Camp
Forget ball pits and bounce houses: Hidden behind a bookcase at the Burlington Mall’s Camp toy store are endless hands-on adventures for birthday groups. This summer’s theme is retro summer camp, with a “disco” cabin for dancing, a splatter art room, and slides. Keeping parents happy? The squeaky-clean environs and partnership with next-door neighbor Shake Shack. Burlington Mall, 75 Middlesex Turnpike 1st Floor, Burlington, MA 1803, camp.com.
Verde Salon
Now celebrating its 10th year in Braintree, Verde proves some things just get better with time. The salon makes haircare clean and green with eco-friendly products and a zero-waste approach to business. Most important, though, the stylists here are magicians with foils, scissors, and extensions, conjuring luminous highlights and cuts with just the right amount of texture and edge. And with a recent announcement that it is moving into a new space, you can expect big things from Verde in its 11th year. 89 Hancock St., Ste. 103, Braintree, MA 02184, verdesalon.org.
Cantina La Mexicana
Bostonians who bemoan the city's dearth of real burritos have obviously never been to this Union Square standout. You won't find assembly line stations here, just hardworking cooks who steam flour tortillas then load them with rice, beans, cheese, pico de gallo, guacamole (ask for extra), grilled veggies, and your choice of meat. Trust us, this burrito will change the mind of even a stubborn aficionado. 247 Washington St., Somerville, MA 2143, lataqueria.com.
Legal Harborside
Or views, more like it: Nowhere else in Boston will you find three options for al fresco dining under one roof. All you need to do is pick your floor. Snag a coveted seat on the ground level’s harborside deck and tuck into fried clams while listening to the concert rocking at the nearby Pavilion; savor a splurge-worthy meal on the second floor’s secluded outdoor patio (complete with fireplace); or head all the way up to the third floor’s roof deck, where you can sip, snack, and savor views of the water and the city skyline rain or shine thanks to retractable glass walls. 270 Northern Ave., Boston, MA 02210, legalseafoods.com.
Hi-Rise Bread Company
Baked right on the premises with organic whole wheat, rye, and corn flours, Hi-Rise bread does a body good. In addition to more than a dozen breads offered on the menu, different specialty breads take turns haring the spotlight as bread of the day, seven days a week. The cell-phone-free environment, which is strictly enforced, ensures a wondrous, relaxing visit. Ingredients necessary: a good book, a cup of java, and a slice of some cinnamon-raising bread. 208 Concord Avenue, Cambridge, MA hi-risebread.com.
Simcha
Simcha is the Hebrew word for joy — and what joy we find in chef-owner Avi Shemtov’s Middle Eastern restaurant, ensconced in a tiny shopping plaza in Sharon. Inspired by the home cooking of his grandmother, who left Turkey for Israel in 1949, Shemtov puts his own unique spin on the cuisine of his ancestors: In his hands, couscous becomes arancini drizzled with smoked-egg aioli, and chickpea-flour fried chicken is served over a sweet-potato purée. The superb falafel, however, is a classic that requires no reimagining. 370 S. Main St., Sharon, MA 02067, simcharestaurant.com.
Feast & Fettle
After a few years of prepping three squares a day, it’s only natural to want to outsource the task of home cooking to someone, you know, outside the home. Thankfully, Rhode Island–based Feast & Fettle expanded its family-style meal delivery service to Greater Boston last year, and there’s something for everyone on the extensive menu. Bonus: The company has also been known to partner with local faves like Flour bakery and Blackbird Donuts for add-on treats. feastandfettle.com.
Polkadog
Baked fresh every day at the company’s Boston Fish Pier kitchen, the “Chicken Littles” bones — made with simple ingredients such as poultry, long-grain brown rice, and potato flour — are better quality than anything you’ll find at the grocery store. The brand’s dried cod skins and chickenstrip jerky are also guaranteed to say “top dog.” Multiple locations, polkadog.com.
SRV
In the sea of noteworthy Italian restaurants that have opened recently (Benedetto, Bar Mezzana, Mida), small-plates-focused SRV edges out the competition with its umami-rich one-bite cicchetti and bold pasta dishes made with house-milled flour, from garganelli with 'nduja-carrot sugo to strozzapreti with sausage and salsa verde. And thanks to the upgraded dessert program created by new pastry chef Meghan Thompson, the South End hot spot has only gotten better since it clinched this title last year. 569 Columbus Ave., Boston, MA 02118, srvboston.com.
Parish Cafe
Truly our town's most creative sandwiches, designed by area chefs. A sampling: the Chan Chan, a flour tortilla wrapped around duck confit and julienned vegetables designed by David Chan of Ginger Bistro; Diane's Steak and Blue, blue-cheese bread topped with grilled tenderloin and Roquefort butter by Diane Unger of Biba; and Sean's Fig and Pig, focaccia filled with pureed fish, ham, and roasted peppers named after its creator, Sean Simmons, owner/chef of the Parish Cafe. 361 Boylston Street, Boston, 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.
Maris and Ricardo's Tortilla Factory
If you've eaten south of the border, or anywhere near it, chances are your tortilla sights are set a little higher than those Wonder Bread gringo wafers found at most markets. Take corazon! Maria and Ricardo's produces some of the tastiest, and muy autentico tortillas anywhere. Whole wheat, spinach, tomato, chile, and blue corn varieties round out the standard white flour and corn far. We love 'em all. Also available at Bread & Circus, Savenor's, and select Star Market stores. 30 Germania St., Jamaica Plain, MA .
Turner Fisheries Restaurant & Bar
Experimentation may be the spice of fine dining, but chowder demands tradition. To heretics inclined to load their chowder with corn, carrots, or—God forbid—Baileys Irish Cream, we say: Move west. Real Bostonians demand their chowder like Turner's. That is, dense with clams, not flour; well stocked with potatoes; flavored with the merest hint of smoked pork; and awash in aromatic cream. Westin Copley Place Hotel, 10 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA turnersboston.com.
Giulia
This Porter Square gem won us over with its chewy, emmer-flour-based farro casarecce alone, tossed with red-wine-braised duck, sweet cherries, and foie-gras butter on the night we tried it. But in truth, any of chef Michael Pagliarini’s pastas—painstakingly crafted on a reclaimed-white-oak table at the back of the restaurant—are worth the trip. Cap off your pasta odyssey with a creamy scoop of pistachio gelato. 1682 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 2138, giuliarestaurant.com.
Sophia's
Let the Lycra-wrapped hordes swarm Lansdowne Street. The real action is around the block at Sophia's, where a beautiful and diverse crowd can be found jumping around on any of the three floors. Not into the bump-and-grind, Miami-style Latin sound on the main floor or in the basement lounge? Then hit the first floor, pick a stranger to share a pitcher of sangria, and your salsa impulses will no doubt kick in with a little help from the live band. Those who prefer a more mellow scene head to the rooftop—the building's courtship nucleus—to let the sweeping view of the city and soft music work their matchmaking magic. 1270 Boylston St., Boston, MA .