is a perfect preamble to a very romantic dinner there. The interior is rustic, warm, and elegant, with plenty of comfortable booths. Once seated, you can enjoy chef Matthew Basford's seasonal Georgia farm-to-table menu of entrées including veal rib-eye au poivre with baby turnip, smoked shank, rapini, and black pepper sauce; brioche-crusted cod with creamed sunchoke risotto and oven-dried tomato pesto; and hand-rolled pappardelle with crimini mushroom, pecorino, braised beef belly, and sherry-mustard cream. Make sure you try the Candy Bar (caramel, marshmallow, almonds, and cocoa nibs) for dessert.Rebecca C./Yelp
Hawaii: Michel's at the Colony Surf (Honolulu)
A romantic Hawaii destination since 1962, Michel's is located at the foot of Diamond Head and offers stunning views of the ocean and Waikiki beyond; you can hear the waves lapping at the beach from your table. Listening to the strains of live classical guitar, you can enjoy classic French-inspired fare like lobster bisque (based on a 40-year-old recipe), yellowfin tartare, steamed onaga with local vegetables, filet mignon au poivre, and old-fashioned desserts like cherries jubilee and local bananas with dark rum (both flambéed tableside, of course).Wing L./Yelp
Idaho: Chandlers (Boise)
The super-romantic Chandlers is an institution in Boise, Idaho, with discreet booths, white tablecloths, and dramatic lighting. It features a stylish martini bar, live jazz nightly, and four varieties of beef: USDA Prime from Chairman's Reserve, natural and organic grass-fed beef from Oregon's Painted Hills, American Kobe from Snake River Farms, and Japanese wagyu. The 8-ounce center cut American Kobe might just be the single best steak you'll find in the state, especially when paired with house-made béarnaise and a side of crazy-good mashed potatoes. Chandler's also happens to have one of the state's best seafood selections - you just might forget it's landlocked.Chandlers Boise LLC.
Illinois: Everest (Chicago)
Located 40 floors up in a building just outside Chicago's iconic elevated Loop, Everest offers one of the finest views in all of Illinois, from a hushed and elegant dining room. As proprietor of this AAA Five Diamond Award recipient, chef Jean Joho offers a seven-course tasting menu (with a vegetarian option); a starter, perhaps, of cold-pressed lobster and potato terrine might be followed by a fillet of wild sturgeon wrapped in prosciutto and a pear soufflé dessert. A massive wine list is available as well.Everest/Yelp
Indiana: The Eagle's Nest (Indianapolis)
Located on top of Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana's Hyatt Regency, The Eagle's Nest is a fine-dining destination that also happens to be the only revolving restaurant in the city. While taking in stunning views of Downtown, you can enjoy dishes like beef cheek and bone marrow with truffle cream, traditional French onion soup, herb-crusted prime rib, pan-seared scallops with Brazilian black rice, and Korean-spiced Colorado lamb chops.The Eagle's Nest/Yelp
Iowa: Centro (Des Moines)
One of Des Moines, Iowa's most acclaimed and upscale restaurants is also the state's most romantic. Centro is located in a former Masonic temple, and today it features an open kitchen, white tablecloths, a long banquette, framed vintage Italian posters, and a winning Italian menu from chef Derek Eidson. Take your seat, order a nice bottle of wine, and enjoy dishes like pancetta-wrapped shrimp, handmade cavatelli with Italian sausage, chicken saltimbocca, Angus Iowa steaks, and a wide variety of pizzas.Courtesy of Centro Restaurant
Kansas: Harry's (Manhattan)
An institution inside Manhattan, Kansas' elegant Wareham Hotel, Harry's has an elegant, romantic air highlighted by dark woods, crown moldings, white tablecloths, and a lived-in old-fashioned vibe. Widely regarded as the finest restaurant in town, Harry's menu is chock-full of upscale dishes, like cilantro rum lobster, pinot noir blackberry duck, filet mignon bordelaise, and rack of lamb. Its wine list has also consistently earned awards from Wine Spectator.Jd S./Yelp
