Larry Bird
(Fooled you again, right?) With Kevin McHale a worthy runner-up.
Boston Harbor Hotel
Better than home. Each stall is a spacious 5'9" by 5'9". Rowes Wharf, Boston, MA .
Bay Tower Room
The rendezvous of the city's money men. From here, they can gaze pridefully on their greatest accomplishment—the eradication of the West End—and hopefully on their next greatest—the eradication of the North End. 60 State St., Boston, MA .
Arche Shoes
These wonderful imports from France combine no-nonsense comfort (as corrugated latex flexible soles) with easy understated style to make their own kind of fashion statement. 314 Boylston St., Boston, MA .
Claremont Cafe
Five to seven varieties, with names like Blueberry Pear, Cranberry Cream Cheese, Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter, Lemon Poppyseed, and Whole Wheat Apple. 535 Columbus Ave., Boston, MA .
Birch Street Bistro
Save yourself the T fare: The stylish gathering spot, a magnet for young commuters, can hold its own against big-city bars. 14 Birch St., Roslindale, MA 2131, .
Arliss Howard, American Repertory Theatre
In the A.R.T.'s production of Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive, Howard injected a sinister yet sympathetic edge to the role of a gentle pedophile.
Romagnoli's Table
Home of the new Italian cuisine in Boston. Actually, the location leaves a little (well, a lot) to be desired in terms of ambience. But the food more than compensates. North Market Bldg., Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, MA .
<em>The Makropulos Case</em> Conducted by Sarah Caldwell, Performed by the Opera Company of Boston
On the heels of Caldwell's triumphant production of Turandot, the Markropulos Case, featuring the splendid soprano Anja Silja, brought home the point that Caldwell was back.
Artsmart
Life's little necessities—from CD racks to toothbrush olders—artfully wrought, along with terrific accessories for the home, in two tantalizing shops. 272 Congress Street, Boston, MA .
Amy Bailey, Townhouse Beauty Bar
Getting your makeup done sounds glamorous—until you look in the mirror and don’t recognize the face staring back at you, that is. That never happens when Bailey is the one wielding the brush. The makeup artist has a light hand with foundation, skillfully applying just the right amount so your freckles still shine through, but your blemishes do not. You’ll leave every time looking (and feeling) like the best version of yourself. 28 Charles St., Boston, MA townhousebeautybar.com.
Café ArtScience
The past couple of years have been big for hybrids—see the grocer-meets-restaurant Commonwealth, the sandwich-shop-meets-restaurant Tavern Road, and the coffee-shop-meets-bar Ames Street Deli. But none match Café ArtScience's scope and ambition. Sure, it's a forward-thinking bar, product space, and classroom. But it's also one of our finer modern French restaurants. 650 E. Kendall St., Cambridge, MA 02142, cafeartscience.com.
Sophie Hughes
This young designer forges rings from start to finish in her studio using recycled metals and reclaimed or ethically sourced gems. Choose a ready-made design or meet with Hughes to get creative. From classic shiny bands to one-of-a-kind baubles, the possibilities are endless. (She'll even fuse metals together for a two-tone match made in heaven.) Hughes is adept with old miner stones, too, so incorporating Grandma's diamonds won't be a problem. 80 Dartmouth St., Boston, MA 02116, sophiehughes.com.
Saus
First, Idaho russets are aged for at least a month before the peeling, cutting, and rinsing commences. Next comes a low-temperature dunk in the fryolator. Finally, the Belgian-style frites are flash-fried to order in a vegetable-oil blend, salted, and corralled into a stiff paper cone—and only then are they ready to be dunked into one of the 12 house-made sauces on offer (we're partial to the curry ketchup, cheddar Duvel, and "Saturday-night chive"). 33 Union St., Boston, MA eatfrites.com.
The Paradise Rock Club
You wouldn't usually think of a rock club as the place for poetry. But the Paradise's regular habit of mixing literary readings with hard-rocking indie bands adds a welcome bit of boozy erudition to the local rock scene (not to mention one of the best singles scenes for literary twenty-and thirtysomethings). Not everything at this long-standing rock club is so namby-pamby, of course: The spacious back room where U2 once graced the stage still shakes with the bass and drips with the sweat of rock bands on the verge of hitting the big time. 967-969 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA crossroadspresents.com/paradise-rock-club.