The Enchanted Kitchen
The prettiest pastries, bar none. But the ones at Will-Yums, 314 Shawmtu Avenue, Boston, are more soul-satisfying. 57R Union St., Newton Center, MA .
Interior Design Applications
Ida Goldstein brings contemporary colors and lines to traditional Boston. 16 Munnings Drive, Sudbury, MA .
Heritage on the Garden
World-class shopping comes to Boston—at world-class prices. 75 Park Plaza, Boston, MA .
Neil G. Newman, Cathy Kane, and the Boston Magazine staff.
Maxim's
Nothing compares with Vietnamese food, and in Boston nothing compares with Maxim's. 84-86 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA .
The departure of the Boston Globe's Bruce McCabe from the film-critic ranks.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra's one-hundredth-anniversary concert. Music to remember.
The Little Flags Theatre's leaving Boston and blaming the critics for red-baiting.
The Night for Tony Conigliaro at Symphony Hall
Dionne Warwick entertained as creatively as she networked, bringing Sinatra and Hamlisch to Boston.
Nickelodeon
Keeping alive the tradition of Boston as a town to break major foreign films. 20 Blandford St., Boston, MA .
F.J. Doyle's Bar
Could there be any other? Doyle's is to Boston what the Elaine's is to New York. Good eats, great atmosphere, and a who's who of Bostonians both proper and not. 3484 Washington St., Jamaica Plain, MA .
Ray Flynn
Former mayor and Vatican ambassador Ray Flynn, just about the only man in Boston who would defend the indefensible Cardinal Bernard Law.
Steve Bailey
The Globe's Steve Bailey, who knows more about corporate Boston than the CEOs who rush to read his column every morning.
John Dennis, Channel 7
Boston television's only genuine sports reporter. Asks the tough questions, breaks news stories, and takes the job seriously. The inverse of Bob Lobel.
Safest area: East Boston and Charlestown. Most unsafe: Back Bay-South End, Downtown, North End, Beacon Hill and Chinatown.