The Whitney Hotel
From the outside, it’s a classic 1909-built brick Beacon Hill building. From the inside, it’s an ultra-chic, modern oasis with every comfort of home and then some. Enjoy plush amenities such as Frette robes and complimentary bikes for cruising around the Hill like you live there — and when hunger strikes, you won’t have to go far for top-notch fare: Peregrine, the lauded on-site restaurant from Joshua Lewin and Katrina Jazayeri, can bring an antipasto platter for two right to your room. 170 Charles St., Boston, MA 02114, whitneyhotelboston.com.
Blossom Bar
Turns out, dan dan noodles and Latin libations are a cross-cultural match made in heaven. After putting Woburn on the map as a cocktail destination with his nationally lauded Baldwin bars, Ran Duan recently opened his third concept, in Brookline. And just as expected, the minimalist bar he installed in his parents’ Sichuan restaurant offers drinks that are as adventurous as they are thirst-quenching: Tropical flavors, unexpected textures, and sugar-cane-based spirits drive the menu, with mascarpone cheese adding weight to the Bocadillo Sour, the anise-y Colombian spirit aguardiente mingling with papaya in the Angie Valencia, and a grasshopper rim imparting an element of surprise to the avocado-tequila libation Broken Spanish. 295 Washington St., Brookline, MA 02445, blossombarbrookline.com.
Row 34
This Fort Point spot from the Island Creek Oyster Bar team is as much a serious beer bar as it is a seafood mecca. Maybe that’s why cult-followed breweries seem to celebrate special occasions here—think only-at-Row drafts from Bissell Brothers, Dieu du Ciel, and Upland Brewing. Beer director Suzanne Hays has saved deep cuts, such as cellared bottles from the dearly departed Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project, for past Sunday specials, but any day, it’s the best place for a rotating selection of fresh hops and food-friendly sours. 383 Congress St., Boston, MA 02210, row34.com.
C.K. Pearl
Let the tourists stand in line for fried clams across the way while you claim a seat at Patrick Shea’s riverside Essex spot and let the clams come to you. The scene here is pretty darn scenic, with boaters and paddleboarders drifting by as live music plays in the background. Yet you may have a hard time pulling yourself away from what’s on the table: Shea’s brunch favorites include house-made smoked salmon, a wicked good lobster Benedict, and a bloody mary to make you forget all others. 112 Main St., Essex, MA 01929, ckpearl.com.
Vivant Vintage
Stroll into Vivant Vintage, and you’ll immediately understand why this Allston shop gets its name from the French word for living: Each and every one of the old-school-cool finds here has a story just waiting to be told. Slip into psychedelic platform sandals and a tie-dyed Grateful Dead tee, and you can almost hear the music playing at Woodstock. Try on a pair of perfectly broken-in Levi’s and a hand-dyed flannel, and be transported to the Friends set with Rachel and the gang. Then step out of the store and make these vintage treasures your very own. 318 Lincoln St., Allston, MA vivantvintage.com.
Tu y Yo
Powder House Square’s traditional Mexican kitchen is well known for its regally stuffed and sauced chile relleno en nogada and, yes, crispy grasshopper tacos. But what you absolutely can’t miss here are the produce-forward dishes: nopales (cactus) that tastes like tangy green beans; dense, tender chunks of chayote (Mexican squash) smothered in verdant pumpkin-seed mole; and slate-gray blooms of cuitlacoche (corn smut, an edible fungus), which cook into soot-colored mush but charm with an earthy, mushroomy depth of flavor. 858 Broadway, Somerville, MA tuyyorestaurant.com.
Coast Cafe
Dainty eaters, beware. Only those with a hankering for a little grease and gobs of pork-addled flavor are able to handle the made-to-order plates at Cambridge's stick-to-your-ribs haven. Sure, the chicken's great, but there's also smoked turkey with collard greens, and bread crumb–encrusted mac and cheese, and silky sweet potatoes, and… (the only thing harder than settling on an order here, you'll find, is nabbing one of the few seats). Coast Café may not have much competition in these parts—KFC? Popeyes?—but it could surely hold its own in Dixie. 233 River Street, Cambridge, MA 2139, coastsoulcafe.com.
