Kendall Café
In addition to its popular Tuesday Night Music Club—a music series featuring unplugged sets by leading local musicians—the Kendall introduced a new program this year, Earfull, pairing local musicians with authors reading from their works. It's the kind of thing that could happen only here, in this grubby, smoky, intimate, and delicious Kendall Square hole in the wall. Any night's crowd is a Who's Who of the local rock scene. Every night's performers are up-and-coming or already-there singer-songwriters of the most polished aural sort. And the grilled chicken and selection of cold draft beers ain't bad, either. 233 Cardinal Medeiros Ave., Cambridge, MA .
L’Espalier
Chef Frank McClelland bristles when L’Espalier gets pigeonholed as French—and it is more haute New England meets Paris, when you think about it. Check the beef from Maine. The gooey Vermont fromages. The scrappy Yankee self-reliance of plating foie gras with fruit from your own organic farm! The duck-for-two stunner, presented whole, comes with sides and a beguiling slice of American large-format je ne sais quoi. Whatever you call it, this gastronomic tour de force blasts into its 40th year rocking A-game sparkle. Tomato, tomate. 774 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02199, lespalier.com.
<em>Boston Globe</em>
A month after chief book critic Gail Caldwell won a Pulitzer, the Globe reduced the size of its book section.
Centre Street Café
In a neighborhood brimming with worthy bistros (Ten Tables, Arbor) and watering holes (Milky Way, Doyle's), finding the best among them seems impossible. Until you've tasted brunch at Centre Street. No other place draws such a salad of local characters—yups, students, families, and artists. The food and art are local, too, and the tunes are just loud enough to inspire but not preclude conversation. The servers are so friendly, they feel like buddies who just happen to be fetching you fluffy banana pancakes with farm-fresh blueberries. And that's the best kind of friend there is. 669A Centre St., Jamaica Plain, MA centrestreetcafejp.com.
Glory
Sometimes all it takes to stir up emotion is a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant with drippy candles and a few two-tops. Other times the road to love is paved with linen tablecloths and crystal goblets. Safe middle ground can be found at Glory, where live jazz, glowing yellow walls, and candles create a comfortable haven for first dates, anniversaries, and everything in between. If all that doesn't get you in the mood, the grilled stuffed veal chop, pan-seared trout, and warm chocolate cake by chef Corinna Mozo (formerly of Truc) surely will. 19 Essex St., Andover, MA .
The Alley
You won’t find interloping bachelorette parties at this veteran watering hole, secreted away downtown. What you will find are refreshing vestiges of a time before gay bars got gentrified: cheap drinks, little pretense, and dancing throngs—not to mention an abundance of pheromones—during recurring parties like “Fuzz” and “Casual Fridays.” Recent cosmetic updates and the addition of popular local DJs, whose eclectic soundtracks span Top 40 to artsy indie pop, have made the place feel hipper—but here, it’s still unabashedly queer. 14 Pi Alley, Boston, MA thealleybar.com.
Tim's Bar & Grill
This brick-walled South End hole in the wall reminiscent of an Alabama dive bar serves up the perfect antidote for a hot, sticky day: cool shade, cheap beer, and a cheeseburger the size of a small cow. Trust us; you won't be asking, "Where's the beef?" Oozing with fatty juices, these burgers taste as if Dad just flipped them off the backyard grill onto the not-big-enough Kaiser roll. The steak fries may be like lead paperweights, but Tim's friendly devil-may-care atmosphere, brewery mirrors, boom box funk music, and gap-toothed regulars make up for any feeling of weightiness. 329 Columbus Ave., Boston, MA .
Pomodoro
On any given night you can find crowds gathered on the sidewalk outside this cramped, noisy, hole-in-the-wall North Ender, jostling for the chance to dive into some of the freshest homestyle Italian cooking in Boston. Pomodoro is not fancy; it's cash only, and offers only two wine choices, house red and white. But it is damn good. Our advice: While you wait for a table, nibble from a plate of crisp, lightly fried calamari with tomato sauce, and save room for pastas, seafood, and veal dishes that sing with simple bold flavors. Ever-present properietor Siobhan Carew makes this place a gem. 319 Hanover Street, Boston, MA .
