Prima e Dopo
At Eastie red-sauce palace Rino's Place, patrons can get stuck waiting two hours for huge portions of baked rigatoni and chicken Parm. To accommodate the throngs, the owners opened Prima E Dopo across the street, offering balsamic-glazed wings and $6 cocktails. Now we just skip Rino's altogether and hang here, dining on sausage-and-broccoli-rabe pizza, crispy bruschetta, and perhaps the most flavorful meatballs we've ever had. 300 Saratoga St., East Boston, MA 2128, .
Franklin Southie
The problem with comfort food is that you often must make sacrifices to get it ? ambiance, booze selection, etc. Not so at Franklin Café's Southie outpost, which features a menu of food-coma-inducing items like steak frites and pork ribs beside a list of well-priced wines. And yes, the waitstaff will let you linger at your patio table. And linger you should: The kitchen stays open till 1:30 a.m. 152 Dorchester Ave., South Boston, MA 2127, franklincafe.com.
St. Alphonzo's
In the gap between Southie's working-class past and emerging condo-class future, St. Alphonzo's stands as a small marvel of a bridge: authentic but not staid, polished but not pretentious. Owned by Silvertone alums Natasha and Peter Irving, who live nearby and obviously pride themselves on feeding their neighbors well, it plates up top-notch sandwiches (the Cuban's a standout) and affordable pastas, meat, and fish that embody home cooking in the best sense. The pocket-sized space is rarely packed, which means patrons can relax and actually hear themselves think—probably, about how soon they can come back. 87 A St., Boston, MA 2127, stalphonzoskitchen.com.
Pier's Park Sailing Center
Don't bother stopping at Pier's Park for breathtaking views of Boston Harbor—instead sign up for the two-hour intro to sailing course and hop aboard to get sweeping views of the skyline from the water. 95 Marginal St., Boston, MA 02128, piersparksailing.org.
Savoy French Bakery
Savoy's blackberry-raspberry muffins define the form: enormous, light, moist, packed with fresh fruit, and not too sweet. 1003 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA .
Masa
Known for creative southwestern cuisine, Masa rockets into the O-ring stratosphere with its sweet-battered, plump Vidalia onion slices dusted with dried chilies. 439 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 2116, masarestaurant.com.
Japonaise Bakery Cafe
The best filled doughnut in Beantown is the an doughnight. It's light and puffy and filled with sweet red-bean paste.. Beats the canned-filling variety hands down. 1020 Beacon St., Brookline, MA .
Sex on the Beach
Sweet and smooth, with a memorable kick. Everyone makes it differently, but most local bars pour vodka, Peachtree schnapps, cranberry juice, and orange juice.
The Tannery
With multiple stores that stock everything from elegant bluchers to throwback kicks to luxe work boots, the Tannery offers sweet sole-ace for style-conscious gents. 711 Boylston St., Boston, MA 0711 Boylst, thetannery.com.
Emma's
It's this simple: Nothing satisfies a pizza craving like a piping hot pie from the kitchen at Emma's. Choose from more than a dozen tasty (and sometimes bizarre) toppings, including dried cranberries, sweet potatoes, and goat cheese. The near-perfect, thin-crust pies will satiate all your taste buds. 40 Hampshire St., Cambridge, MA emmaspizza.com.
Rox Diner
Originally just a breakfast spot, Rox Diner is now offering three squares a day, largely prepared with locally sourced produce and all-natural meats. What to Order: The "Green Lantern" burger with avocado, pesto aioli, and smoked Gouda; crab cakes; sweet-potato-and-black-bean chili. 1881 Centre St., West Roxbury, MA roxdiner.com.
Ned Devine's
That's right—Ned Devine's. We were won over by the buttery, not-too-thick texture, bits of fresh thyme, and sweet, chopped cockles and clams that make this Faneuil Hall spot's chowder a perfect example of what the New England staple should be. 1 North Market St., Boston, MA 2109, neddevinesboston.com.
Community Servings
This charity gives non-cooks and harried cooks—the only two kinds during the holidays—perfect endings to Thanksgiving dinner: pumpkin, apple, or sweet potato-pie, from the kitchens of Julia Child, Jody Adams, Tony Ambrose, and dozens more. Proceeds benefit home-bound AIDS patients. 125 Magazine St., Roxbury, MA .
Dairy Fresh Candies
This store is packed with tempting goodies—specialty chocolates from local candy makers, imported Italian sweets, bags of familiar and exotic dried fruits and nuts, holiday novelties, candied mint and roses, quality bulk chocolate. If you don't see what you want, just ask. It's probably there. 57 Salem Street, Boston, MA .
The Gigolo Aunts
After five years without a release, the Gigolo Aunts burst back onto the music scene with Minor Chords and Major Themes, a disc so infused with kicky pop sensibility it landed them in People magazine and won them an opening slot on summer tours for Matthew Sweet and Counting Crows. Welcome back.