Globe Spotlight Team
The Boston Globe Spotlight Team, whose Pulitzer Prize-worthy coverage of the archdiocesan sex scandal was earth-shattering journalism at its and a return to the kind of aggressive investigative reporting that is badly needed in this town after years of newspaper "exposés" about such easy targets as crooked small-town building inspectors and ticket scalpers outside Fenway Park (no, really?)
Ted Kennedy
Whether it's delivering the pork, hiking the minimum wage, extending health care benefits to the poor, or working behind the scenes on the Fleet-BankBoston merger and the Patriots stadium deal, our hyperactive senior senator hasn't stopped running for reelection since 1994. Which is why, come next year, his Republican challenger-whoever the poor fool may be—will be wearing a blindfold, smoking a cigarette, and saying his last words.
There were so many of them, right? But if we had to choose, it was the night a grinch at the Globe scratched a mustache on a news photo of Governor Dukakis. Either that, or when Globe reporter Bella English wrote a heart-tugger about Boston tenants who were being victimized by condo spectators, only to learn later from a column by the Herald's Norma Nathan that the tenants in the Globe story resided in a building owned by Globe star reporter Ben Bradlee, Jr., and his wife, Martha, Channel 5's chief correspondent.
Coelho Contracting
In slightly less than a decade in business, Emanuel Coelho's firm has painted hundreds of houses around Boston. The secret of its success boils down to that magical combination rarely seen in contractors: top-quality workmanship—backed by a five-year, no-chip warranty—and a rate that leaves clients with a little extra cash for other home-improvement projects. 14 William St., Medford, MA 2155, .
Ann Romney, aka Mrs. Mitt Romney
During an up-close and personal interview with the Boston Globe, Romney attempted to strike a chord of cloth-coat, log-cabin Republicanism while recalling the family's lean years in Belmont, when her husband was attending Harvard Law. "We had no income except the stock we were chipping away at," she confessed. "We were living on the edge, not entertaining." Imagine.
Tiffany Von
No one encapsulates the “fine art” photography style of atmospheric, painterly perfection better than Tiffany Von Noronha. Although she’s been cultivating national clientele with weddings in far-off destinations and appearances in Martha Stewart Weddings, the Boston-based virtuoso is still right at home in the Hub’s finest indoor and outdoor venues — effortlessly capturing moments and details in romantic, unposed shots you’ll want to hang on your wall forever. tiffanyvon.com.
Revelry
Looking for a party? Follow chef Brian Ledet’s food truck — covered in harle- quin diamonds in the Mardi Gras colors of purple, gold, and green — when it pops up at Boston-area breweries or city parks. One taste of the New Orleans transplant’s spicy jambalaya, red beans and rice with fried chicken, andouille sausage gumbo, or barbecue-shrimp po’ boys, and you’ll swear you can suddenly hear Bourbon Street jazz bands all the way from the Greenway. Boston, MA revelryboston.com.
Marie Galvin Millinery
If you didn’t wear a Marie Galvin number to this hat-dotted luncheon to benefit the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, were you even there? Now that Party in the Park is officially back after a COVID hiatus, so too are the Boston milliner’s whimsical hats and fascinators, adorned with delicate orchids, sculptural bows, and other look-at-me accents. 450 Harrison Ave. #1, Boston, MA 02118, mariegalvin.com.
Nightshade Noodle Bar
Rachel Miller rode into Boston on a bus as a teen with nothing but a bike. These days, she’s blazing new trails with electrifying French-Vietnamese-inspired seafood fusion. Once a pop-up, Nightshade now offers tasting menus showcasing wild combos like crispy surf clams with tomato-ranch sauce, and glass-noodle “puttanesca” tossed with anchovies, squid, and fermented black beans. Miller’s newest endeavor: Sin City Superette, a neighborhood grocery with equally offbeat prepped foods and pantry essentials. 73 Exchange St., Lynn, MA 1901, nightshadenoodlebar.com.
Brattle Theatre
After 65 years of bringing movie magic to Harvard Square, this repertory theater has left us with memories as cinematic as any scene projected onto the screen: Where else could we see John Hodgman introduce The Dead Zone, snicker at Trash Night’s grade-Z dreck, and experience David Lynch’s Lost Highway in 35mm—all in the same month? Harvard alum Natalie Portman must feel the same way, given that she chose the Brattle to stage her Boston Calling Film Festival. 40 Brattle St., Cambridge, MA 02138, brattlefilm.org.
Henry + Mac
Nationally recognized for her diverse portfolio, Dana Tavares has cemented herself in the highest tier of wedding photographers. The UMass grad—who runs Henry + Mac alongside her husband, Zak—pulls no punches with her documentarian style and approach, favoring gorgeously framed, naturally lit moments over gimmicky filters and poses at every event she photographs. A traditional black-tie fete at the Boston Public Library? An intimate, winter-night ceremony? A sun-soaked destination celebration in Mexico? If there’s love to capture, Henry + Mac’s photography is always the answer. henryandmac.com.
Serenella
To say that owner Leslee Shupe is dialed into the European fashion scene is an understatement: She first heard about rising Italian star Marco de Vincenzo from her friend Silvia Fendi (yes, that Fendi). As expected, the neat racks of Shupe’s shops on Newbury Street and Nantucket are flush with buzzy designers from abroad, including Cédric Charlier, Hervé L. Leroux, and Marni (even the German-made floral Birkenstocks Shupe had this summer were impossibly chic). If you need further proof of Serenella’s " it" factor, consider the fact that it’s the only Boston store featured on FarFetch, a curated online marketplace for independent high-end boutiques. 134 Newbury St., Boston; and 9B S. Beach St., Nantucket, serenella-boston.com.
Tim Maslow, Strip-T's, Ribelle
When Tim Maslow arrived in Boston from New York a few years ago to overhaul his father’s Watertown café, he made waves with his brash flavors and witty presentations—so much so that local food fiends fretted that his success might take him back to the Big Apple. Then came the August 2013 debut of the modern-Italian Ribelle, with its dry-aged meats, hand-rolled pastas, and clever panelle sliders. In short? It seems Maslow is in it for the long haul—and our dining scene is all the better for it. Strip-T's, 93 School St., Watertown; Ribelle, 1665 Beacon St., Brookline, stripts.com.
Cheryl Richards
Simply lining up the members of the bridal party by height is not Richards's style, which is more akin to photojournalism than traditional wedding photography. She captures every moment in dramatic black and white, from a miniature ring bearer playing peekaboo over a wing chair to a bride's quiet moment of contemplation. The resulting images might seem more at home in a gallery than on a coffee table. Maybe that's why Richards has flown as far away as Poland to document the special days of the rich and the famous—and why it's a good thing for Boston newlyweds that she spends most of her time on this side of the Atlantic. 247 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
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.