Exhale
Many day spas promise an escape from city life, but none delivers like Exhale. The two-story, Zen-like space alone is enough to set stress on standby, what with its hushed hallways and dimly lit treatment rooms. Choose from a full-service spa menu (we like the four-hand harmony massage), take a yoga or core fusion class, and let the courteous staff soothe and smooth your worries away. 28 Arlington St., Boston, MA exhalespa.com.
Rubin's Kosher Restaurant Delicatessen
Sure, the sandwiches are just as good at Michael's Deli, located half a mile down Harvard Street, but what sets Rubin's apart is the atmosphere. Step inside, eavesdrop on the old frummers a booth over, and chomp into a half-sour pickle, and you'll feel transported back to a time when ordering corned beef, pastrami, or chopped liver stacked to the moon on rye didn't make you despair for your cardiovascular system—it just made you very, very happy. 500 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 2446, rubinsboston.com.
Lucky's Lounge
A lounge used to be a place where you could mingle with strangers and tie one on at any time of day. Now it's usually just home to overdressed scenesters and overpriced drinks. But Lucky's is a throwback to the glory days. A speakeasy-style bar with dim lighting, vintage leather booths, and walls covered in Rat Pack photos, it's an ode to the three-martini lunch era. 355 Congress St., South Boston, MA 2210, luckyslounge.com.
Giuliano Day Spa
When your fast-track life has you ragged at the edges, check into Giuliano's for some serious self-indulgence. They'll paint your toes, trim your locks, lather your face with soothing muds, and massage your weary back with fragrant oils (by candlelight!). You'll emerge ready to do battle again—or, better yet, go out on the town. 338 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
Blue
Soothing shades in gray and blue (of course) set the tone at this cool-but-comfortable salon. And color here is indeed the key: Owner Paula Donovan and her diligently trained staff blend cutting-edge systems (Bumble & Bumble is the mainstay) with down-to-earth reality checks. (Few in Lexington want magenta hair, no matter how great it looked in W.) The result is always glamorous—but tasteful—tresses. 10 Muzzey St., Lexington, MA blueacompletehairsalon.com.
Jamaica Plain Women's Flag Football Association
You can't get much more physical than this intramural league that takes over Jamaica Plain's English High field each fall. In the four years of its existence, the league has grown to include more than 150 women in two divisions (including some fierce straight girls), and been responsible for not a few off-the-field passes. Make no mistake, these girls come to score, and the bruises they get are real. But the tradition of post-game brews at Doyle's goes a long way toward soothing the pain. E-mail jpwff1@hotmail.com for more information, MA .
Lost World
It doesn't get much stupider than this— or more absorbing. Club into the booth and fire at the lizardy dino-creatures from the movie. Coolest moment: When T-Rex emerges out of the dewy fog, plucks you out of the Land Rover in its teeth, and shakes the bejesus out of your animated persona. Messiest moment: When the herbivores smother you in steamy feces. Jillian's, 145 Ipswich St., Boston, MA .
Luxlash
Brow shaping may seem like a skill you can pick up from the average beauty mag. Alas—overplucked arches as our witness—it's not. The pros at LuxLash advise clients on the style that will most flatter their face, and then use wax, tweezers, and even hair extensions to create it. Thanks to cushy furnishings and Billie Holiday warbling in the background, the experience is surprisingly relaxing. Even more soothing is knowing you'll never have to endure growing out a do-it-yourself disaster again. 232 Newbury St., Boston, MA luxlash.com.
Meritage Entertainment
A good DJ can get everyone from your three-year-old nephew to your great grandmother on the dance floor. Meritage Entertainment’s impressive lineup of DJs pride themselves on reading the room and getting the party started with hits, throwbacks, and all of your super-specific “must-plays” in between. Not only can they please the masses with great tunes, but they can also provide colorful uplights to set the mood and a GIF photo booth to capture all of the fun. meritagedj.com.
Noshaba Apothecary
An herbalist and medical aesthetician by trade, Omosefe Ozigbo understands the healing power of botanicals better than most, drawing inspiration from Indigenous traditions and ancient modalities around the world to create her small-batch, hand-mixed elixirs. Many of Noshaba’s products include extracts from African marigolds, whose oils can repair cellular damage and soothe dry skin; if the fact that Ozigbo grows — and harvests, and presses — the flowers from scratch isn’t dedication to creating high-quality clean skin care, we don’t know what is. noshaba.co.
Delphin's Gourmandise
We loved this fabulous pastry shop when it was only in Marblehead. We love it even more now that it has opened a second shop in Brookline. The chausson aux pommes (apple turnover) is incredible. 1336 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA .
Vizio Optic
Squint through those frumpy, outdated spectacles of yours and take a good look around this sleek Brookline Village shop. You'll readily appreciate the cache of 1,000 or so designer frames, dotted with cult brands (Kamuro, Kata) and European faves (Face Face, Lafont). You'll admire optometrist-owner Galina Rabkin's staff of brainy-chic glamazons. And you'll absolutely obsess over the one-of-a-kind photo booth providing a 360-degree view of how various pairs of glasses work with your face—something that, while it might seem gimmicky, can save hours of agonizing in hindsight. 11 Harvard St., Brookline, MA 2445, viziooptic.com.
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.
Rialto
Chef Jody Adams is clearly a romantic: Her menu is loaded with graceful, elegant dishes that can make even the most stoic diner swoon. Her refined palate is tempered with whimsy, and all ingredients are procured locally. Favorite dishes: Grilled lamb chops in pomegranate molasses; lobster fricasse with fresh corn; coconut and passion fruit Napoleon with caramel rum sauce. In addition to the New American food, the restaurant also has very professional service, a sexy backlit bar area with cushy booths, tango dancing lessons every Thursday night, and nearby rooms in the Charles Hotel in which to discreetly retire. 1 Bennett Street, Cambridge, MA rialto-restaurant.com.
Carambola
The same team that brought use the Elephant Walk's mix of French-Cambodian fare has been quietly churning out straight, serious, and superlative Cambodian dishes for years in Waltham. Focusing on fish, noodles, rice, and vegetables, the kitchen does wonderse with simple classics like trey dhomrei (sautéed white fish with pineapple, peas, and basil) and curries packed with exotic fresh vegetables. Portions are large, prices are reasonable, and the patient waitstaff will walk neophytes through the finer points of Cambodian cuisine. Between the frescoed, peach-hued walls and geometric, inverted light fixtures, the room hits just the right point between modern and soothing. 663 Main St., Waltham, MA .