Masse Hardware Company
With its hardwood floors and terrestrial aromas of peat and pine, this Cambridge company feels more like an old-time Vermont general store than a busy urban garden and hardware center. It should: Masse has been delving out seeds, hoes, and sage gardening advice since 1888. 249 Walden Street, Cambridge, MA interiorpainter.com/masse.
Maxime
This intimate, two-floor spa and salon has brought top-of-the-line pampering and international luxuries to the South Shore. A cozy downstairs hair center turns heads with excellent highlights, while the candlelit loft area offers hot stone massages and heavenly (and hard-to-find) Valmont facials at the hands of carefully trained aestheticians. 124 Washington St., Norwell, MA maximesalon.com.
Home Entertainment Expo
Tired of pricey refreshments, sticky floors, and views blocked by the bald guy in the row ahead? Bring the big screen to you with help from this Sudbury showroom, where speakers, amps, and plasma TVs share space with custom lighting, European-made chairs, and touchpad control systems. 490 Boston Post Road, Sudbury, MA 1776, homeentertainmentexpo.com.
Lookout Rooftop and Bar
Sunset cocktails never tasted as good as they do at Lookout Rooftop & Bar, which serves up an exceptionally elevated, buzzy scene from a seventh-floor vantage point that offers vistas of cloud-scraping buildings and bobbing boats below. 70 Sleeper St., Seaport, MA 02210, theenvoyhotel.com/dining/lookout-rooftop-and-bar.
Delfino
Peek into Delfino’s floor-to-ceiling windows, and you’ll never see an empty table: For years, this cozy trattoria has been packing in scores of hungry Rozzie dwellers. They come for the heaping plates of Bolognese, the extensive wine list, and—most important—the warm, attentive service. 754 South St., Roslindale , MA 02131, delfinorestaurant.com.
Boston Book Annex
Like a portal to Narnia, a door below street level reveals an impossibly boundless collection of used books, neatly organized into hundreds of irresistible categories, including "espionage," "nature writing," and "UFOs." Two cats doze near the front, and there's quiet but the sound of the creaky wooden floors. 906 Beacon Street, Boston, MA .
Pearl Art & Craft Supplies
Bins of brushes, passels of paints, plus everything from buttons and beads to hand-printed papers and zinc plates for etching fill the two floors of this huge art-supply supermarket. And all art books are at least 20 percent off. 579 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA .
Vox Populi
In this den of preppy testosterone, the open floor plan encourages circulating (the better to scope prospects), the pop soundtrack doesn't drown out conversation (the better to initiate small talk), and the martini menu is 20 varieties long (the better to loosen your inhibitions). 755 Boylston St., Boston, MA 2116, voxboston.com.
Buzz
Two dance floors crammed with beautifully sweaty bodies, awesome music by DJs Michael Sheehan and Mary Alice, friendly bartenders (including Christian, with the chest-hair configuration of a young Sean Connery), and a lounge where conversation is almost audible. What's not to like? 67 Stuart St., Boston, MA .
Cambridge Center Rooftop Garden
One of the city's most breathtaking green spaces is located atop a weary hunk of concrete in Kendall Square. Walk into a nondescript parking garage, ride the elevator to the top floor, and you'll discover the Cambridge Center Rooftop Garden, an oasis of landscaped flora. Cambridge, MA 2142,
Room & Board
Journey through this airy five-floor showroom—deftly organized by category and function—for catalog-style displays of classic and midcentury designs. More than 90 percent of the selection is American-made, and the origin of each piece is included, along with the wood used. 375 Newbury St, Boston, MA 02115, roomandboard.com.
Boston Fire Museum
This museum and working firehouse has become a hot tot birthday spot, and for good reason: Festivities begin on the spacious second floor, where kids can burn excess energy, then move to an exhibit hall, where they can climb, "steer," ring bells, and wind sirens on old-time engines. 344 Congress St., Boston, MA 02210, bostonfiremuseum.com.
Hamlet & Kenn
Primarily a caterer, their cookies and petits fours are unrivaled. 123 Appleton St., Boston, MA .
Montage
Warm and beautifully curated, Montage’s showroom defies the perception that modern can be off-putting. A celebration of color and craftsmanship, its two floors showcase all the excitement of the finest European brands. Do know, however, that cutting-edge furnishings from Italy come neither cheap nor fast. 75 Arlington St., Boston, MA 2116, montageweb.com.