Kentucky: The English Grill (Louisville)
You may have heard of Louisville, Kentucky's Brown Hotel: It's the birthplace of the city's most famous dish (and one of the most iconic dishes in America), the Kentucky Hot Brown, invented there in 1926. But it's also the city's most elegant hotel, and it's home to the most elegant and romantic dining room in town: the English Grill. Oak-paneled walls, antique lead-glass windows, white tablecloths, high-backed chairs, well-spaced tables, and equestrian paintings give this room an air of refinement. If you'd rather save the Hot Brown (toast points topped with roast turkey, Mornay sauce, bacon, and tomatoes) for another visit, other highlights include shrimp and grits, center-cut prime filet mignon, prime rib-eye Delmonico, and American rack of lamb. It's received the AAA Four Diamond Award, and the wine list is also spectacular.The English Grill/Yelp
Louisiana: August (New Orleans)
Chef Todd Pulsinelli's menu at the luxurious August, located in a historic 19th-century French-Creole building in New Orleans' Central Business District, shows a great love for, and understanding of, French, Italian, and high-level American cuisine, much of it interpreted with a Louisiana lilt. The dining room, with its high ceilings, exposed brick, dim lighting, tall windows, white tablecloths, crystal chandeliers, and spectacular service, is romantic, festive, and elegant, and it's worthy of all the praise it's received over the years.Restaurant August
Maine: White Barn Inn (Kennebunkport)
The White Barn Inn is an upscale New England retreat with a AAA Five Diamond rating; its restaurant is housed in a restored 1820s barn with a huge picture window looking out onto nature. The four-course prix fixe menu, new each week, is meticulously presented. Given the coastal Maine location, the spotlight is on seafood, with recent selections including paupiette of Maine sole with lobster raviolo, as well as almond-crusted halibut. However, other choices such as quail or beef tenderloin can also be had; all are good following inventive appetizers like the pomegranate martini sorbet.The White Barn Inn Restaurant/Yelp
Maryland: Charleston (Baltimore)
Open since 1997 in Baltimore, Maryland, restaurateur Tony Foreman and chef Cindy Wolf's Charleston has been the go-to destination for well-to-do Baltimoreans looking to celebrate a special occasion for more than two decades. Drawing on both French and South Carolina Lowcountry influences, the restaurant offers a prix fixe menu of three to six courses of dishes like cornmeal-fried oysters with lemon-cayenne mayonnaise and Upland cress; shrimp and grits with tasso ham, andouille, and Anson Mills grits; sweetbreads en cocotte with seared foie gras, oyster mushrooms, macaroni, and cognac cream; and grilled French quail with pecan stuffing, Vidalia onion beignets, and banyuls reduction. Each menu item has a corresponding wine pairing; we suggest you take them up on their offer.Foreman Wolf
Massachusetts: L'Espalier (Boston)
At L'Espalier, the most upscale and romantic restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts, chef Frank McClelland serves a variety of tasting menus that draw on French influences to turn New England-sourced ingredients into truly luxurious creations. After taking a seat in one of the three romantic dining rooms (each of the four rooms have their own unique design scheme), you'll be treated to dishes including game bird terrine with beets, green peppers, and onion brûlée; Pineland Farms roasted beef tenderloin with chanterelles, Brussels sprouts, and new potatoes; poached gray sole with toasted hazelnuts, endive, and grapes; and roasted duck with Sauternes-poached raisins, Turkish figs, Puy lentils, and foie gras.
