Sweet Cheeks
Anatomy of a Winner: Contained on a paper-lined tray (and scattered on the reclaimed wood table) is barbecue bliss, as follows. 1. A variety of house-made hot sauces lets you dress your meat as you please. 2. Fist-size biscuits are sinfully buttery and flaky. 3. Thirst-quenching cocktails come in a mason jar. 4. The crunchy "farm salad" provides welcome relief from the richness of the meat—and from the 5. cheesy, crumb-topped broccoli casserole. 6. The main event, the pork ribs, are smoky and tender. 7. Old-school accoutrements include pickles, shaved white onion, and squishy white bread, all of which balance the heat. 1381 Boylston St., Boston, MA sweetcheeksq.com.
Paws Club
A cage for your cairn? Quelle horreur! As long as poochie can hold her own on the playground, she can roam with the big boys at Paws. This doggie camp is both day care ($17 per day) and overnight stays ($25 per night); dogs can romp supervised in the half-acre backyard (half paved, half stone). Don't let the modest house fool you: There are 11 rooms decorated with beds and couches where pooches can sleep. Cats are welcome too (in their own rooms, $12 a night). 113 Central Street, Stoneham, MA pawsclub.com.
Eastern Standard
Out in public, and especially out at the city's better restaurants, you want as few people as possible to notice when your princeling starts whacking his silverware together or gleefully tossing sugar packets onto the floor. Luckily, the popular Kenmore Square brasserie has a dining room that's plenty large and noisy enough to absorb such commotion. Order the refined mac and cheese and strawberry shortcake for the little one, and treat yourself to mustard-glazed salmon or house-made cavatelli. The absence of dirty looks will make everything more delicious. 528 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 2215, easternstandardboston.com.
Dogspa
Care to try some terrier-misu? Or perhaps the matching pet-owner jewelry is more up your alley. Regardless, the two-legged and four-legged alike are barking up a storm about DogSpa, Beverly's grooming, retail, and nutritional haven. For the languorous pooch, there's an aromatherapeutic quiet room; for the vivacious pup, "Smelly Dog" deodorizations; for all of man's best friends, a chrome state-of-the-art grooming zone with anti-fatigue padded mats, HydroSurge spa baths, and expert stylists. All dogs may go to heaven, but really, what can heaven have on DogSpa? 45 Enon St., Unit 5, Beverly, MA beverlydogspa.com.
Andrew Michaels Salon & Spa
Natural light pours through this flat-out gorgeous house of beauty, converted from an early 20th-century library into a world-class spa and salon. In the copper-beamed mezzanine color areas, Andrew Micahels and his staff expertly highlight, tint, and gloss, while in the cavernous, mosaic-tiled spa below, guests are treated to rejuvenating cranberry scrubs. Vichy showers, lymphobiology facials, and massages. The professional staff, exceptionally well trained, never misses a step, and a small boutique peddles great product lines including Molton Brown and M. D. 47 Ocean Ave., Salem, MA andrewmichaelsspa.com.
Bliss Home
We all know the standard china and silver registries backwards and forwards, but at Bliss Home, newlyweds learn to expect the stylishly unexpected. This is where they find not only exquisite Spanish handcrafted rugs and French crystal Champagne glasses, but avant-garde curvilinear bookcases and natural-horn pâté spreaders. Bliss consultants can guide you through the registration process even if you're a flat-, serve-, bar-, dinner-, or stemware novice. And if you think it all looks good here, just wait 'til you see it in your house. 121 Newbury St., Boston, MA blisshome.bridgecatalog.com.
Garment District
Rummaging through the racks at the Garment District is like looking for the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. That perfect paisley shirt, pleather skirt, or even preppy blue blazer is there—you just know it is—but the place is so full of classics (designer and otherwise), it sometimes takes a while to find it. By the end of your tour, you've got three hot-pink shopping bags full of inexpensive low-fashion masterpieces, from jeans to jumpers, leather jackets to costume jewelry. Behind the punk rock, studded collars, and tattoos, the store's employees are some of the friendliest around. And if you have a few extra bucks, the landfill piles of leftovers are downstairs at Dollar-a-Pound. 200 Broadway, Cambridge, MA garment-district.com.
