Best Chinese restaurant
Much of Brookline worships at the Golden Temple as often as at the local church or synagogue (or kosher deli, for that matter). With décor that's all charming kitschy glitz, it beckons a veritable congregation hungry for throwback treats such as crab Rangoon, pot stickers, egg foo yung, and shrimp fried rice. That may sound profane, but then, don't most things worth doing?

Like the decades-old Temple, Changsho has enjoyed all the longevity and prosperity its own fortune cookies promise. Unlike the Temple, its modus operandi involves restraint rather than excess. The retro-Oriental interior strikes regulars as tranquil, not gaudy, and the mostly traditional menu branches out here and there toward an originality they admire - from seafood chowder to sizzling filet mignon with mushrooms to a chardonnay-sauced mélange of mussels, scallops, and shrimp. Thus, they conclude, Changsho's most enduring recipe is for success.

Golden Temple, 1651 Beacon Street, Brookline, (617) 277-9722; Changsho, 1712 Mass Ave, Cambridge, (617) 547-6565, www.changsho.com.