Michigan: Iridescence (Detroit)
A sparkling 16th-floor restaurant inside the MotorCity Casino Hotel, Iridescence is the only AAA Four Diamond restaurant in Detroit, Michigan, and it wears the distinction well. With its super-high ceilings, modernist décor, deep blue lighting, amazing views, and comfortable seating, Iridescence is, well, iridescent, and an ideal date spot. Its menu is also upscale and lavish, with items like broiled oysters, Alaskan king crab on brioche, 48-hour short rib with a sweet corn and cheddar tamale, elk shank potage, Hawaiian opah, A-5 Kobe strip loin, and Niman Ranch steaks. End your meal with a Melting Chocolate Sphere or boozy baba au rhum, and don't miss the award-winning wine list.Michelle N. / Yelp
Minnesota: Meritage (St. Paul)
One of the finest French restaurants in Minnesota, Meritage is a nearly perfect bistro with a warm, bustling, and undoubtedly romantic dining room. Start your meal at the curved zinc bar and settle into a comfortable banquette for a meal of foie gras crème puffs, a shellfish platter, onion soup, moules frites, and steak frites with some of the best french fries you'll ever try.Jennifer B./Yelp
Mississippi: Mary Mahoney's (Biloxi)
Going strong for more than 50 years, Mary Mahoney's is a classic New Orleans-inspired restaurant housed in a Mississippi house that dates back to 1737. Sit in the romantic courtyard surrounded by old brick and below the hanging vines of a live oak, or take a seat in one of the several cozy dining rooms, and treat yourself (and your date) to classic Southern fare like shrimp remoulade, fried soft-shell crabs, seafood gumbo, stuffed flounder, prime rib au jus, or the signature half lobster Giorgio (lobster and shrimp in a brandy cream sauce).Mike W./Yelp
Missouri: Sidney Street Café (St. Louis)
Located in a century-old Benton Park building and run by chef Kevin Nashan and his wife and brother, Sidney Street Café is a unique, stylish, and utterly romantic Missouri restaurant. Surrounded by old brick walls, with a dark wood plank floor and a ceiling dominated by large skylights, the restaurant offers a menu of creative Southern-inspired fare to diners sitting at well-spaced tables with white tablecloths. Standout menu items include lobster turnovers with tomato brandy reduction, house-made charcuterie, rabbit porchetta with wild mushroom ragout and cheesy grits, roasted scallops with shellfish chowder, and lobster-stuffed filet mignon béarnaise. A chef's tasting can also be prepared upon request.Courtesy of Sidney Street Café
Montana: Ten (Billings)
The white tablecloth Ten, located in the Northern Hotel in Billings, Montana, is a destination for locals looking for a romantic meal. Chef Nick Steen's menu puts local ingredients to good (and creative) use in dishes like Montana-raised veal porterhouse with pesto couscous, sun-dried tomato cream, artichoke hearts, fried onion, and bourbon barrel-aged sherry vinegar; milk braised pork shoulder with caramelized cabbage, local rye berries, and walnut gremolata; and local trout with white beans, Spanish chorizo, pickled peppers, and romesco.Courtesy of TEN
Nebraska: The Grey Plume (Omaha)
One of Nebraska's great culinary standouts, The Grey Plume has a relatively no-frills, high-ceilinged dining room with dark reclaimed-wood floors, white tablecloths, original art on the walls, a small floral arrangement on each table, and an upscale, refined, and romantic atmosphere. Chef/owner Clayton Chapman's menu is seasonally driven and primarily sourced from local produce and livestock; current offerings include steelhead trout gravlax, house-made buttermilk agnolotti, a tasting of local Heritage pork, and Morgan Ranch wagyu collar or strip loin. A four-, five-, or eight-course tasting menu is also available.Grey Plume
Nevada: Costa di Mare (Las Vegas)
Forty varieties of fresh fish are flown in daily from Italian coastal waters and served whole at Costa di Mare, located inside Las Vegas' opulent The Wynn, and it's easily one of the best seafood restaurants in the country, if not the best. It's also the most romantic restaurant in Nevada. With its lush greenery and large lagoon, the outdoor seating makes it feel as if you're dining in the Tuscan countryside, and the modern and stylish interior is unique, very chic, and super-romantic. To dial the romance up a few notches, request a table in a lagoon-side cabana.Costa di Mare/Yelp
