Vizio Optic
Galina Rabkin can't stand a smudged lens any more than she can abide a crooked frame. The petite Russian-born optometrist is a perfectionist through and through, and she's arranged her spare Brookline Village boutique accordingly: Polished specs by Chanel, Prada, Face à Face, and the cleverly kooky XIT decorate the backlit walls and fill the neat wood-and-glass cases. Behind the scenes, her spotless exam room and state-of-the-art vision equipment are organized and unintimidating. And should Vizio not have your preferred pair, Rabkin will go to great lengths to order or import them. 11 Harvard St., Brookline, MA 2445, viziooptic.com.
Stellabella Toys
Children grow up way too fast. But at Stellabella Toys, everything slows down—at least long enough to free the inner child—in as many parents as kids. More of a play studio than a toy store, this expansive space in Inman Square is stuffed with educational resources for child-rearing. The colorful dolls, storybooks, science kits, and costumes are displayed in a space that's big enough to also fit a playroom and a toy house kids can climb on. The store hosts playgroups for infants and toddlers, family yoga, new-parent meet-ups, and musical get-togethers. With its strict no-guns-for-sale policy, this is more than just a neighborhood toy store: It's a mini enclave of enlightenment. 1360 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA stellabellatoys.com.
Charles Street Inn
In the comely Henry James room, a fresh orchid echoes earth tones and the arc of a tree depicted in the Hudson River School painting behind it. Such details are characteristic of the Charles Street Inn, built as a Victorian townhouse in 1860 and revived four years ago as a beautiful inn by proprietors Sally Deane and Louise Venden. Today's rooms call up prominent Bostonians—Emerson, Gardner, Holmes. The Henry James Room, for example, offers lovingly restored classic antiques along with a thoughtfully stocked mini-fridge. The personable staff operates on the rare and precious middle ground between friendliness and respect for guests' privacy. 94 Charles St., Boston, MA .
Bella Santé
Some say visiting a good day spa is so therapeutic it's tantamount to regular trips to a shrink. If that's the case, the relaxed, blissful feeling you'll leave with after an afternoon at Bella Santé will seem like a breakthrough. Perched in a second-floor sanctuary above Newbury Street, the spa has a soothing beige décor and wonderfully quiet atmosphere (cell phones are verboten)—your first signals to relax. Then there are the treatments: facials so effective they're like mini-facelifts, massages that melt away even the peskiest knots, body buffs, herbal wraps, and pedicures that last for months. The unassuming, easygoing staff is professional and subdue, just like the spa itself. 38 Newbury St., 2nd floor, Boston, MA bellasante.com.
XV Beacon
Paul Roiff's much-hyped Beacon Hill hostelry actually qualifies as a boutique hotel, with only 61 rooms and the hushed luxury of a truly exclusive property. But the attention to detail, from fresh orchids placed in the bathrooms daily and specially packaged Kiehl's bath products, to the stately but comfy four-post beds, makes this hotel the in the city. Nowhere else can you sleep in style and have the calling cards to prove it; the hotel specially provides "in residence" business cards for each guest to make sure that every high-powered deal or clandestine affair goes off without a hitch. 15 Beacon St., Boston, MA xvbeacon.com.
Boston Pet Sitters
Fact is, you can't always be there when your beagle needs you. Let Jennifer North or one of her colleagues at Boston Pet Sitters take over the midday walk, or even those weekends when Snoopy isn't invited along to Tanglewood. She'll come as many times a day as needed to walk, feed, water, and generally coddle the little darlings. She comes with a pocketful of plastic bags for pooper-scoopering, industrial strength foul-weather gear for those New England winters, and, most important, a sincere love of dogs. 144 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA .
Great Barrington Bagel Company
The best bagels north of New York come in a dozen flavors at Marvin and Judy Lieberman's indoor-outdoor bagelry. There are also 17 spreads made in-house—including not just staples like light cream cheese but also more-exotic options like light chicken liver—to go with. But the GBBC's star shines brightest at lunch, when fresh daily soups, leafy salads, and two-handed sandwiches like tarragon chicken and red onion egg salad are offered alongside quite possibly the finest unleavened invention ever: the flagel, a microthin everything bagel. 777 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 1230, .
