Rowes Wharf Restaurant at the Boston Harbor Hotel
Jasper White's torch has been passed to chef Daniel Bruce. Many of the ingredients in your meal Bruce has either harvested, foraged, hooked, trapped, netted, and/or shot. Pass the Local Wild Mushrooms over Stoneground Cornmeal Polenta, please. 70 Rowes Wharf, Boston, MA .
Mayor Wu's Boston Symphony Orchestra Performance
How do you get to Symphony Hall? If you’re Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, the answer is the same as the old Carnegie joke: practice, practice, practice. A classical pianist who began taking lessons as a child and keeps an upright in her City Hall office, Wu commanded center stage at the BSO’s free “Concert for the City” in May, elegantly performing Mozart like no Boston public official in history.
Leonard Miller, Boston Center for Plastic Surgery
A licensed plastic surgeon with more than 25 years of experience, Leonard Miller is the perfect battle buddy in the war against gravity. And we’re not talking radical changes; he firmly believes that less is more. Miller specializes in subtle, natural-looking facial Botox that will have you looking healthy and well rested in just 10 minutes. 69 Newbury St., Boston; One Brookline Place, Brookline. 69 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116, bostoncenterforplasticsurgery.com.
Tasty Burger
Boston’s homegrown burger chain offers the perfect shake, too. The hand-spun delights — which come in varieties like classic vanilla, strawberry, and the peppermint “Green Monster” — are mixed from Tasty Burger’s own high-percentage milkfat base, yielding the richest, thickest shakes in town. Multiple locations, tastyburger.com.
East Meets West
This caterer has been a mainstay at Boston’s classiest affairs since 1989, for good reason: Its food is all over the map, in the best way. Proper salmon with dill? Taco buffet? Pork-belly sliders? There are no fixed menus or cookie-cutter ideas here; the only limit is your imagination. Best of all, the team behind East Meets West doesn’t stop with menu planning: With such deep industry ties, they’ll recommend just the right DJ, florist, and venue to suit your vision. eastmeetswestcatering.com.
European Watch Company
Collecting watches is like collecting cars: You can’t get very far without the right dealer. Thankfully, Boston’s timepiece aficionados have European Watch Company, whose cases are filled with coveted tickers from the likes of Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Rolex. In business since 1993, the Newbury Street gallery is a great place to trade in and trade up, with a constantly changing inventory of new, preowned, and vintage watches — many of them rare. 232 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116, europeanwatch.com.
Diana Rastegayeva, Massachusetts COVID Vaccination Help
Diana Rastegayeva of Massachusetts COVID Vaccination Help took us one step closer to vanquishing COVID by bringing together tech-challenged and underserved residents with volunteers who could help them navigate the formerly complex online vaccine-booking system. By early June, her team of Good Samaritans had booked more than 25,000 shots, making them some of Boston’s best community organizers.
The Haven
In Boston’s sea of rowdy, singles-filled Irish bars, this rare Scottish gastropub stands out as unique, friendly, and approachable—just like the ideal date. As its name suggests, the restaurant is an intimate place to get cozy by candlelight with your Tinder match over an extensive, icebreaker-friendly scotch list organized by region, as well as hard-to-find specialties like haggis and Scotland-born deep-fried Mars bars. With so much to talk about, conversation will flow as easily as the Belhaven beer on draft 2 Perkins St., Jamaica Plain, MA thehavenjp.com.
Piers Park
This hideaway on Eastie’s fringes isn’t easy to find, but the payoff is lovely: the most glorious views in the city. Promenade to the edge of the pier, recline on a park bench, and gaze at the skyline across the harbor. There are also plenty of shaded pavilions, signposts with information about East Boston’s immigrant history, and a well-maintained playground with soft surfaces for the kids. 95 Marginal St., Boston, MA 2128, massport.com.
Cusser's
No offense to the North Shore’s many landmark sandwich shops, but Boston’s Cusser’s is simply a cut above. Not only does the three-location outfit pile homemade onion rolls high with juicy pink slices of Wagyu beef, but the flagship Back Bay restaurant lets you pair a classic barbecue-sauced “three-way” with fancy-pants cocktails from local legend Todd Maul, who uses high-tech gadgets (a centrifuge, a blast freezer) to craft his top-shelf libations. 304 Stuart St., Boston, MA 02116, cussersboston.com.
Start at Friday's (26 Exeter St., Boston). Move to Daisy Buchanan's (240a Newbury St., Boston). Wind up at Division Sixteen (955 Boylston St., Boston).
MA
Club Café
In Boston’s admittedly somewhat limited gay club scene, Club Café is a standout for its commitment to being not just a nightspot, but also a queer gathering place: If you’re looking for an earlier evening, it’s a fine place to grab a bite, and on any given night of the week, you’ll find a plethora of events to enjoy—trivia, performers belting out Broadway standards. But make no mistake: There’s nothing quiet about an evening here. Get ready to dance. 209 Columbus Ave., Boston, MA 02116, clubcafe.com.
Wally's Café
This basement hole in the wall has been the cradle of some of Boston’s most killer jam sessions since it opened as New England’s first African-American–owned nightclub in 1947. Walk through its famous red door and you can feel the history: Generations of soon-to-be stars from the New England Conservatory and Berklee (such as a young Esperanza Spalding) have tested their chops before this discerning crowd. You never know who you might see before they become the next big thing. 427 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA wallysCafe.com.
Queeraoke at Midway Café
Covered in vinyl stickers and rainbow string lights, J.P.’s Midway Café looks like a classic dive bar, but it’s also the spot to sing your heart out every Thursday starting at 10 p.m. A favorite of Boston’s younger queer crowd—but welcoming to everyone—the evening starts with regulars crooning to ’90s and early-aughts hits and ends with wild dance parties. 3496 Washington St., Jamaica Plain, MA midwaycafe.com.
Frugal Bookstore
Looking to bolster your collection of anti-racist literature and books about the Black experience? This Nubian Square mainstay has you covered. But what makes owners Leonard and Clarrissa Egerton’s shop an irreplaceable part of Boston’s literary scene is its role as a hub for book groups and social gatherings where both authors and readers of color can feel welcome and be celebrated. Bostonians across the city are vowing to finally listen to Black voices—Frugal has been amplifying them for 12 years and counting. 57 Warren St., Roxbury, MA 02119, frugalbookstore.net.