Tasting Counter
In the wrong hands, a ticketed, dinner-as-theater concept could come off as pretentious or, worse, gimmicky. But from his tiny open kitchen in Somerville, Peter Ungár has managed to create one of the most refreshing and immersive dining experiences in the area. Driven by advanced technique and refreshing flavor combinations, the chef's nine-course, beverage-paired tasting menus wow with offerings such as blow-torched Spanish mackerel with house-fermented black beans and yuzu. The counter-style seating, meanwhile, dissolves the barriers between the dining room and kitchen, making it all play out like a food nerd's dream. 14 Tyler St., Somerville, MA 02143, tastingcounter.com.
Harvard Art Museums
Last year, Harvard showed us that melding three museums—the Fogg, the Busch-Reisinger, and the Arthur M. Sackler—into a five-level palace of scholarly eye candy is doable indeed. After a six-year renovation, Harvard Art Museums opened in November, and the project handily lives up to its reported $350 million price tag. One needs only a layman's knowledge of art and history—enough to get psyched about Van Gogh's self-portrait, Warhol's electric-chair silkscreens, and portraits of George Washington—to spend an afternoon wandering the museum's halls in awe. 32 Quincy St., Cambridge, MA 02138, harvardartmuseums.org.
Cakes to Remember
By the time you've bought the dress, picked a reception site, and sent the invitations, your wedding cake is practically an afterthought. And it often tastes like one—destined to be left on the table, uneaten. Ellen Bartlett of Cakes to Remember in Brookline makes wedding cakes your guests will actually eat. Working with each couple individually, she helps them pick out the perfect flavor and design to match the dress, flowers, or location. Using the best ingredients, Bartlett custom-builds exquisite cakes so good your wedding guests may skip right to dessert. 248 Cypress St., Brookline, MA cakestoremember.biz.
Henry Bear's Park
Finding the right playthings can be something of a tightrope walk—they need to be educational but not boring, creative but not too messy, fun but without an overabundance of grating beeps and whistles. Henry Bear's Park has been striking that balance for three decades, with a whimsical selection bursting with enough pirates, princesses, and robots to stoke kids' imaginations for years, not days. Little ones will love the wide range of Brio trains and Melissa & Doug retro wooden toys; for preteens there's more-substantial fare, such as a model kit that teaches them how to make a life-size human heart. 25 White St., Boston, MA 2128, henrybear.com.
Flat of the Hill
Searching for the perfect gift can be a chore—unless you're at Flat of the Hill. This cute shop stocks only things that are in style (providing, of course, that they're also tasteful), so buyers can rest assured their money will be well spent. The place is filled with everything from Oscar de la Renta candles and Tusk wallets to Lauren Merkin leather clutches and high-heeled flip-flops. There's also a special section with presents for brides-to-be. The only catch is a welcome one: You'll likely walk away with a gift for yourself, too. 60 Charles St., Boston, MA flatofthehill.com.
Marathon Sports
Any running shop can outfit you with warm winter running tights, a cool stopwatch, or the best summer dry-fit shirt. But only the best can motivate you to actually get out and use the stuff you spent all that money on. Founded in 1975 and one of the first running specialty stores in the country, Marathon Sports provides as much inspiration as gear. The knowledgeable and eager salespeople invite you to test out your sneakers with a jog on the sidewalk before you buy, and the stores organize regular training runs and an annual 5-mile road race in Wellesley. Cheaper prices can be found, but with such expert guidance, Marathon Sports runs circles around the competition. 671 Boylston St., Boston, MA marathonsports.com.
Louis Boston
Here is where to head when you want to dress like the models in Esquire and GQ. Doing so ain't cheap, mind you, but the expert and generally courteous staff will steer you toward top-notch renditions of whatever look you're seeking. The specialized heme rooms—like the Corner Office, Paddock by Kiton, Helmut Lang, On-the-Road with Gianluca Isaia, etc.—make the large selection a bit more manageable. And while it may be a trifle difficult to imagine Jack Kerouac walking into the one named for his beat masterpiece and dropping $195 on a button-down black shirt, that doesn't mean you won't be sorely tempted to. 234 Berkeley St., Boston, MA louisboston.com.
Blades Board and Skate, Cambridge location
Snooping for a new snowboard? Keep your wallet holstered until you hit the Blades Cambridge location and find out which stick is right for you. Not only does this Blades have one of the biggest selections in town, but its staff also boasts encyclopedic knowledge of nearly every shape, size, and model, and can order virtually any kind of board regardless of whether it's regularly stocked. After assessing your weight, ability, and style, they'll save you from riding the freshies on, say, a K2 Luna when you should really be shredding with a Burton Feelgood. 38 JFK St., Cambridge, MA .