Newton Commonwealth Golf Course
Nestled in a picturesque valley between Brighton and Chestnut Hill, Newton Comm. is a well-groomed gem of a course. The front nine presents the topographical challenge of being mostly on a side slope, while the back nine meanders around water hazards and finishes up with a truly breathtaking hole—a swooping downhill to a wide green surrounded by water and a wall of pines. The staff is almost overly friendly, and the rates are reasonable ($20 for Newton residents, $25 for nonresidents). Best of all, very few of the golfers are Tigers, and most are willing to forgive newbie hacks with 37 handicaps. 212 Kenrock St., Newton, MA sterlinggolf.com/newton.
Redd's in Rozzie
We're tempted to call what Redd's does "home cooking," but given that this version of comfort food would require an apprenticeship at a southern barbecue joint, the ability to break down an entire pig, and a smoker in the backyard, we're not exactly talking about our home. Redd's nails everything, from the house-made pickle plate (try the pickled cabernet grapes) and apple mignonette-topped raw oysters to the just-about melt-in-your-mouth pulled-pork sandwich. If this is how you cook at home, we're coming over for dinner. 4257 Washington St., Roslindale, MA 2131, reddsinrozzie.com.
Electrolysis & Skin Care Clinic
According to Irina Stukalov, of Brookline’s Electrolysis & Skin Care Clinic, there’s only one way to vanquish unwanted hair once and for all: Electrocute the little buggers, one by one. While this isn’t the cheapest, fastest, or most painless option, it’s the real deal, especially when the follicular executioner has 20-plus years of experience. Stukalov knows how to reap the most devastating damage, distracting clients with tales of Soviet-era Russia as she shocks those whiskers into oblivion. 1170 Beacon St., Brookline, MA 2446, hairremovalskincareclinic.com.
Dan Gordon Landscape Architects
Dan Gordon and his team truly understand how to extend a home's beauty into the landscape, creating elegant, timeless spaces that reflect how you engage with the outdoors. Wellesley, MA dangordon.com.
Oga's
Oga's is the kind of place that breeds fanatics: Die-hards go once a week, sometimes more. If the joint doesn't look like much at first, one bite of the spicy scallop with flying-fish roe, the Japanese red snapper sashimi, or the poke maki (white tuna with radish sprouts, onions, and shiso dressing) will tell you that's beside the point. The best—and only—view is the one of the artists at work behind the bar. 915 Worcester St., Natick, MA 1760, ogasnatick.com.
Dante deMagistris, blu
When blu opened at Sports Club/LA last winter, many eyed the restaurant with suspicion. Would the brightly colored, Cali-inspired glass-walled dining room work in Boston? Would the menu be filled with bland, flavorless health club fare? The answers: yes and no—in that order. And it's all thanks to Dante deMagistris, the 27-year-old Belmont native who has won the hearts and stomachs of Bostonians with his culinary style (honed under Michael Schlow during their stint together at Café Louis and flourishing under blu co-owner and culinary legend Michela Larson). Even fitness-phobes clamor over deMagistris's fresh seasonal dishes. His "Out of the blu" appetizer, a presentation of assorted sashimis served on brightly colored glass plates, is a work of art, while entrées like steamed wild striped bass or potato gnocchi (made from deMagistris's grandmother's recipe) show the promise of a chef on the rise. Sports Club/LA, 4 Avery St., Boston, MA blurestaurant.com.
Pho 2000
Sure, they serve pho at this hole-in-the-wall storefront in Dorchester: great steaming bowls of it, delicately flavored with lemongrass and scallions. But the soup is just the beginning of an adventurous menu of rare and authentic Vietnamese dishes. There's a reason why the tables beneath the tourist prints and buzzing neon are always crowded with locals. The highlight is the chef's specialty, dac biêt bò báy món, seven courses of beef served six ways to Sunday. Thin slices of pure pink meat are offered with the tools to cook it yourself at the table—boiled in vinegar, flash-fried in butter and garlic—then followed up with soup, skewers, and three other gut-busting courses. While no alcohol is served, you can wash down your meal with such exotic beverages as jasmine limeade, salty plum soda—even egg soda. 198 Adams St., Dorchester, MA pho2000boston.com.