Brattle Theatre
Fundraising is still under way to save this beloved Harvard Square institution from the pernicious encroachments of Netflix and TiVo, and the outcome remains uncertain. All the more reason to buy tickets for the Brattle's screenings of foreign gems, art-house premieres, tributes to Golden Age Hollywood, and annual Bugs Bunny Film Festival. Skip the DVD for once, and watch Casablanca the way it was meant to be seen: on the big (independent) screen. 40 Brattle St., Cambridge, MA 2138, brattlefilm.org.
Venu
With city club kids being the jet setters they are, it was only a matter of time before the cross-pollination yielded a scene straight out of South Beach. Now Venu—with its pastel interior and art deco design—could impress Miami club mistress Ingrid Casares herself. It's certainly making an impression on local clubgoers, who've been lining up several nights a week to hear hot local DJs like Richie Rich and Alex spin mad tunes. 100 Warrenton St., Boston, MA .
<em>Rita's Spotlight</em> by Rixy
This commission from the City of Boston’s Transformative Public Art Program is a resplendent tribute to beloved Allston fixture Rita Hester, a Black transgender woman whose unsolved 1998 murder helped inspire the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. Completed last summer, Rita’s Spotlight integrates personal flourishes from the subject — a love for cheetah print, roses, and pearls — with the luminous hues of ’80s wildstyle graffiti, establishing Roxbury-born Rixy as a formidable artist and exciting talent to watch. 506 Cambridge St., Allston, MA 02134, .
Native
Looking for unique pieces you won’t find elsewhere on the South Shore (or the rest of the country, for that matter)? Marie Flaherty travels the world to find them, so you don’t have to, working directly with co-ops, fair-trade organizations, and individual artists to source one-of-a-kind Indigenous, tribal, and folk art. Enter her store and be wowed by the color and design of everything from a South African basket woven with rainbow-colored wires to maximalist earrings and necklaces from Ecuador. 51 Front St., Scituate, MA 02066, shopnativeonline.com.
Haven Beauty
It’s not just our hair that has grown great lengths since Haven won Best Salon west of Boston last year: The team has since added a stylist, massage therapist, and two aestheticians — with plans to keep expanding. Needless to say, your options for a day of pampering are plentiful at this holistic salon, but we’ll be back for the refreshing cut and meticulously painted balayage that left our locks looking like a work of art. 14 Church St., Hopkinton, MA 01748, havenbeautyma.com.
Crystal Ballroom
To understand the century-old history of this intimate venue, just look up at the twinkling chandeliers that grace the hallowed hall’s ceiling. Once a ballroom overlooking Davis Square, the second-floor space above the Somerville Theatre was recently renovated with new bars and a state-of-the-art sound system and now hosts indie performers, comedians, and dance nights during the week and on weekends. You can even rent the space for receptions, presumably when it’s a nice day for a white wedding. 55 Davis Square, Somerville, MA 02144, crystalballroomboston.com.
Peabody Essex Museum
For any Bostonian in search of beauty during a year of social isolation, the PEM’s fresh, eclectic slate of programming was well worth the trip up north. A survey of women who revolutionized fashion stood beside documentarian Peter Hutton’s film of a globetrotting container ship’s journey from construction to junkyard. Meanwhile, painter Jacob Lawrence’s landmark series The American Struggle shared a building with Indian street art, Zarah Hussain’s sound-and-animation exhibit detailing human breath, and Alexis Rockman’s collection of hyperreal paintings of famous shipwrecks. 161 Essex St., Salem, MA 01970, pem.org.
A Good Yarn
No matter what project they've got in mind, people with the gumption to make something themselves all need to start from the same place: that is, surrounded by the best materials. A Good Yarn stuffs quality supplies into every nook and cranny of its tiny Brookline Village store, enticing knit-wits with yarns in a wide spectrum of colors and weights (from baby to bulky to super bulky and beyond) by brands like Art Yarns and Colinette. The experts behind the counter can explain a tough pattern or point out the right needles or hooks for the job, and the store schedules classes for knitters at every level. 4 Station St., Brookline, MA 2445, agoodyarn.biz.
