Flour Bakery + Cafe
You can't call yourself a Bostonian until you've whiled away a Sunday morning nibbling a sticky bun at Flour. Regulars know to arrive early, before the hopeful hordes of sugar babies queue up for owner Joanne Chang's homemade Oreo cookies and berry bread pudding. Daily specials keep the counter lineup feeling fresh and for those after-dinner cravings, the South End location sells sweets until 9 p.m. 1595 Washington St., Boston, MA 2118, flourbakery.com.
Flour Bakery + Cafe
You can't call yourself a Bostonian until you've whiled away a Sunday morning nibbling a sticky bun at Flour. Regulars know to arrive early, before the hopeful hordes of sugar babies queue up for owner Joanne Chang's homemade Oreo cookies and berry bread pudding. Daily specials keep the counter lineup feeling fresh and for those after-dinner cravings, the South End location sells sweets until 9 p.m. 12 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 2210, flourbakery.com.
Flour Bakery + Cafe
Much of this bright and sunny bakery's success is due to the fact that it was one of the first businesses of its kind to move into the Washington Street corridor—in other words, before the arrival of the Silver Line, other restaurants, high-priced condos, and boutiques. The muffins, cakes, breads, tarts, and sandwiches sold here are delicious, but the cookies are the standouts. If you have to limit yourself to one, make it owner and pastry chef Joanne Chang's downright dreamy chocolate chip. These oversized, half-inch-thick rounds are baked just long enough to leave a bit of chewy goo in the center, without sacrificing the sugary crunch. But what truly elevates Chang's chocolate chip cookie are the chips, made from liberal portions of Scharffen Berger chocolate. 1595 Washington St., Boston, MA flourbakery.com.
Flour Bakery + Café
Photo by Keller + Keller Whether you’re hanging with friends, hunkering down solo, or looking for a pick-me-up, you can’t beat Flour’s sunny ambiance. 12 Farnsworth St., Fort Point/Waterfront, MA 2210, flourbakery.com.
Natural Cleaning Service
We dislike the cloying odor of synthetic perfumes. But finding a cleaning service willing to vigorously attack the cat hair, bathtub scum, and shelf dust without resorting to chemical warfare is always challenging. Flavia Abranches has been in the cleaning business for 17 years, offering a detail-oriented approach to every space (including the inside of your refrigerator) using old-fashioned soap and elbow grease.
EcoClean Boston
We love the aptly named EcoClean in part because its proprietary supplies are made from sustainable materials, keeping things green, safe, and pleasantly unscented. But we also love them because they arrive on time and get to work in a whirlwind of efficiency. They might even surprise you—one day we came home to find our balcony swept of a winter’s worth of debris. Nice touch. ecocleanboston.com.
Crystal Clean Boston
You know what they say about cleanliness and godliness. Which must be why visits from Crystal Clean always leave your home so divine. A four-person team buffs and shines down to the hard-to-reach spots and tops it all off with finishing touches—dusted reading glasses, triangle-folded toilet paper—that other services often skip. Boston, MA 2116, crystalcleanboston.com.
Decorators' Clearing House, Mall at Echo Bridge
Marilyn Stahl offers designer furnishings at the kind of discounts interior decorators usually get. 1029 Chestnut St., Newton Upper Falls, MA .
Best Ever Window Cleaning
At $6 a window, this is one of the least expensive window cleaners in the area; indeed, it's half as costly as some competitors. And window cleaning being window cleaning, prices rule. 315 E St., South Boston, MA .
Jay Lin Cleaning Service
Mark Rosenthal cares about his work. He won't argue over broken buttons and the like. 1160 Beacon St., Newton, MA .
Kate Schnabel and Susan McEachern, Clean Sweep
Who has time to clean these days? Or do the laundry? Clean Sweep does, and for $6.50 to $7.50 an hour (for-hour minimum), it seems like a bargain. Owners Schnabel and McEachern began in 1978, and are so successful they've got a rookie camp, where cleaning neophytes are drilled in the fine points of floor-washing and plant-watering. Brookline, MA
Up Stairs at the Pudding
Cantabrigians had another reason to delight in the annual opening of the patio at Up Stairs at the Pudding this year: a makeover. But don't worry, this Hall of Famer has done nothing with the lush green patio more drastic than paint its floor periwinkle blue. Ah, but it's the perfect hue for this romantic roof garden—a whimsical counterpoint to the pink table linens, tiny recessed Christmas lights, fresh roses, and bougainvillea. Add a clear, starry night and Deborah Hughes' delightful cuisine, and you'll mistake this spot for Tuscany. 10 Holyoke Street, Cambridge, MA .
La Brasa
Service is best judged by the times when things go awry. Take, for example, a recent meal at this warm, boisterous Somerville restaurant and market, when a dining companion dropped a frosty highball cocktail and spilled it all over the table, the floor, and herself. In the mere seconds it took to clear away the damage, servers not only produced a replacement drink but also a Tide pen to remove the stains. 124 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02145, labrasasomerville.com.
Kai Gagnon, Bergamot
Don't underestimate Kai Gagnon because of his soft-spoken gentility. The man knows his wine, and better yet, he knows what the palate wants. At Bergamot, he's crafted an adventurous, not-so-typical list of bottles that leans on France but can also swing from Texas Hill Country to Mount Etna. Celebrating such unconventional wines isn't just for show—he (and the floor staffers he's clearly enlightened) can create crafty pairings with chef Keith Pooler's ever-changing menu. 118 Beacon St., Somerville, MA 2143, .
Flour Bakery + Café
MONA MIRI Sadly, we can’t eat pastry legend Joanne Chang’s sticky buns every morning (unless we want to buy new jeans every week). So it’s a good thing Flour makes equally excellent savory sandwiches, from roast beef topped with horseradish mayo and crispy onions to grilled cauliflower with poblano relish and Oaxaca cheese—all served with the expeditiousness of an incredibly well-oiled machine. 1595 Washington St., Boston, MA flourbakery.com.