New Hampshire: Ristorante Massimo (Portsmouth)
In a quaint brick building in historic seaside Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Ristorante Massimo offers warm and intimate seating among artwork and stone walls. Upscale without stiff formality, the accommodating staff - owner Massimo personally greets each patron - ensures a welcoming experience. The kitchen puts its own stamp on Italian dishes; diners might choose entrées such as pan-roasted halibut over fennel and grilled scallion purée, or Gnocconi alla Loichle, cracked pepper dumplings with beef tenderloin. The new upstairs bar is a great place for pre-dinner drinks and small plates.Don W./Yelp
New Jersey: Scalini Fedeli (Chatham)
Located inside a New Jersey farmhouse dating from the mid-1700s, the elegant and inviting Scalini Fedeli is entering its 24th year, still under the helm of founding chef Michael Cetrulo. With the white tablecloths, high vaulted ceilings, and antique pine floors, just setting foot inside the restaurant sets the stage for a romantic meal. Cetrulo's menu fuses French and Italian and all dishes are elegantly plated and served with just the right amount of fanfare. This restaurant was so successful that it spawned a New York City location in 2000, which is still going strong.Sam T./Yelp
New Mexico: The Anasazi Restaurant (Santa Fe)
The luxurious and upscale Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is home to the city's most romantic eatery, The Anasazi Restaurant. Chef Edgar Beas sources much of his menu from 13 different local farms, and the end result is a quintessential New Mexican dining experience. The menu is constantly changing, but sample menu items include duck breast with smoked corn pudding, summer squash, and husk cherry; pork belly with Anasazi bean, huitlacoche, wilted chard, and pork jus; and dry-aged prime strip loin, local mushrooms, kohlrabi, onion marmalade, and fingerling potato.Anasazi Restaurant & Bar/Yelp
New York: Blue Hill at Stone Barns (Pocantico Hills)
High-profile organo-loca-sustainavore Dan Barber has found the perfect home at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a beautiful restaurant in a bucolic but hardworking setting on the year-round farm and educational nonprofit center Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in a tiny New York hamlet called Pocantico Hills, established by David Rockefeller as a memorial to his wife. This literal farm-to-table restaurant prepares reserved meals based largely on the day's harvest, served in a gorgeous and minimalist dining room with a vaulted ceiling, reclaimed wood floors, cream-colored walls, plenty of windows, well-spaced tables, hanging plants, and (of course) white tablecloths. The serene and upscale dining room, the high-end cuisine, and the pastoral setting combine to create one of the most romantic dining experiences in America.Stephanie L./Yelp
North Carolina: Fearrington House Restaurant (Pittsboro)
Open since 1980 inside the legendarily luxurious Fearrington House Inn just outside Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the elegant Fearrington House Restaurant offers four different menus, ranging between three and eight courses. The menus change regularly, as nearly every ingredient is either sourced from the property or from nearby farms and gardens, and they're served in a series of intimate dining rooms inside an old farmhouse. Expect dishes like house-cured bacon with heirloom carrot, pistachio, Medjool date, and granola; black truffle agnolotti with walnut, Rainier cherry, chanterelle, and Madeira; and veal tenderloin with foie gras, truffle, celeriac, and nori from chef Colin Bedford, with an expertly curated wine and cocktail selection. Be sure to end your meal with the legendary hot chocolate soufflé.Greg F./Yelp
North Dakota: Pirogue Grille (Bismarck)
Since 2005, Pirogue Grill owners Stuart and Cheryl Tracy have sourced high-end local ingredients and served them in a classy, brick-walled, white-tablecloth dining room. The end result? One of the most popular and romantic restaurants in North Dakota. Local walleye, bison, lamb, and venison sausage are always on the menu, but other seasonal specialties include barbecue rabbit on a wild rice potato pancake, free-range chicken breast stuffed with smoked cheddar and apple slaw, grilled lamb loin chops with chokeberry and mint sauce, and filet mignon with roast corn and black peppercorn sauce.Dan B./Yelp
