Menton
Barbara Lynch's haute-cuisine mecca was an instant sensation when it opened in 2010. The parade of tiny, striking dishes! The feather-light glassware! The prices! And the place has only improved over time, from the stunning prix-fixe menus to the staffers who anticipate your every need. We're not alone in noticing. In February the restaurant became Boston's first Relais & Châteaux property, a distinction reserved for the likes of Eleven Madison Park and the French Laundry. 354 Congress St., Boston, MA 2210, mentonboston.com.
Eco Centrix
Two floors of hair stylists, with better music and architecture than many Boston dance clubs. Ask for Mark or Steve, South Boston tough guys who'll talk to you about basketball, hockey, and baldness. Eco Centrix provides all the usual coffee, tea, and funny robes to change into, as well as some interesting people-watching: startling tattooed women with little round glasses alongside guys from Southie talking about the playoffs. 30 Newbury Street, Boston, MA .
Mottley's Comedy Club
Performing a set at a sweaty, cramped, underground club like Mottley's is the embodiment of what comics call paying your dues. Owned, operated, and booked by two funnymen (and their business partner), Mottley's is a proving ground for some of Boston's most promising comedy talent. The stage show is the main attraction, but if you hang back by the bar, you'll get a second serving of entertainment—eavesdropping on the performers' post-set repartee—for the same reasonable admission price ($8 to $20, depending on the show). Trinity Bar, 61 Chatham St., Boston, MA 2109, mottleyscomedy.com.
Commonweatlh Shakespeare Company
Even before Leonardo DiCaprio's Romeo and Gwyneth Paltrow's Shakespeare in Love, the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's free outdoor performances showed Boston just how sexy the Bard can be. Under the brilliant direction of Steven Maler, the young, enthusiastic, multicultural cast of players brings Shakespeare to the Boston Common, using the recently renovated neoclassical Parkmand Bandstand—and all the world—as a stage.
Ed Pinckney
Former Boston Celtics player Ed Pinckney left the pros in the dust when he competed in a Boston Globe stock-picking contest. Pinckney tagged RJR Nabisco, which fell some 27 percent during 1994. But his competitors' picks fell even further. As any bench player knows, when the call comes you don't need to be great...just better.
EverybodyFights
Picture a boxing gym. If you're imagining a stark room with a ring and fluorescent lighting, you've clearly never been to EverybodyFights. George Foreman III's upscale boxing haven turns the stereotype on its head with boutique-inspired classes, spa-grade locker rooms, and a serious sound system. 15 Channel Center St., Boston, 857-250-4140; One Federal St., Boston, 857-990-3108; everybodyfights.com. 15 Channel Center St., Boston, MA 02210, everybodyfights.com.
Deep Thoughts
Walking Boston's increasingly sterile streets, you may find yourself occasionally wondering: "Where did our weirdness go?" Find out at Deep Thoughts, where expert oddmongers keep those crates teeming with obscure vinyl. For an extra dose of vitamin WTF, be sure to paw through the collection of far-out vintage sci-fi paperbacks. 138 B South St., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, deepthoughtsjp.com.
Lana Barakat, December Thieves and Heist
This Middle East transplant's Italian jewelry and Japanese apparel have brought a global vibe to Beacon Hill. But the best part of a trip to December Thieves or Heist just may be Barakat herself, who's so darn fun to be around you might forget you're shopping at all. 88 Charles St., Boston, 617-982-6802; 51 Charles St., Boston, 857-239-9149; decemberthieves.com. 88 Charles St., Boston, MA 02114, decemberthieves.com.
Balans Organic Spa
No need to choose from a menu of froufrou facials at Balans, Boston's first all-organic spa. Here, each 60- or 75-minute session is completely customized to your skin, targeting concerns ranging from acne to aging with a selection of plant-based products from Maria Հkerberg. Need an extra boost? Try the brand-new roseroot-stem-cell treatment, which promises to stimulate collagen production and reduce wrinkles. 216 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116, bostonbalans.com.
Ballet Ball
Finally IRL after a multi-year hiatus, this year’s Ballet Ball was a party of epic, delicious, and delightfully over-the-top proportions. A new venue, the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport, accommodated more guests, not to mention space for thrilling feats by Boston Ballet’s dancers. If there was a better way to celebrate Mikko Nissinen’s 20 years of leadership than with everyone gathered together again, dancing into the wee hours, we can’t think of it. bostonballet.org.
Bob Lobel on WBZ <em>Sports Final</em>
Bob Lobel on WBZ Sports Final where you can find the best of Boston's sports critics waxing eloquent. Warning, the egos here can activate a seismograph.
The Victoria Restaurant
The perpetual presence of Dodges, Macks and International trucks attests to the popularity of this pit-stop. The occasional Harley choppers prove that Boston's finest recognize "Good Food. Cheap Eats" too. 1024 Massachusetts Ave., Dorchester, MA .
The Regattabar
Yes, it's noisy. Yes, it's expensive. Yes, the taste is mainstream. No matter. Any club that can survive five years on Boston's anemic jazz scene must be doing something right. The Charles Hotel, Cambridge, MA .
The Times Bar and Restaurant
To hell with baked beans. Clam chowder is Boston's crowning food—not potato, not flour, but clam. That's a distinction understood at the Times, an otherwise largely undistinguished beer hall within a stone's kick of the waterfront. Each spoonful of the chowder here is heaped with clams so fresh they carry a signature nip of sand and the odd crunch of shell. It's dense but not gluey, and the flavor is emphatically shellfish. Other chowders boast fancier bisques or gourmet crackers, but this barroom stew wins out on the strength of the defining mollusk. 112 Broad St., Boston, MA timesirishpub.com.
2129
It seems that Boston cream pie is the tiramisu of the '60s—once ubiquitous, now vanished from most restaurant dessert cards. But chef Billy Boudreau has salvaged the once august reputation of what should be a hometown fixture. He bakes individual Boston cream pies—soft and silky minigems—using the same skill at 02129 that he once exhibited at the Bostonian Hotel and Mirabelle. 9 Austin St., Charlestown, MA .