Kitchen Arts
Next time you need a hard-to-find imported baking pan, follow your inner Escoffier to Kitchen Arts. From culinary esoterica (a one-inch funnel or a rolling mincer) to basics (need your knives sharpened?), these kitchen wizards have it all, including five lines of high-performance cookware. There are good old American brands alongside fancy European makes, and no fewer than 20 types of coffeemakers (stovetop percolators, French presses, and filter drips). Don't worry if your cooking skills extend little beyond boiling water. The employees know of what they speak and want you to enjoy the time you spend in your kitchen. 161 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
Kitchen Arts
A good sharp knife makes the difference between sawing through cooking chores and slicing through them. Don't get sucked into the manufacturer's preselected set of top quality knives. Kitchen Arts discounts all the top brands (up to 30 percent off three or more knives). Best prices around for Wusthof, the BMW of cutlery. Knowledgeable salespeople help you assemble your at-home arsenal. 161 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
The Art Store
From its creative workshops and tattooed employees to the epic collection of papers, every inch of the Art Store inspires creativity. The meticulously organized setting is the perfect place to lose track of time as you meander through wide aisles neatly packed with everything from standard paints, brushes, canvases, frames, journals, gifts, scrapbooks, and wrapping paper. Whether you're in the market for professional art supplies, a photo album, or rainy day children's games, the Art Store is the place to find your inner Degas. 401 Park Dr., Boston, MA .
Kitchen Arts
Kitchen Arts is the Chanel of cooking and baking stores: Its surroundings are simply much more stylish than its competitors'. But there's also substance to back up the finery: Kitchen Arts carries all the important manufacturers that professional chefs recommend using at home, from Le Creuset crockery to Wusthof knives to All-Clad pots and pans. These wares aren't cheap, to be sure, but they last forever—if not, the Kitchen Arts staff has been known to be very helpful in replacing parts of worn equipment. 161 Newbury Street, Boston, MA .
Kitchen Arts
Looking for just the right-size saute pan or properly weighted knife? This family-run shop has all the best accouterments for the kitchen and is notable for its knowledgeable sales staff and selection of gadgets. If you don't see it there, they'll find it and order it for you. What more could you want? 161 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
ArtsEmerson
With its three venues—the Cutler Majestic, the Paramount Mainstage, and the Jackie Liebergott Black Box—ArtsEmerson certainly dominates the Theater District, but its artistic reach goes far beyond the city. This year, executive director Rob Orchard landed the following: Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, reimagined by Brooklyn company Mabou Mines; a musical about the Shakers called Angel Reapers, co-conceived by Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur grant winners; and The Speaker's Progress, which used Shakespeare's Twelfth Night as the basis for a satire about the Arab Spring. The organization's biggest coup, though, was convincing Cambridge's reclusive John Malkovich to star as a serial killer in The Infernal Comedy. artsemerson.org.
<em>Quartet</em>, ART
Some playgoers escaped art Robert Wilson's Quartet (ART), his sopoforic rendering of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, by nodding off into dreamland; others escaped through the side exits.
Commonweatlh Shakespeare Company
Even before Leonardo DiCaprio's Romeo and Gwyneth Paltrow's Shakespeare in Love, the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's free outdoor performances showed Boston just how sexy the Bard can be. Under the brilliant direction of Steven Maler, the young, enthusiastic, multicultural cast of players brings Shakespeare to the Boston Common, using the recently renovated neoclassical Parkmand Bandstand—and all the world—as a stage.
The Wang Center's Young at Arts program
Its stated mission is to "inspire the imagination of children," but it makes adults wish they were back in school. Backstage workshops, art and essay contests, and exhibitions for Massachusetts students, plus workshops for teachers. Our state needs it.
<em>Art New England</em>
A good little publication has the field to itself.
Graham Gund's Private Collection at the Gund Gallery, in the West Wing of the Museum of Fine Arts.
Boston Sailing Center
Learn the difference between a rope and a line, and learn to love Boston by sea. 54 Lewis Wharf, Boston, MA .
Courageous Sailing Center
Whoever said you can't get something for nothing didn't know the Courageous Sailing Center. The center teaches mini-mariners to sail for free thanks to finding form the city, adult membership dues, and private donations. Kids start with a half-day "taste" of sailing and progress through four more steps until they are skilled enough to race and teach other youngsters. They'll have a blast tooting around the harbor all summer, but when they sail to the stacks on an all-day outing to the JFK Library, Courageous proves a real parent-pleaser too. Adults can learn to sail for $199, which includes a two-week membership (other learn-to-sail and membership packages are also available) offering use of J-22s and Rhodes 19s, barbecues, sails to Harborlights concerts, and beautiful Harbor island camping trips. 1st and 8th Ave., Charlestown, MA .
Bari & Gail Chocolatier
You know chocolate turtles. Now imagine something three times bigger made with either milk or dark chocolate, cashews or almonds, and buttery caramel. That's a Bari & Gail tortoise. 330 Elliot Street, Newton Upper Falls, MA .
The Boston Sail Loft
Nice location and a casual, friendly atmosphere. 80 Atlantic Ave., Boston, MA .