Ohio: Lola Bistro (Cleveland)
Michael Symon's flagship restaurant Lola is a true Ohio gem; it's here where the Iron Chef really displays his culinary prowess via dishes like beef cheek pierogis with mushrooms and horseradish and creme fraiche; bacon-wrapped sturgeon with creamed spinach, parsnips, and apples; smoked pork chop with chiles, polenta, and barbecue onions, and house-made charcuterie. The dining room itself is also insanely romantic, with dim indirect lighting, nicely-spaced tables, plenty of cozy booths, white tablecloths, and a relaxed and elegant atmosphere. Make sure you end your meal with pastry chef Summer Genetti's chocolate hazelnut roll with roasted banana ice cream and passion fruit.Sherri C./Yelp
Oklahoma: Cheever's Café (Oklahoma City)
Located inside a circa-1930s Oklahoma flower shop and still retaining much of its original historical detail, Cheever's Café has become a local institution since it opened in 2000. It's famous for its creative spins on traditional Southern fare like Benton's country ham carbonara, chicken fried steak with jalapeño cream gravy, tortilla-crusted Alaskan halibut, and local grass-fed bison strip steak, but it's also renowned for its reputation as the most romantic restaurant in town. The brick walls and ceiling beams are exposed, large windows let in plenty of light, there's ample outdoor seating, and of course there are white tablecloths. The brunch is also pretty spectacular.A Good Egg Dining Group
Oregon: Ariana (Bend)
Located inside a craftsman-style bungalow on Bend's west side that was originally a private home, Ariana is run by chefs Andres and Ariana Fernandez and has been going strong since 2004. It showcases Central Oregon's culinary bounty in dishes like wild Petrale sole with charred broccoli and fried white yams, braised rabbit with guanciale and roasted local sunchokes, and filet mignon with wild Oregon mushroom purée. But if you're making it a romantic evening, we suggest you opt for the five-course chef's tasting menu from your seat inside the homey, comfortable dining room, where you'll find large, well-spaced tables, a fireplace, big windows, and dim, romantic lighting.Brandon S./Yelp
Pennsylvania: Vetri Cucina (Philadelphia)
Chef Marc Vetri's 21-year-old Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, flagship, Vetri Cucina offers diners sophisticated, hand-crafted Italian and Italianate specialties, served only in the form of six-course tasting menus in a cozy and romantic townhouse. Available items are listed under antipasti, pasta, secondi, and dolce (dessert); chef de cuisine Matt Buehler will personalize the menu to your taste. You might end up with, for instance, roasted cauliflower with bagna cauda, lumache with duck ragù, guinea hen with seasonal mushrooms, and chocolate polenta soufflé for dessert. All is served with precision and grace, and there is a wine cellar of more than 2,500 bottles to choose from.Peter B./Yelp
Rhode Island: The Dining Room at Castle Hill Inn (Newport)
The exclusive Rhode Island enclave of Newport is home to countless beautiful inns and mansions, and the Castle Hill Inn has been one of its loveliest hotels since it opened in 1875. Its main dining room (called, appropriately, The Dining Room), is a stately and elegant chamber offering stunning views of the ocean through floor-to-ceiling windows. The remaining décor is primarily made of light wood paneling and understated and elegant fixtures.Castle Hill Inn
South Carolina: Peninsula Grill (Charleston)
Located right in the heart of Charleston, Peninsula Grill is a renowned upscale restaurant that's the perfect date night spot. The romance begins before you even walk through the front door: All guests walk through a garden path just to enter (garden seating is also available on nice days). Once inside, the dining room is bustling but elegant, with gray walls and large white tablecloth-topped tables, chandeliers, and portraits and equestrian paintings on the walls. Highlights from the sophisticated South Carolina-influenced menu include she-crab soup, roasted domestic lamb porterhouse, pan-roasted local trout, and some of the city's finest steaks.Peninsula Grill/Yelp