Vizio Optic
Galina Rabkin can't stand a smudged lens any more than she can abide a crooked frame. The petite Russian-born optometrist is a perfectionist through and through, and she's arranged her spare Brookline Village boutique accordingly: Polished specs by Chanel, Prada, Face à Face, and the cleverly kooky XIT decorate the backlit walls and fill the neat wood-and-glass cases. Behind the scenes, her spotless exam room and state-of-the-art vision equipment are organized and unintimidating. And should Vizio not have your preferred pair, Rabkin will go to great lengths to order or import them. 11 Harvard St., Brookline, MA 2445, viziooptic.com.
A Room with a Vieux Antiques
Proprietor Jeff Diamond is an unabashed Francophile who even acquired his sheep dog, Aramis, in the Pyrenees. Although a few provincial antiques find their way into the five or six jumbo containers he ships each year from France, most pieces look as if Diamond had plucked them from a Paris drawing room. The Charles Street store emphasizes art deco classics, popular these days on Beacon Hill. The Brookline branch has both deco and more formal items with marquetry and intricate decoration—and a huge assortment of antique beds, most of them cleverly altered to king or queen size. 200 Washington St., Brookline, MA aroomwithavieux.com.
Provincetown Theater
Considered influential by everyone from Tennessee Williams and Eugene O'Neill to Richard Gere, and known as nothing less than the birthplace of American drama, Provincetown has given its heady thespian spirit a high-voltage jolt with this new, year-round playhouse. The classic black box setup has flexible seating, state-of-the-art lighting, and a killer sound system so it can accommodate its two resident companies (the Provincetown Repertory Theatre and Provincetown Theatre Company) as easily as its high-profile productions by writers such as Eve Ensler, Douglas Carter Beane, and Terrence McNally. 238 Bradford St., Provincetown, MA provincetowntheater.org.
Flat Top Johnny's
There are some places where you feel cooler just by walking in. Such is the case with this funky pool hall, which sets the right mood with red-felt tables, an alternative-music soundtrack and Roy Lichtenstein-esque mural on one wall. The crowd seems to consist of Cambridge's hipper denizens who have taken time off from the art studio or recording hall to rack a few. It's a fresh change from the meat-market pool halls downtown. The only downside: Pool tables here are a bit close for comfort—though depending on who's at the next table, that's not necessarily a bad thing. One Kendall Square, Building 200, Cambridge, MA flattopjohnnys.com.
Airi Jewelry & Gallery
We all have go-to ensembles, the ones we pull from the closet at least once a week because they make us feel good. But when you need just a little something extra to make yours special enough for [insert occasion here], a pair of statement earrings goes a long way. Enter the wearable art from Boston-based Airi. Crafted from stainless steel and tarnish-resistant brass, founder Maya Alia’s geometric wired pieces — we especially love the golden arches and the floral-shaped “ear jackets” — make even the simplest outfit look chic. shopairi.com.
The Catered Affair
This culinary juggernaut is the in-house caterer for a slew of the city’s high-end venues, including the Boston Public Library, Harvard Art Museums, and the Boston Athenaeum (where it also runs a brand-new café open to the public). Which begs the question: If they trust the Catered Affair to handle their cuisine, shouldn’t you? The answer: Yes, you absolutely should. With the goal of creating unforgettable dining experiences, the team here can curate a personalized menu for your big day — think king-crab tostadas and broiled oysters with sea urchin and black lime — that looks as good as it tastes. thecateredaffair.com.
Bonde Fine Wine Shop
This wine shop in Harvard Square sells more than world-class bottles. It sells art: from handcrafted contemporary glassware to silver corkscrew cufflinks and other “sommelier jewelry.” It sells education: Grape expert Bertil Jean-Chronberg regularly leads ticketed tastings and private experiences around Bonde’s gathering table. It proffers a sense of community, too: The shelves include eco-conscious bottles from Jean-Chronberg’s Black Donkey Project — dry whites and fruity reds produced in collaboration with top wine- makers to support nonprofits like No Kid Hungry. We’ll drink to that. 54 Church St., Cambridge, MA 02138, bondewines.com.