Dbar
Dorchester has become a hub for Boston's gay scene, with Dbar at the center of it all. From Showtunes Tuesdays to Magnum Saturdays (you'll have to see for yourself), there's always something happening at this Dot. Ave. hot spot. The Christopher Coombs-inspired menu and deftly crafted cocktail list are all the fuel you need to dance into the wee hours when the restaurant transitions into a nightclub. 1236 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester, MA 02125, dbarboston.com.
Bodega
This Back Bay boutique is famous for stocking Boston's most fashionable array of kicks. Choose from the latest lines of Nike, Converse, Reebok, and Vans, plus plenty of special-edition hats and graphic tees. The shopping experience, like the inventory, defines what it means to be hip in the Hub: Bodega is pet-friendly and regularly showcases paintings by local artists. 6 Clearway St., Boston, MA 2115, shop.bdgastore.com.
Eastern Bakers Supply
Need a springform pan for a mile-high cheesecake? Eastern Bakers has Boston's broadest, deepest, and widest inventory for baking, pastry-making, and all breeds of professional supplies. This is the place that the professionals turn to, from pots and pans to doo-dads like pastry nozzels, pastry brushes, brioche molds, rolling pins, and paring knives. It ain't pretty in there, but the place works. Ask for Al. His manner seems gruff, but it's a put-on. 145 North Washington St., Boston, MA .
Jim Horgan
Front Street's bar (260 Berkeley St., Boston) is a quiet, secure haven, protected by Horgan. A five-year veteran of the bartending wars of Boston and Cape Cod, Horgan knows his regulars and what they drink, and he protects their privacy. "This isn't a pickup bar," Horgan says. "People come here to relax. Single women come in by themselves and trust me to see they're left alone. People know that no one will bother them here." Front Street, 260 Berkely St., Boston, MA .
Tremont IPA
Enough with the fruit-and-berry recipes made by all those microbreweries that are (not coincidentally) going out of business left and right. Enough, too, with the endless seasonal brews—even the ones from Tremont. It's time to get back to basics, and the finest basic Boston beer is this one, with its malty, hoppy goodness and light copper hue, now on draft year round in the best Boston-area bars and available in bottles in and around town. MA
Duckworth's Bistrot
Before setting up shop in Gloucester, star chef Ken Duckworth gained invaluable training turning out classics like creamy wild mushroom soup and succulent Dover sole in Paris and at Boston's famed Maison Robert. The American desserts, such as peanut butter pie and cheesecake, are the vision of Duckworth's wife, Nicole, a self-trained pastry chef. Each dish, expertly executed and oozing with flavor, is testimony to the couple's passion for perfection. 197 E. Main St., Gloucester, MA 1930, duckworthsbistrot.com.
Nick Speros, Soma
Speros has run his own restaurant (Gloucester's 197 East Main) and hopped around Boston's top kitchens (Radius and Armani Café) but it wasn't until Soma that he developed a distinctive personal style. Encouraged by fellow Grecian and owner Nik Paras, Speros has embraced his roots, turning out dishes like beet and bean salad with ;skordalia, a Greek garlic sauce, and rare steak salad tossed with yellow wax beans. It's all Greek to us—and it all makes delicious sense. 256 Cabot St., Beverly, MA 1915, somabeverly.com.
Bill Rodgers's
Last December, the Boston Marathoner went to the Globe with a sob story about how evil Bank of Boston was foreclosing on his happy Dover home to settle a bank loan to Rodgers's running-goods store. Lo and behold, four months later, Rodgers announced that the bank had given him a fair price on his home and had signed him to a personal-services contract. Hmmm.
MIT List Visual Arts Center
About every eight weeks, from September to June, the LVAC shows innovative, provocative contemporary work in all media by established and emerging artists, including the likes of Kiki Smith and Louise Borugeois. There are a total of three gallery spaces—more than 4,600 square feet—in this grid-patterned building, designed by MIT alumnus I. M. Pei in 1985. And the atrium, where a giant, colorful Kenneth Nolan painting sprawls across an entire wall, is by far one of Boston's most beautiful sanctuaries. 20 Ames St., Cambridge, MA .
Camden
Boston's answer to the Strokes was spawned at Northeastern when undergrad Jason Bergman joined up with three classmates (Timmy Miles, Jason Sibilia, and Jim Williamson) to form Camden in 2010. This rocking, Stones-influenced quartet has an impressive following at Great Scott, and a few self-pressed vinyl releases to its name. See them now, before they explode: They're in the studio working on a jazzier full-length album, expected to be released by spring 2013.
Tom Frick
The Massachusetts review editor for Art New England, he began reviewing shows for the prestigious Art in America about a year ago. Since then, he has gained a reputation as Boston's brightest reviewer and something of a cut following among artists and museum curators. (Honorable mention to Nancy Stapen, whose reviews in the Herald have raised the profile of the local arts scene.)
SpeakEasy Stage
From their home at the Boston Center for the Arts, the folks at SpeakEasy manage to do it all, regularly hosting Boston and New England premieres, staging crowd-pleasing productions, and reaching out with socially conscious theater, including Allegiance, about a Japanese-American family held in a World War II internment camp. The upcoming season promises an even more engaging, eclectic lineup, with School Girls, a self-described "African Mean Girls play" about a boarding school in Ghana; The View UpStairs, a glam-rock musical set in a 1970s New Orleans gay bar; and a staging of the Tony-winning show Once. Stanford Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St., Boston, MA 02116, speakeasystage.com.
By Chloe
Sounds like virtue, tastes like vice: That's the MO of By Chloe, the quick-service vegan empire that's winning hearts, minds, and Instagram feeds with its sinfully sloppy portobello-and-seitan barbecue sandwiches. Don't be fooled by the Roald Dahl-grade whimsy (beet ketchup? kale ice cream?). In both taste and texture, these creations manage to soar over the uncanny valley where so many other faux meats have crashed and burned—our favorite being a smoky shiitake bacon that even shatters the way real bacon does. 107 Seaport Blvd., Boston; 100 Van Ness St., Boston; eatbychloe.com. 107 Seaport Blvd., Boston, MA 02210, eatbychloe.com.
Grettacole
One of Boston's newest and most talked-about spas, Grettacole boasts a staff that is petite, blonde, and warm—and an impressive services-to-square-foot ratio. Need a pedicure, facial massage, haircut, and makeup application? With such one-stop shopping, you'll be there long enough for the friendly staff to order your lunch from a neighboring cafe. Tired of aestheticians who spend half the session out of the room? While your masque is drying, they'll massage your feet. The product range is impressive, but there's no hard sell. Another big plus: There are no downtown parking travails. 300 Boylston St., Atrium Mall, Chestnut Hill, MA .
Ginza Restaurant
Bright lights, big sushi. These are Ginza's trademarks—even after Boston's bedtime. This Chinatown mainstay is open until 4 a.m. on the weekends, luring hungry night owls with plentiful portions and a frenetic table-hopping scene. Behind the sushi bar, chefs meticulously hand roll caterpillar and scorpion maki, while petite waitresses glide around in decorative black robes. The extensive menu lists sashimi, rice soups, noodles, and tempuras along with a well-chosen selection of beer and wine. For the ultimate Japanese sampler, try the Ginza Cruise. 16 Hudson St., Boston, MA ginza-boston.com.