While travelers often are willing to economize when traveling and happily purchase cheap airplane tickets or cheap vacation packages, some travelers prefer being extravagant when it comes to enjoying highly rated restaurants.
AAAs new 2012 Five Diamond restaurant list includes seven restaurants that have earned its highest rating for the first time, with nine restaurants dropping off of the list.
Five Diamond restaurants are establishments where diners can reliably expect to receive world class service, imaginative menus, the finest ingredients, and an impressive atmosphere.
The following are the newly awarded Five Diamond restaurants:
Blue Hill in Stone Barns, Tarrytown, N.Y.
Marea in New York City
Del Posto in New York City
Menton in Boston
Herons Restaurant in Cary, N.C. (in the Umstead Hotel & Spa
The Kitchen Restaurant in Sacramento, CA.
Restaurant Initiale in Quebec, Canada
Eight five Diamond restaurants closed in 2011, equal to 15 percent of the total top rated restaurants. These closings were due in part to the tough economy, changing diner preferences, and corporations redefining fine dining levels that qualify for business reimbursement.
AAA observed that Today the service style is more casual, with a greater focus on providing a high quality, individualized, value focused experience.
The Inn at Little Washington Dining Room in Washington, Va. has the longest Five Diamond tenure, going back 24 consecutive years. www.cheapfares.com