Caterina Sorrenti, Rina's Studio
The Newbury Street veteran's solo endeavor in Newtonville is a study in making the best of a painful (and often embarrassing) salon service. Caterina Sorrenti keeps Rina's Studio obsessively clean (no double-dipping applicators here). She's thorough, too, though she gets this award because she's a pro at multitasking, able to chat distractingly about real estate, the weather, and whatever else while going to town on your ingrowns. 811 Washington St., Newton, MA 2460, rina-studio.com.
Gentle Giant Moving Company
Anyone who's used inferior movers knows the torture of watching them slowly load a single box onto the truck. You won't need to stifle the urge to grab a handcart and goose the friendly Gentle Giant guys, who gather up as much as they can carry, unload, and literally sprint back for more. And that brawn doesn't come at the cost of finesse: Everything arrives at your new home unscathed. 29 Harding St., Somerville, MA 2116, gentlegiant.com.
JJ Gonson, Cuisine en Locale
So you're a little lazy. Or overworked. Or simply a really, really bad cook. No one has to know—not with Gonson around cover your tracks. Armed with fresh ingredients culled from local growers and farmers' markets, the Cambridge-based chef swoops into homes throughout the Hub, leaving a week's worth of healthy meals in her wake. And she's not afraid to share her tricks, offering kitchen and pantry organization and private gourmet-grocery shopping, too.
Beach Plum Inn
You are not a Kennedy. Your chances of getting asked to the family's up-island compound are, frankly, slim. So what? You can still live like American royalty at the nearby Beach Plum Inn. Its 11 rooms and cottages are flush with shabby-chic furnishings and Egyptian cotton linens. Its BYOB restaurant is lauded for upscale surf and turf. And the view of the surrounding gardens and Menemsha Harbor is, in a word, unrivaled. 50 Beach Plum Ln., Menemsha, MA 2535, .
Paper Source
Located just a few blocks from the Porter Square T stop, this store beckons with a welcoming allure. Once inside, the right side of your brain is in overdrive. You may find yourself suddenly wanting to throw a party or wishing you were moving to a new address, just as an excuse to buy the unique invitations and announcement cards. In the back of the store is a separate room filled with a huge selection of stationery and in every possible shade and paperweight. An added plus: Workshops in bookbinding and paper-making are offered. 1810 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA paper-source.com.
City Sports
Whether you just want to buy a Wiffle ball set on your way to the park or a top-notch pair of dumbbells, City Sports carries all the athletic support you need for any sport. There's an ocean of running shorts, warmups, and skiwear to sift through, as well as an amazing collection of helmets, eyewear, balls of every sort, and odds and ends like weight-lifting gloves and nose plugs. Some locations even offer tennis racquet stringing and in-line skate rentals. 168 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA citysports.com.
Boston Links Golf Shop
Whether you're interested in a top-of-the-line steelhead, framed pictures of your favorite courses and players (the one of Arnie at St. Andrew's is priceless), or just a new shirt, Boston Links has the o fit. All of the top clubs are here, and you can try 'em out on its indoor range. You can even get a lesson from one of its on-staff pros. While you may find a better bargain at one of the discount outlets, you can't beat the professionalism and friendliness of the staff. 116 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA .
The Garden in the Woods
Don't dig up that lady's slipper! Come to the annual June plant sale at Garden in the Woods for wildflowers you can take home without fear of eradicating an endangered species. While the June sale is the largest, wildflowers are always available for purchase at the Garden, as well as books and other items in the charming gift store. But don't leave without a tour of the Garden itself, one of New England's unique treasures. Hemenway Road, North Framingham, MA .
Party Favors
Whether you want a cake covered in flowers, ballerinas, or baseballs, this is the place. Not only does the cake taste great (especially the frosting), the decorators can reproduce any cockamamie theme your birthday boy or girl desires. We've gobbled a cake topped with an iceberg and a Sweet 16 cake with a saucy blonde Barbie waving from her little Deuce Coupe. There are traditional birthday cakes, too, domed in a trellis of flowers and ribbons—pretty, delicious, and appropriately decadent. 1356 Beacon St., Brookline, MA .
Kashmir
Kashmir is as authentic as Indian cuisine gets in this town, and with its elegant outdoor summer dining, it's a good place to get a feel for some of the tastiest ethnic cuisine in town. Try the chicken masala or the vegetarian appetizer platter—a variety of fried treats that are considered snack foods on the subcontinent. Entrees come in copper vessels atop tea-lights to keep them warm. You can request how spicy you want your food: mild for the wuss, and spicy for the brave. 279 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
Blue Ribbon Bar-B-Q
Whether it's North Carolina pulled pork, Kansas City burnt ends, Texas sliced beef brisket, or Memphis dry-rubbed ribs, the key to Blue Ribbon's success is, like all great barbecue, slow cooking at low temperatures, in this case, over oak and hickory hardwood. Whichever style you prefer, it makes for incredibly tender 'cue with just the right smoky flavor. Good prices, great sides, but no real dining room. Sit on a stool by the counter, or take your bounty home. 905 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington, MA .
Truc
A warm and radiant person must be at the heart of a romantic restaurant, and chef-owner Corinna Mozo fills this sweet subterranean spot with her love of cooking and a sensual style. Walls in this intimate nook are painted a lusty green. The unstudied mix of artwork keeps you in a relaxed South End mindset. And since the menu is neither exclusively highfalutin nor high-priced, you can turn any meal into a celebration. Hint: The most romantic seats in the house are in the greenhouse. 560 Tremont St., Boston, MA .
John Dewar & Co.
Cognoscenti (including top chefs) admit that it's impossible to buy better meat anywhere in the city. Great cuts, fair prices (for the extraordinary quality you get), and straight talk about how many racks of lamb you need to feed your six ravenous friends. You might spend more here than you would elsewhere, but there won't be a morsel of meat left on anyone's plate. 753 Beacon St., Newton Centre, MA .
Saus
First, Idaho russets are aged for at least a month before the peeling, cutting, and rinsing commences. Next comes a low-temperature dunk in the fryolator. Finally, the Belgian-style frites are flash-fried to order in a vegetable-oil blend, salted, and corralled into a stiff paper cone—and only then are they ready to be dunked into one of the 12 house-made sauces on offer (we're partial to the curry ketchup, cheddar Duvel, and "Saturday-night chive"). 33 Union St., Boston, MA eatfrites.com.
Shiki
Most Japanese restaurants around here are either sushi specialists or theatrical hibachi houses. Shiki, a subterranean spot tucked away on a Coolidge Corner side street, is the outlier. Offering a massive selection of traditional small plates—tangy tsukemono pickles, fluffy agedashi tofu, and mushroom-packed, sticky-rice-stuffed squid, along with plenty of sake to pair with them—this spot was designed for the true Japanophile. 9 Babcock St., Brookline, MA shikibrookline.com.