Dennis Duffy, Duffy Design Group
We could spend hours extolling the glories of Duffy's handiwork. He has, after all, single-handedly spiffed up some of the city's most stylish residences and commercial spaces—Manny Ramirez's pad and the Charlesmark Hotel among them. But while Duffy's signature soft contemporary vision may be breathtaking—and it is breathtaking—in the end, it's how he works with people that counts. Client after client remarks about his flexibility, his positive attitude, punctuality, respect for budgets, and diligence in meeting demands. In short, he actually listens and, thus, ultimately proves that his ear is every bit as good as his eye. 516 East Second St., South Boston, MA duffydesigngroup.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.
Yelena Courture
Sometimes it's impossible to resist buying something fabulous when the price has plummeted. That's when your tailor becomes your best friend/ The mark of a great tailor is the ability to pare something several sizes too big down to size without sacrificing the design. This small shop (located in the garage of The Atrium) transformed a heavily discounted Donna Karan skirt and made it look practically custom-made. The pros here also altered a heavily beaded bodice, work that required a large degree of finesse, and they did it in less than a week. The Atrium Mall, 300 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill, MA .
Sportello
It's a puzzle, how Barbara Lynch can manage to launch four restaurants, a bar, and two retail operations, all in different genres, while preserving the quality and essential Lynchness of each. And so we come to her most casual spot, Sportello, a minimalist midprice Italian diner—only here, the line cooks sling hiramasa crudo, chicken with dates and pine nuts, and mustard leaf agnolotti. It's a testament to the power of the gnocchi alone that the place is bouncing, despite the surrounding Fort Point Channel neighborhood's still-delayed gentrification. No other startup exhibited so much polish out of the gate, or such a pitch-perfect sense of the way we're eating now. 384 Congress St., Boston, MA 2110, sportelloboston.com.
L'Andana
When a city chef branches out to the 'burbs, it's generally assumed that something—service, culinary ingenuity, aesthetics—will get lost in the move. Then there's L'Andana. While some of chef Jamie Mammano's Italian-tinged offerings, like Maine lobster tortellini, are inspired by Sorellina's menu, they're as flawless in mall-land as they are in the Back Bay. Equally excellent are the smoky steaks, chops, and seafood turned out by the wood grill. For dishes this spectacular—and for the creamiest buffalo mozzarella this side of Napoli—we'll leave the city limits in a heartbeat. 86 Cambridge St., Burlington, MA 1803, .
Lynwood Café
Lean, yeasty crust dotted with a few rounds of mozzarella is not what you'll find at Lynwood Café; A South Shore specialty, 'bar pizza' trades on piles of gooey cheese and rich, fatty dough, and this Randolph dive serves the finest around. Plywood walls, flickering beer signs, and Formica tables coalesce to create the ideal ambiance for devouring a hamburger-linguine; pie, washed down with a cold draft. Bring cash, and pass up the 'extra cheese' option on the 12-item menu: Your palate—and heart—can take only so much. 320 Center St., Randolph, MA 2368, .
Allium
These days it's the rare restaurant debut that doesn't try to attract diners with hard-to-pronounce entrées and 'inventive' food pairings. But chef Joe Nastro's New American spot at the tip of Railroad Street plays it straight. Servers wind through the Quaker-style, lime-green main room—cheekily separated from the bar by chicken wir—bearing locally sourced dishes short on pretension (a fluke crudo accompanied by nothing more than a simple drizzle of oil) and long on flavor (pork tenderloin over polenta with thin leek crisps). 42-44 Railroad St., Great Barrington, MA 1230, alliumberkshires.com.
Busy B Pub
We don't know how they do it ("If we told you, it wouldn't be a secret," the waitress cheerfully told our undercover critic), but this unassuming, family-operated storefront bar sells buffalo, barbecue, honey-hot, and honey-barbecue wings that are the tangiest in town. Sandwiched between a florist and a shoe store, the Busy B has successfully resisted every attempt at decoration, but it's so casual and friendly that the regulars occasionally even brings their kids. What other tavern do you know that serves milk? For adults, there's also a good selection of draft beer to cool your mouth down. 451 Main St., Watertown, MA .
