Tu y Yo
Powder House Square’s traditional Mexican kitchen is well known for its regally stuffed and sauced chile relleno en nogada and, yes, crispy grasshopper tacos. But what you absolutely can’t miss here are the produce-forward dishes: nopales (cactus) that tastes like tangy green beans; dense, tender chunks of chayote (Mexican squash) smothered in verdant pumpkin-seed mole; and slate-gray blooms of cuitlacoche (corn smut, an edible fungus), which cook into soot-colored mush but charm with an earthy, mushroomy depth of flavor. 858 Broadway, Somerville, MA tuyyorestaurant.com.
Café Luna
Many moons after this café started earning long lines, we still love to start our mornings with hits like double-thick Belgian waffles with berry compote, and wondrous “surf and turf” Benedict with lobster and steak. 612 Main St., Cambridge, MA cafeluna-centralsq.com.
Adelita
COURTESY PHOTO Arcade games, sippy cups, and free kids’ meals before 6:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday. No, this isn’t your local Chuck E. Cheese—it’s the latest hot spot from Kristin Canty, the brains behind West Concord favorite Woods Hill Table. At her new, family-friendly-but-still-sophisticated entry to the town’s dining scene, the focus is on Mexican cuisine—and not just any Mexican cuisine. Here, the pasture-raised pork, chicken, and beef stuffed into every tempting taco, burrito, and quesadilla comes straight from Canty’s New Hampshire farm, so you can feel good treating the little ones (and yourself) to dinner here any day of the week. We’ll raise a guava margarita to that. adelitaconcord.com.
Annalouise Rusk, Green Tangerine Spa & Salon
DIANA LEVINE. STYLING BY JULIE SILVA Even if you didn’t know that colorist Annalouise Rusk is the direct descendent of hair-care royalty—her parents, Irvine and Louise, created the globally recognized Rusk prouct line—you’d probably guess that her talent for effortlessly prescribing and executing spot-on color treatments lies deep within her DNA. See: our head-turning balayage highlights in all the right places. 39 Dalton St., Boston, MA greentangerinespa.com.
Crescent Ridge Dairy
NINA GALLANT. STYLING BY ELLE SIMONE Made from premium hormone- and antibiotic-free milk, the generous scoops at 50-plus-year-old Crescent Ridge are as thick and luscious as ever. And now that the Sharon-based ice cream maker has an operation in Boston Public Market, we can get our fix of cake batter, orange-pineapple, and salted-caramel chocolate-pretzel without leaving the city. 100 Hanover St., Boston, MA crescentridgedairybar.com.
Sam Kane, Blackroom
DIANA LEVINE. STYLING BY JULIE SILVA All too often, long-haired gals find themselves at the mercy of scissors-happy stylists with their own agenda. Not at this new South End salon. Owner Sam Kane approaches each cut as if it’s art in the making, shaping her canvas by listening carefully and never passing judgment. Case in point: She declined to scold us for waiting 10 months between cuts—and left our revitalized locks at just the right length. 61 Berkeley St., Boston, MA blackroomsalon.com.
Gronk
CREATIVE COMMONS Who captures the spirit of the city of champions in this era of prosperity and decadent joy better than Rob Gronkowski? The man who brings raucous mischief wherever he goes, who both wins and dents championship trophies, and whom everyone loves both in spite of and because of his flaws, Gronk may be retiring from the Patriots, but he’s still number one in our hearts.
Bodega
JARED KUZIA. This Best of Boston Hall of Famer clearly wears the crown for cool streetwear and footwear, but with the opening of its Los Angeles sibling this past year, the brand’s influence has officially gone bicoastal. The new Bodega may draw in A-listers such as Jamie Foxx, Maya Rudolph, and Cameron Diaz, but thankfully, the buzziest lifestyle launches from Adidas, Nike, and Karhu are still happening right here in our own backyard. 6 Clearway St., Boston, MA bdgastore.com.
Southern Proper
Our beef-boiling Yankee town has come a long way with its southern cuisine. But North Carolina native Jason Cheek goes beyond the conventional canon, rattling off the sort of nuanced, modern riffs they’re rocking right this second in Charleston and Atlanta. Think: whole grilled trout nestled in stewed fregula. Short-rib meatloaf dolled up with bone marrow and bracing piperade. And a tea-brined, thyme-scented fried chicken—craggy and orange-rust in color—we can’t stop clucking about. 600 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA southernproperboston.com.
Soul Cake
COURTESY OF SOUL CAKE If you need another excuse to get married, look no further than Soul Cake’s Instagram. A casual scroll reveals masterpiece after masterpiece, thanks to pastry chef Gayoung Kim’s myriad textures and toppings: monstera leaf plastered to a pink-marble surface, blue watercolor fondant interrupted by flashes of gold, and sugar peonies placed by the bucketful. But of course, looks alone do not a wedding cake make—not only are Kim’s creations gorgeous, they’re also can’t-put-it-down good. Why double-tap when you could order one IRL? Woburn, MA 01801, soulcakeshop.com.
The "Rescued" Red Sox Banner
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Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images[/caption]
“We need to negotiate heah,” said Louie Iacuzzi in an epic pseudo-ransom video after he and James Amaral found a lost Sox banner. They got squat, but we got a good, hearty laugh.