All this is preparation for an evening spent feasting on slow-roasted lamb or venison, accompanied by home-brewed nettle beer.

BBC: Ten culinary weekends in Europe

Here flickering candles and often live klezmer set the scene for solid home cooking such as garlicky borscht (beetroot and onion soup), pierogi (filled dumplings fried in butter) and honey-roasted lamb.

BBC: A taste of Krakow

Try the roasted lamb loin with tomato lemon gnocchi, and then order the bittersweet chocolate with peanut butter mousse for dessert, and you'll see why Chef Howard Foer's cuisine earned OpenTable's diners' choice award in 2010 and 2011.

BBC: Daily deal: Virginia horse country inn and spa

Warm scones with double Devonshire cream and preserves are accompanied by a beautiful selection of sweets, seasonal fruit and savory dishes such as roasted lamb loin on grilled pita and peekytoe crab salad with avocado and fresh coriander on toasted brioche.

CNN: Five great American tearooms

Fine steakhouse fare: prime sirloin, rack of lamb, spit-roasted chicken, grilled tuna.

FORBES: Fact and Comment

We followed the suggestion of our knowledgeable server and chose the roasted kohlrabi-turnip soup (with horseradish, chive oil and edible flowers), the trio of lamb (loin, rack and belly, prepared three different ways) and the imperial chocolate dessert (a warm pudding cake with spiced ice cream and coffee sauce).

FORBES: An Inside Look At Wolfgang Puck's New Restaurant At Hotel Bel-Air