Rafanelli Events
Nothing chips away at an engaged couple's quality time (not to mention sanity) quite like wedding planning. Guest lists, save-the-dates, seating charts, the scores of teensy details that pop up along the way to "I do"—they can harry even the most come-what-may pair. Fete vet Bryan Rafanelli smoothly juggles it all to create an event unlike anything your guests have ever seen, whether the theme is winter wonderland or summer clambake. The only thing you lovebirds need to do is figure out how to put that extra free time to, ahem, good use. 142 Berkeley St., Boston, MA rafanellievents.com.
Harvard Book Store
Sticking it to the corporate chains is most satisfying when you can do so without, you know, sacrificing anything. Seventy-five years after Boston native Mark Kramer opened a bookstore in Harvard Square, the supersize word-maven haven is still family-owned (by Kramer's son, Frank) and still doing everything right, with a public library's worth of used tomes, and new releases to rival Barnes and Borders. In a particularly Cantabrigian touch, the shop vows to go to court before disclosing your purchases to the government or anyone else, should they for some reason ask. Take that, Patriot Act! 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA harvard.com.
Ace Ticket
Getting into a Red Sox game these days is like trying to hit the Mega Millions jackpot: The odds are seriously not in your favor. Either you suck up to the boss in the faint hope he'll throw you one of the company tickets, or you overpay a scalper and pray you don't get scammed with phonies. Or, if you're smart, you try Ace Ticket: The company has been getting Bostonians into Pats games, concerts, and even Red Sox tilts for more than 20 years now. And because Ace is a licensed broker, you won't be left holding counterfeits when the big event hits town. 20 Franklin St., Allston, MA .
Sebastian's Cafe
You want to be healthy, honest you do. But it's hard when you can't be sure just how long that mesclun has been sitting in the salad bar. The greens, roasted peppers, baby corn, and other fresh veggies at Sebastians never invite such suspicion, looking and tasting as though they arrived from the farm mere moments ago. At your direction, the speedy servers pack up vibrant lettuce, grilled meats, and cheeses with just the right amount of dressing. A basic salad is $6.75, so you'll have room, and cash, left over for an indulgent dinner. 100 Summer St., Boston, MA sebastians.com.
Uniform
Not feeling up to excessive sartorial risk-taking? That doesn't make it okay to fall back into the Gap (you've come too far!). More moderately priced than Barneys, less alternative than Stel's, Uniform straddles practicality and panache with its tailored casualwear. The well-crafted separates from elusive brands like Original Penguin, Scotch & Soda, and Canterbury—plus work-hard, play-hard shoes from Gola and Tretorn—will outlast any chain-store buy, making the most of your wardrobe budget while averting death by boring button-down. 511 Tremont St., Boston, MA 2116, uniformboston.com.
Curious George & Friends
Founded with help from Curious George coauthor Margret Rey, this Harvard Square mainstay doesn't rest on pedigree. It livens up the calendar with frequent author signings, stays timely with additions like an "environmental awareness" section, and balances its bountiful classics with acclaimed new releases. And since sifting through thousands of titles for all reading levels can be daunting, the seasoned staffers are ready to help you locate, say, the perfect horse-themed series for your equine-obsessed nine-year-old niece. Though here's betting no assistance will be required to spot books and toys featuring a certain mischievous monkey. One JFK St., Cambridge, MA 2138, .
Magic Beans
If you didn't even know you needed a baby-care timer, pee-pee teepee, or pacifier pod, make a beeline for local chainlet Magic Beans to get a primer on modern-day parenting supplies before the stork touches down. The married-with-kids owners, Sheri and Eli Gurock, and their gung-ho employees have done all the research for you (exhaustively reported on their blog, at spillingthebeans.net), testing hundreds of products in deciding what to stock. The result: everything your own parents never had when you were little, but wish they did. 200 Linden St., Wellesley, MA 2482, mbeans.com.
Dolly Bilzerian-Kelly
There's more to upscale salesmanship than strategically doled-out snootiness. In her 30 years at the ring-for-entry Alan Bilzerian boutique, Bilzerian-Kelly (Alan's sister) has developed a knack for divining what customers want and, better yet, what they need. She'll know, for instance, to break the news gently but firmly that, alas, that fabulous Alexander McQueen corset is not a good look for your untoned upper arms—but that you might give this Rick Owens tunic a try. Her unfailing candor doesn't crowd out her dry sense of humor, though, which can turn a quick shopping stop into a memorable event. 34 Newbury St., Boston, MA 2116, .