American Seasons
American Seasons co-owner Orla Murphy LaScola greets patrons with a charming Irish brogue as she seats them on the cool, inviting porch or in the warm, rustic dining room. Wherever they sit, they're in for a treat: Chef-owner Michael LaScola's creations—which include such delights as fried oyster and rare beef salad with mustard greens and orange, and blackberry-anise bomb—are seasonally inspired and beautifully executed. Dine here during a weekend getaway, and you'll soon find yourself studying ferry schedules just to plot your next feast. 80 Centre St., Nantucket Island, MA 2554, americanseasons.com.
East Coast Grill & Raw Bar
It could be the regular eruptions of the volcano in the Lava Lounge. Or the Sunday morning brunch, complete with a make-your-own-bloody mary bar. It could be the open kitchen jumping with live fire and young chefs wrangling large pieces of meat and fish. Maybe it's the pulled-pork sandwich with crunchy coleslaw and baked beans. But most likely, it's owner Chris Schlesinger's serious approach to having fun that makes the East Coast Grill a restaurant we're happy to head to—even if only to down a dozen briny, local oysters at the raw bar. 1271 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA eastcoastgrill.net.
Olives
It wasn't long ago that even parties of two were forced to wait in the long line that formed nightly outside Olives. These days, with a new reservations policy, getting in is a snap; even large groups can be accommodated—at either the communal table in the main dining groom or in the private room out back. The notoriously hearty dishes make for easy sharing. And the affable servers, who know the food and wine menus inside and out, can help your group navigate from tortelli of butternut squash pasta to crispy duck l'orange to vanilla bean soufflé. 10 City Square, Charlestown, MA cheftoddenglish.com.
Salts
"Quaint," "romantic," and "personal" describe many a bistro around here. But underrated Salts takes those attributes to a new level, due partly to its inn-in-the-French-countryside polish, but owing mostly to chef Gabriel Bremer's exquisite seasonal plates—roasted halibut with heirloom-potato gnocchi and dill emulsion; bergamot-cured ocean trout with breakfast radishes and pea greens—all teeming with ingredients from Salts' own organic farm. Order the duck for two, and a hush falls over the dining room as it's presented whole at your table. 798 Main St., Cambridge, MA 2139, saltsrestaurant.com.
Toro
A truly great brunch must hit four marks: a tasty and varied menu, a strong bar, a relaxed atmosphere, and outdoor seating. Over the past year, South End tapas joint Toro boosted its performance on the food-and-beverage front (it had already aced the chill mood and the patio), adding a selection of tapas and pinchos—tortilla Espanola, yellowfin crudo, etc.—to its regular lineup of vanilla-bourbon-banana French toast and huevos rancheros. It also hired bar manager Courtney Bissonnette (hubby is chef Jamie) to jazz up the cocktails. By so doing, Toro has cracked, poached, and scrambled its more conventional challengers. 1704 Washington St., Boston, MA 2118, toro-restaurant.com.
Clear Flour Bread
Flour, water, yeast, salt. Four lowlier ingredients are hard to imagine—as are the heights to which they can rise in the hands of master bakers like Clear Flour's husband-and-wife owners, Abe Faber and Christy Timon. Now in its third decade, their family shop turns out character-rich, deeply authentic European-style breads (pungent vollkornbrot, grassy sourdough) for Oleana, Toro, and other leading restaurants, as well as for a devoted walk-in clientele. Clinching the win is Clear Flour's metro location, which puts all this yeasty goodness within easy reach of carb-starved Bostonians. 178 Thorndike St., Brookline, MA 2446, clearflourbread.com.
La Provence
Those smug Concord so-and-sos. It's not enough they've got bragging rights on historic charm and sterling schools; they also get La Provence and its viands par excellence coming and going. Located opposite the commuter rail station, this longtime French bakery-café sees commuters off to work with spiraling golden croissants and buttery brioches, while in the evening it sends them home with herbes de Provence rotisserie chickens and tender salmon in champagne sauce. Top dessert pick? The jaw-droppingly rich gateau Concorde. Talk about having your cake! 105 Thoreau St., Concord, MA 1742, .
Dante
Don't be misled by the hotel setting: Dante de Magistris is no banquet chef. Since opening his eponymous restaurant at the Royal Sonesta two years ago, de Magistris has found his voice (part Italian homeboy, part fancypants chef) and now fully expresses it in imaginative dishes like duck ragu accented with sour cherries, and striped bass with fava beans and Meyer lemon. Formal European training gave him discipline and technique, which means the pasta and fish are perfectly cooked and every sauce is fresh. Oh, and the view, across the Charles to downtown Boston, is priceless. 40 Edwin H Land Blvd, Cambridge, MA 2141, restaurantdante.com.