The Pop Center
Working from home when you have small children is great — that is, until your four-year-old shows up in the back of a Zoom call covered in fingerpaint from head to toe (only a slightly exaggerated story). With daycare spots limited and nannies harder than ever to find, busy moms and dads have been flocking to this Newton coworking space, where parents and young kids can work and play side by side thanks to wellstaffed playgroups, private nursing stations, and cozy coworking lounges with a call pod and nap rooms (for grownups, too!). 1037 Chestnut St., Newton Upper Falls, MA 02464, thepopcenter.com.
Quahog Republic
You will not leave this boisterous hangout sober. It pours some of the cheapest, strongest cocktails we've ever sipped. (At least they're made with fresh-squeezed juices, so we can feel somewhat virtuous.) At $9, a 16-ounce mai tai slurped through a straw is potent and refreshing; after an $8 Quahog Sunset with Smirnoff orange vodka, Triple Sec, and 7-Up, it's lights out. The servers have seen it all before, and they'll treat you like a local from your first tipple. 97 Spring Bars Rd., Falmouth, MA 02540, quahogrepublic.com.
Matt Murphys
Aside from a bounty of cheap burgers and greasy fries, this year's tour of pub grub options turned up a surprising lack of substantial (read: tummy-filling) dishes. Except, that is, at Matt Murphy's, where the farmhouse plate's country-style paté is the size of a small brick and the soup arrives in a bowl as big as your head. Besides which, the food is outstanding. Try the tender, relish-slathered lamb sirloin sandwich or the piping-hot, supercrispy fish and chips, wrapped in newspaper—they're more than enough to make you forgive Matt Murphy's for not serving burgers. 14 Harvard St., Brookline, MA 2445, mattmurphyspub.com.
West Newton Cinema
There are three key criteria that elevate a cinema to superior status: the caliber of the screenings, the comfort of the seats, and perhaps most importantly, the quality of the concession stand. West Newton Cinema's management mixes art house releases with a few mainstream flicks and serves popcorn that's decidedly above average. And while four of the six auditoriums have been updated with Star Trek-style seating (renovations of the remaining two are under way), the exterior and the foyer still retain their old-fashioned character. With Lumière right across the street, it's a recipe for the perfect date. 1296 Washington St., Newton, MA westnewtoncinema.com.
Brown Sugar Café
Spicy, sour, salty, and sweet: In Thailand, the perfect meal offers all four tastes. And with its extensive menu, Brown Sugar Café furnishes plenty of options for creating the consummate Thai dinner. Now that a second, larger location on Commonwealth Avenue has joined the charming original spot in the Fenway, the options have doubled. Specialties are all over the map, from comforting dishes for fire-averse tongues (such as the pineapple fried rice, flaky and aromatic steamed ginger bass, and sweet tamarind duck) to more incendiary plates of chili scallops with bamboo shoots and scallions. Try the stir-fried beer with macadamia nuts, and wash it down with a Singha beer. 1033 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA brownsugarcafe.com.
East Ocean City
A good gourmet always appreciates knowing where his food comes from. And at East Ocean City, where lobster, fish, shrimp, and king crab swim happily in large tanks before being plucked for your plate, it's pretty obvious. The menu includes everything from exotic shark fin soup to classics like sweet-and-sour chicken and beef with mushrooms. The fish dishes are all flaky as only just-caught fish can be, and the accompanying fresh vegetables and savory sauces make each dish pop with flavor. 25-29 Beach St., Boston, MA 2111, .
Daily Paper
Find everything from lobster Benedict to big-as-your-face pancakes at this cheery diner, which also serves an excellent lunch. (Beware the enormous Daily Paper burger, topped with onion rings.) Service is beyond cheerful—our waitress handled an unwieldy party of 10 with genuine care. 644 W. Main St., Hyannis, 508-790-8800; 546 Main St., Hyannis, 508-775-9711. 644 W. Main St., Hyannis, MA 02601, dailypapercapecod.com.
Pho Lemongrass
Pho Lemongrass's pleasantly expansive menu almost dares you to find something you can't get excited about. How about a dozen ways to do rice vermicelli, or a build-your-own stir fry? Our pick is the namesake rice noodle soup, packed with spicy shrimp, chicken, or beef and not-soggy vegetables. The waitstaff is patient and kind, ensuring that even if you take a risk with a new dish, you'll never be less than thrilled with what's set before you. 239 Harvard St., Brookline, MA pholemongrass.com.