The Sports Club/LA
Though this polished 114,000-square-foot gym and spa is every bit the haven for fully grown and well-paid adults, it seems there's room here for younger fitness fans to get in on the action, too. Besides Family Day every Sunday and a grab bag of special classes held throughout the year, one of the star attractions is the weekly kids' yoga workout led by Cambridge pro Claire Carroll. Under her gentle guidance, youngsters ages three to five learn ancient—and surprisingly fun—exercises (stretch like a dog! bend like a cobra!) designed to help increase flexibility, coordination, and strength. 4 Avery St., Boston, MA 2111, .
Avalon
A little over a year ago, Avalon, the once white-hot star of the Lyons' Group club holdings, had dimmed to white-dwarf status. Except for Sundays, its perpetually successful gay night, the cavernous club was lame. And pretty empty. Enter promoter Steve Adelman, the man behind New York City's Tunnel and, before that, Limelight. Within weeks, Adelman was booking the biggest names in dance music at Avaland, the club's Friday night reincarnation. Superstar DJs like Frankie Knuckles, Little Louie Vega, and Junior Vasquez have all taken turns behind the decks, bringing Avalon to a boil and putting Boston on the dance-club map. 15 Landsdowne St., Boston, MA .
Roche Bobois
It's a rare showroom that can be everything to every shopper, but Roche Bobois comes very close. Here you'll find the true triumvirate of coveted styles: French country, including sumptuous sleigh beds, consoles that morph into dining tables, and beautifully painted dressers; "Les Voyages," which takes the entire globe as its inspiration; and soft contemporary—a mix of bright shelves, spare bedroom sets, sleek sofas, and slightly aerodynamic tables. The shop carries off its three faces with aplomb, thanks to admirable quality and a savvy, helpful staff. 585 Commercial St., Boston, MA roche-bobois.com.
Bliss Home
Hand-selected by proprietor Panamai Manadee, the au courant dinnerware patterns at this Back Bay boutique can convince browsers to send their own plates packing. Great news for those of us who, during our engagement, went blithely over to Ye Olde China Shoppe and, after scanning the matronly selection, grabbed the least offensive style. At Bliss Home, pick from brands that your mother never heard of, decked out in colors invented only last week. Then relax—because with table settings this eye-catching, your dinner guests won't even notice that you overcooked the poor asparagus. 225 Newbury St., Boston, MA 2116, .
Nicole Rueda-Watts, NYX Studio
There’s nothing wrong with a chunky necklace from J.Crew, of course, but if you truly want to stand out from the flock, snag a handmade feather collar—with elegant plumage that wows—from Nicole Rueda-Watts. The designer, who honed her metalworking skills in a Mexican artist community, fashions her eye-catching wares with semiprecious stones, leather, and beads. Catch the collection at her West Cambridge boutique Observatory, which also stocks arrangements from Laura Jean Floral & Design, as well as vintage furniture and home accessories. nyxstudio.com.
Dress
The swish crowd shed tears when Dress bid adieu to Newbury Street in May 2012. Thankfully, owners Martha Pickett and Jane Schlueter reopened their girly-cool boutique on Beacon Hill last August, and in addition to stocking the designers that defined the store’s first iteration—Vanessa Bruno, Loeffler Randall—they’re introducing fresh lines like A.P.C. and Ulla Johnson. Mix in small-batch fragrances, statement jewelry, and curated housewares, and it’s a one-stop shop for the city’s pretty young things. 70 Charles St., Boston, MA 2114, dressboston.com.
Taiwan Café
The brothy xiao long bao (or soup dumpling) has long been the darling of the food world. We get it, sure, but we’d also like to turn your attention to the Taiwanese pan-fried dumpling: a tubular, crisp-bottomed parcel with a fragrant ground-pork filling and open ends designed for maximum dipping-sauce absorption. Find our favorite rendition at this Chinatown mainstay, and round out the meal with other Taiwanese standards, like wok-charred eggplant with basil and chewy coin-shaped rice cakes sautéed with ground pork. 34 Oxford St., Boston, MA 2134, taiwancafeboston.com.