Pho Lemongrass
Great Vietnamese should be the way it is in Vietnam: simple, brimming with sharp flavors, and built with ingredients that shout their freshness. Enter Pho Lemongrass, where a diverse (and bilingual) menu overflows with anise-and-ginger-laced dishes. Pho, the beloved noodle soup of Hanoi, comes steaming in huge bowls and filled with the protein of your choice (the shredded chicken breast is the savory standout; less so, the tripe), and packed with crunchy bean sprouts, lime juice, and chiles. One of the best entrées is vegetarian—the lemongrass tofu, which is heartily textured, spicy, and scattered with peanuts and vegetables so fresh, they might as well have just been plucked from the Mekong Delta. 239 Harvard St., Brookline, MA pholemongrass.com.
The Sports Club/LA
The Sports Club/LA has staked its claim as the city's most exclusive urban country club. Members have full use of the seemingly countless treadmills, free weights, basketball and squash courts, and swimming pool, not to mention spinning, yoga, and Pilates classes. But it hardly ends there. This club also features dry-cleaning services, babysitting, a full-service salon and spa, and a gourmet restaurant, blu, that serves up a special low-fat, health-conscious menu. And while it may be uncomfortable to break a sweat with so many beautiful people lurking around, that's not a bad thing: The club is one of the best places in town for singles to mingle. 4 Avery St., Boston, MA boston.sportsclubla.com.
Julie Michaud, Michaud Cosmetics
A good eyebrow artist can change your face, but a great one can change your world. Part therapist, part girlfriend, and all parts godsend, Julie Michaud is Boston's arch angel. Her minimum-pain tweezing sessions—peppered with good gossip, health factoids, and beauty tips—result in perfect but natural brows fit to flatter every face. And while Michaud's talent has turned her scheduling book into a fortress (be smart and book months in advance), it's also turned the business into a dynasty; if Julie's booked, don't hesitate to make a reservation with any of her equally adept colleagues. 297 Newbury St., Suite 21, Boston, MA .
SBI
True, it's in a shopping mall, or at least the closest thing Harvard Square has to a shopping mall. And it's part of a bigger chain. But it's still one of those photo stores where the staff loves to talk about cameras, and the prices are some of the best around. A standard Minolta flash that costs more than $100 around the corner sells here for $75. After buying the flash, our agent asked for an expensive gizmo to connect it to his light meter. "Oh no," said the salesguy. "You don't need it. We use the same light meter in the studio I work at and I'm sure you don't need it." 57 JFK Street, Harvard Square Galeria, Cambridge, MA .
The Friendly Toast
Friendly Toast is coming!' "OMG! Friendly Toast!" Judging by the way local foodies were whipping themselves into a frenzy online, you'd think it was the second coming. But unless one finds salvation in pumpkin pancakes, pecan-caramelized banana waffles, and assorted scrambles, Benedicts, and omelets, the new outpost of this beloved Portsmouth, New Hampshire, institution is merely a really, really, really good place to have breakfast. The décor is retro and funky—all fifties dinette sets and Esso ads—and the food is a fresher, slightly fancier variation on diner classics, with homemade breads and sauces. The rapture? Maybe not. Divine? You bet. One Kendall Sq., Cambridge, MA 2138, thefriendlytoast.com.
Tamarind Bay
There's plenty of tasty Indian food around town—witness the lines of hungry grad students at Cambridge's Punjabi Dhaba, for one. But Harvard Square's Tamarind Bay Bistro (along with its newer sibling, the seafood-oriented Coastal Indian Kitchen in Brookline) is in a class of its own because it treats Indian cuisine as, well, an actual cuisine. Here you'll find regional distinctions more precise than 'northern' and 'southern,' and taste the kinds of dishes, like butter chicken curry and the exceptional vegetable biryani, in which individual flavors sing out clearly, instead of fading into a haze of spice. 75 Winthrop St., Cambridge, MA 2138, tamarind-bay.com.
Pescatore
For a town that prides itself on being a seafood lover's Valhalla, Boston has surprisingly few exemplary restaurants in the category. And after subtracting the ones that'll set you back more than a few clams (B&G, Oceanaire, even Legal), the outlook is bleak indeed. A lovely exception is Pescatore, serving up Italian-style seafood entres that never venture past the mid-teens. Highlights include generous pasta specials like the fusilli Amalfi: Tossed with sweet lobster claw meat, scallops, and shrimp in a garlic-wine sauce, it makes for an unbelievable bargain. 158 Boston Ave., Somerville, MA 2144, .