South Dakota: Minerva's (Sioux Falls)
Minerva's today has nine restaurants in South Dakota, Iowa, and Michigan, but the original Sioux Falls location, dating back to 1977, is the one to visit. With white tablecloths, dark woods, dim lighting, and spacious booths, it's a comfortable and inviting place to linger over a celebratory meal with a hand-cut steak, roasted duck, Dakota buffalo burger, breaded Canadian walleye, or the famous crab artichoke bake. The wine list is varied and affordable, and there's outdoor seating in the summer.Adriana K./Yelp
Tennessee: The Barn at Blackberry Farm (Walland)
The cuisine at The Barn at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee, is so influential that it has inspired a new category: Foothills Cuisine (the foothills being those of the Smoky Mountains). The dining room here is about as upscale and romantic as it gets, with antique linens, custom chairs, sterling silver, and a jackets-required policy. If ever there was an appropriate use of the term "farm-to-table," this is it: The estate's produce and products go into a dynamic menu of Smoky Mountain regional dishes with global flair like Springer Mountain Chicken with Carolina Gold rice grits, broccolini, and roasted mushrooms; apple and duck heart salad with hop vinaigrette, candied pecans, creme fraiche, and sage; and hearth-roasted celery root with parsnip, cippolini onions, and mushrooms.beall + thomas photography
Texas: Chateau at la Table (Houston)
The classy and upscale Houston fine dining destination Chateau, a formal dining room located upstairs from more casual eateries at the multi-part concept La Table, is gleaming, fancy, and undoubtedly romantic Texas destination. This bright and spacious culinary gem is filled with light during the day, and at night, the gray walls, light woods, and modern lighting combine for irresistible romantic appeal, complemented by classic French dishes like gougères, French onion soup, steak frites, and caramelized cheese soufflé.Courtesy of La Table
Utah: Powder (Park City)
Located inside Park City, Utah's luxurious Waldorf Astoria, Powder is relaxed yet upscale, with reclaimed wood floors, dim lighting, and large windows overlooking the hotel's courtyard. Chef Michael Zachman's menu highlights local, seasonal ingredients in dishes like pappardelle with rabbit ragout, wild mushrooms, truffle jus, and Parmesan snow; local venison with yam purée, baby carrots, wilted kale, and thyme veal jus; guajillo-rubbed bison tenderloin with winter succotash, beetroot purée, and huckleberry jus; and foraged mushroom pot pie with celery root, truffles, and Gruyère veloute.Powder/Yelp
Vermont: Trattoria Delia (Burlington)
The most romantic restaurant in Burlington, Vermont, the 26-year-old Trattoria Delia occupies a charming basement space and warms the cold night with a fireplace, a super-cozy vibe, and traditional regional Italian fare. It's been going strong since 1993, and all pastas are either hand-rolled and cut or made using an Arcobaleno extruder with traditional Italian brass dies. So we definitely suggest you sample some pasta dishes - the chitarra all'Amatriciana (with house-cured guanciale) and tagliatelle al terre e mare (with local scallops and porcini mushrooms) are standouts - but entrées like prosciutto-wrapped Vermont rabbit and slow-braised short rib are also spectacular. Make sure you sample the house-made gelato for dessert.Trattoria Delia/Yelp
Virginia: Inn at Little Washington (Washington)
Self-taught chef Patrick O'Connell opened this Virginia restaurant, about an hour's drive from D.C., in 1978, and it's ornate, eclectic, and luxuriously romantic. He formed alliances with local farmers and artisanal producers long before it was fashionable, and developed into a sophisticated modern American chef of the highest order. Menu items at The Inn at Little Washington might include classics like American osetra caviar with peekytoe crab and cucumber rillettes, napoleon of chilled Maine lobster with pommes Anna, and veal "Shenandoah" (prosciutto-wrapped loin with country ham ravioli and fontina). The Inn, a member of the Relais & Châteaux group, has a much-deserved AAA Five Diamond rating.Gordon Beall
