Best of Boston

When he helped open JM Curley in 2012, Kevin Mabry did for the basic G & T what the kitchen did for Curley’s legendary burger—that is, take something familiar and make it irresistibly new (here, with the help of yellow Chartreuse and cinchona bark powder). At the new Merrill & Co., Mabry continues to expertly toe the serious/seriously fun line, dispatching Pimm’s liqueur into addictive slushies, and incorporating sherry into share-friendly pitchers.