White Elephant
Maybe it’s the waterfront vistas that make White Elephant resort, situated on the east side of Nantucket’s downtown harbor, so magical. Maybe it’s the specialty bed linens, so beloved by guests that you can actually buy them, mattress included. Maybe it’s the pool, where on sunny afternoons you can sprawl out on a plush cushioned lounge chair or in a private cabana and sip a berry smoothie from the snack bar. Or in fact, maybe it’s all these things at once that make a stay here as blissful as an island breeze. 50 Easton St., Nantucket, MA 02554, whiteelephantnantucket.com.
Ocean Vuong
“A page, turning, is a wing lifted with no twin, and therefore no flight. And yet we are moved,” writes Ocean Vuong in his earthquake of a novel, 2019’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. Its release marked a fitting end to a year that saw the Northampton resident, an assistant professor at UMass Amherst as well as a lauded poet, receive a MacArthur “genius” grant. And that’s just scratching the surface of the 31-year-old’s many accomplishments—already a master of his craft, we know Vuong will continue to move us, time and time again. oceanvuong.com.
William Browne & Sons
We approached Paul Browne with a too-long pair of wide-legged pants and a vision for cropped, narrow new trousers. After deftly pinning the fabric and chatting affably, he charged us just $20 for the reconstruction, and we left feeling like a million bucks. Run by multiple generations of skilled tailors, this gem of a shop on Morton Street provides warm, often same-day service for any kind of nip or tuck—just keep your eyes peeled for the window full of garments and the awning marked “862” to find it. 862 Morton St., Mattapan, MA 02126, william-browne-sons.business.site.
Forty Winks
Handsome, flirty, and extremely supportive: No, we’re not talking about our latest flame, we’re talking about the underpinnings from this one-stop Cambridge shop. Situated outside the store, Forty Winks’ new walk-up bra bar is an easy, safe way to upgrade your lingerie drawer—or opt for a gratis 30-minute virtual fitting and browsing session with a sales associate and pick up curbside. 56 John F. Kennedy St., Cambridge, MA 02138, shopfortywinks.com.
Sesuit Harbor Cafe
We wait all year to dig into Sesuit Harbor’s lobster roll dripping with butter, crisp fried scallops with slaw, and mountains of succu- lent Barnstable Harbor littlenecks. But it’s not just the food that brings us back to this buoy-festooned clapboard shack—it’s the feeling we get after ordering from the takeout window and then unloading our fresh catch on a picnic table at water’s edge—the very definition of summer. 357 Sesuit Neck Rd., Dennis, MA 02638, sesuit-harbor-cafe.com.
Michelle Lee, Salon Eva Michelle
A go-to since she and Eva Mustafai opened their eponymous studio in 2011, Michelle Lee is behind many a Bostonian’s perfectly piecey locks. A proponent of razor-cutting, Lee can craft textured layers like no one else, earning her a regular spot on a slew of “best” lists—including this magazine’s—and a presence at New York Fashion Week. We can’t all be Debbie Harry, but after a sit in Lee’s chair, we can at least have hair that looks like hers. 37 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116, salonevamichelle.com.
Rob “ProBlak” Gibbs
Given that his typical canvas is at least a couple of stories tall, it’s hard to miss Rob “ProBlak” Gibbs’s powerful work. The Lower Roxbury native—whose relationship with street art stretches back to his days tagging buildings as a kid—is the force behind the city’s Breathe Life murals, galaxy-inspired celebrations of Black youthhood. Now, as an MFA artist in residence, Gibbs is using his expertise to co-helm a project highlighting the influence of street art on contemporary culture. “My murals are mirrors,” Gibbs says. If that’s the case, we like what we see. problak.com.
Walden Local
At a time when every supermarket trip is an unwelcome adventure and food shortages have proved we can’t rely on factory farms, it’s been a godsend to get Walden Local’s monthly, home-delivered meat shares featuring Northeast-farm-raised pork, lamb, beef, and chicken. The quality? Unimpeachable. And once it’s safe, we can’t wait to revisit the South End shop for butchery demonstrations and small-group workshops that let us (literally) see how the sausage gets made. 316 Shawmut Ave., Boston, MA 01862, waldenlocalmeat.com/butcher-shop.
Hot Box
It’s not just sharing beers with friends that we miss while Massachusetts bars are closed. We also pine for the days of splitting bar pies, that South Shore munchie made for pairing with pitchers of cold suds. Luckily, Somerville’s Hot Box, a takeout window tucked into open-air Bow Market, keeps the tradition alive nearby, dispensing gobble-worthy wheels of sauce, artisanal toppings (including wild-harvested mushrooms from Martha’s Vineyard), and cheese melted right to the electric-oven-crisped edge. One Bow Market Way, Somerville, MA 02143, eathotbox.com.
Sophie Truong, Stitch & Tickle
The best handbags become extensions of who we are, and fiber artist Sophie Truong’s leather creations are no exception. Her SoWa storefront—which just celebrated its one-year anniversary—is an accessory lover’s paradise, stocked with hand-stitched hobo bags and adorable shearling cross-bodies that you’ll never want to put down. 63 Thayer St., Boston, MA 02118, stitchandtickle.com.
Lunette Optic
We’re all spending more time outside these days, which means a good pair of shades is practically required. Thank goodness, then, for this local chainlet, which celebrates two decades in business this year. The sleek optical shops, including a recently opened outpost in Chestnut Hill, are stocked with hard-to-find statement sunnies (pictured) from the likes of Chrome Hearts and Jacques Marie Mage, with the option to add prescription lenses so you don’t have to sacrifice sight for style. 121 High St., Boston, MA 02110, lunetteoptic.com.
Gather Here
While the rainbows of yarn and yards of pretty-patterned fabric at Gather Here have kept Cantabrigians crafting since 2011, the hybrid sewing studio/fiber-arts supply store became particularly valuable to the community this year. Case in point: When face coverings became a required part of daily life, the shop posted simple DIY tutorials, assembled mask-making kits, and even rallied their dedicated customers to make thousands of masks for healthcare workers. If that’s not neighborly, we don’t know what is. 1343 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA 02139, gatherhereonline.com.
Blue Nile
A popular fixture for years, this neighborhood eatery received even more attention after the protests in June galvanized Bostonians to rally around Black-owned businesses. We’ll gladly wait in those long lines to score such superlative Ethiopian cuisine—especially the silky, spiced-butter-amped stews nestled atop tangy, crêpe-like injera. 389 Centre St., Boston, MA 02130, bluenileincjp.com.
Bethany Van Delft
Long one of our favorite Boston standups, this mother of two and tireless advocate for inclusion of children with special needs is a unique combination of high-alert neurosis and deadpan, low-key delivery. Since March 25, she’s been hosting her “Artisanal Comedy” show live on Instagram every Wednesday at 9 p.m., and her hilarious observations about the pandemic have kept us in stitches, even while we assiduously try to avoid the emergency room. MA bethanyvandelft.com.
Arun Rath, In It Together
Long a voice of reason amid the incessant din of radio commentators, All Things Considered host Arun Rath (2) stepped up to the plate and has consistently hit it out of the ballpark with his other show, In It Together, featuring his interesting, insightful conversations with scientists, doctors, and other experts helping us to understand the ever-shifting sands of the COVID-19 crisis. He puts things into plain language without pandering and remains apolitical, asking exactly the questions we need to understand to stay well informed. wgbh.org/news/people/arun-rath.