Washington: Canlis (Seattle)
Canlis is a true Pacific Northwest landmark. It's been open in Seattle, Washington, since 1950, serving fresh, seasonal dishes that are more polished than cutting-edge in a rustic-modern space whose use of native wood and stone evokes forests and streams. Canlis was revolutionary when it opened due to its stunning architecture (Roland Terry and Pete Wimberley collaborated on an original design meant to echo Frank Lloyd Wright) and trailblazing menu of upscale Northwest cuisine (which founder Peter Canlis essentially invented), and it's still blazing new trails while keeping the classics, such as the famous Canlis salad (romaine, bacon, mint, oregano, and Romano with a dressing of lemon, olive oil, and coddled egg), on the menu. Jackets are required, and the soaring dining room, with its white tablecloths, well-spaced tables, and air of luxury, is the height of Seattle fine dining.Canlis/Yelp
Washington, DC: Plume
Washington, D.C.'s graceful Jefferson Hotel houses Plume, offering diners Old World ambience in a plush, nook-filled, super-romantic setting - complete with a fireplace - and inventive cuisine. The restaurant's seasonal menu takes its inspiration, in part, from the produce in the kitchen gardens at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello home in nearby Charlottesville, Virginia. The pavé of striped bass with marinated beets, carrot emulsion, and bordelaise sauce is just one creative meal example; that might be topped off with a praline parfait dessert with pineapple and date chutney and caramel vanilla foam.Plume
West Virginia: Café Cimino Country Inn Restaurant (Sutton)
Located inside a West Virginia country estate dating back to 1989, Café Cimino Country Inn is home to a charming bed and breakfast as well as the state's most romantic restaurant. The small restaurant is just a handful of well-spaced tables draped with long white tablecloths and topped with flowers and candles, in a homey chandeliered dining room with wine bottles stored along one wall and a curving row of windows along another. Before or after your meal of linguine with clam sauce, pan-seared filet mignon, sea scallops and prosciutto, and sticky toffee pudding cake, be sure to stroll the grounds along the Elk River.Cimino Country Inn/Yelp
Wisconsin: Ristorante Bartolotta (Wauwatosa)
Renowned chef Paul Bartolotta's flagship Italian restaurant, Ristorante Bartolotta, is located on the outskirts of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and it's been drawing guests from downtown for more than 20 years. The dining room is rustic and elegant, with white tablecloths, old photos on the walls, and an air of relaxed sophistication. A must-order is the Uovo in Ravioli (a single large raviolo encasing ricotta, spinach, and a whole runny egg yolk). Other standouts include hand-cut pappardelle with slow-braised duck ragù, a half chicken roasted under a brick, and whatever is on the chef's three-course seasonal menu.Bartolotta/Yelp
Wyoming: Jenny Lake Lodge Dining Room (Moose)
Located at the foot of Wyoming's breathtaking Grand Tetons, the Jenny Lake Lodge is an upscale AAA Four Diamond resort hiding inside a series of rustic-looking 1930s-era log cabins. Inside, however, it's all sumptuous elegance (even though the log cabin vibe certainly carries over into the interior design). There are plenty of dining options on the property, but the crown jewel is called simply The Dining Room. Upscale and elegant, it boasts a five-course prix fixe dinner menu that changes nightly depending on what's fresh, local, and in-season. Open annually from June to early October, it boasts high timbered ceilings, plenty of windows, large tables spaced far apart and topped with white tablecloths and flowers, and a rustic log cabin vibe. And if dinner isn't your thing, consider taking your love to the best date spot in every state.
More From The Daily Meal:
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The 101 Most Iconic Restaurant Dishes in America
11 Tips for Making a Great Impression on a First Date
The Absolute Best Thing to Eat in Every State
The Best Restaurants in the Middle of NowhereJenny Lake Lodge/Yelp


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