Gentle Giant Moving Company
You know your movers can get the job done when they train by running the steps of Harvard Stadium together and rowing crew alongside Olympics-qualified colleagues. Strongman tactics aside, this Somerville-founded company, now with 20 locations nationwide, is well known for its ultra-reliable service (which includes, not surprisingly, a gentle hand with valued belongings) as well as convenient climate-controlled storage and packing services. We also love its commitment to the environment: Gentle Giant reuses moving supplies whenever possible, recycles up to 100,000 pounds of materials each year, and uses only biodegradable foam peanuts. gentlegiant.com.
Fête Collection
The wedding invitation is the first thing your guests see — so you want to make sure it sets the right tone. That’s where Julie Pike and Eileen Sherman come in. After an initial meeting at their sparkling new studio on Newbury Street, the duo can masterfully transform a couple’s inspiration — be it a special location, memory, or motif — into a bespoke stationery suite that’s truly unique. Prefer to select your stationery the old-fashioned way? Fête also has a library of wedding designs — replete with letterpress, foil stamping, and engraving — that can be customized with special touches. 222 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116, shopfete.com.
<em>The Donkey Show</em>
Follow the glitter trail to Oberon, where nearly every weekend, a blizzard of pixie dust transforms the cabaret into an immersive disco inferno. This lamé-and-polyester-sheathed version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream—an ode to both the Bard and Studio 54—may have launched in New York, but its 2009 revival in Cambridge gave it new life: After throwing 800-plus dance parties in the venue (christened in honor of the show’s Shakespearean fairy king turned sleazy nightlife impresario), it’s clear this disco is far from dead. 2 Arrow St., Cambridge, MA 02138, americanrepertorytheater.org/oberon.
Christina's
Partisans know Christina's does weird very, very well. Honey-lavender? Refreshing. Kaffir lime? Luscious. What truly sets it apart, however, is its finesse with more-familiar flavors, like coffee, pistachio, even vanilla—not to mention a frozen chocolate mousse that's better, and cheaper, than any we've found on a restaurant dessert menu. Our favorite scoop, peanut butter chip, is so thick and creamy you half want to eat it with a knife and fork, though in the end the standard cone does the job nicely. 1255 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 2139, christinasicecream.com.
India Samraat
While lachha paratha, kadahi paneer, and the other spice-redolent dishes at this 17-year-old Back Bay outpost may be a challenge to pronounce, none are a struggle to polish off. Saffron basmati rice and steaming onion naan accompany curried meat and vegetable dishes; the tandoori chicken, often too dry elsewhere, is packed with savory juices. The gilded decor is a tad kitschy, so if an abundance of drapes and mirrors isn't exactly your thing, there's the option of delivery. Just remember to order early, as weekend nights bring wait times of up to an hour and a half. 51A Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA indiasamraat.com.
Neptune Oyster
To indulge in the enormous portion of oysters, crab claws, and lobster that seem to have emerged directly from the sea, you must first earn your place at the table: Add your name to the list. Throw cutthroat glances at the interlopers attempting to jump the line. Snuggle up to those beside you, since you'll soon be banging elbows while hoisting oysters to your lips. Once seated, go ahead and savor every briny slurp and satisfying crack of the claw, all while giving the folks still in line a supportive nod, that yes, it is worth waiting for. 63 Salem St., Boston, MA 2113, neptuneoyster.com.
Anne-Cecile Curot
Our poor pores are no strangers to painful excavations, or to being smothered in flowery-smelling goo. That's why they haven't quit thanking us since we introduced them to Anne-Cécile Curot, spa director at Marc Harris's new Financial District location. A Bella Santé alum, this cheery Frenchwoman delivers what we once thought impossible: After an hour on her table, our complexion was the softest, clearest, and most line-free it's been since before puberty (and spring chickens, we are not). Better yet, her ultralight touch and gentle organic products from Rhonda Allison left us feeling blissed out, not roughed up. Salon Marc Harris, 125 Broad St., Boston, MA 2110, .
Grand Opening
A sex boutique, without the emphasis on booty, tucked like a Venus charm inside Brookline's kosher bosom. Owner Kim Airs gets a lot of press (see our profile of her in the June issue) since she also offers fun instructional classes ("Spanky and Our Gang," "Bi Bi Love, Bi Bi Happiness"), yet her shop feels as threatening as Bloomingdale's. For breadth of porn, try what's left of the Combat Zone. For choice literary erotica, lubes, "body treats," and the city's perkiest wall of stand-ins for the male member, this is the place. 318 Harvard St., Suite 32, Brookline, MA .
Dress Rehearsal
A visit to a consignment store should feel like a romp through a fashionista's closet, not a garage sale free-for-all. Dress Rehearsal has all the goods and none of the riffraff. From Chanel suits and Louis Vuitton bags to BCBG shoes and Diesel jeans, the eclectic but posh selection of women's clothing can keep any wardrobe fresh. It may not be the largest Newbury Street store of its kind, but quality beats quantity when it comes to designer duds. Plus, the staff is easygoing when you want to browse, but quick to offer an opinion on how to bring together an outfit should you ask. 252 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
Blue Ginger
Asian-influences fusion cuisine has made it to the suburbs. This time around, it is being done with intelligence, restraint, and style, in this case by Ming Tsai, a Yale-educated, French-trained Chinese chef who was a pacesetter in San Francisco and Santa Fe before coming East. Star of a 40-part series on the TV Food Network, Tsai mixes Western (mainly French) and Eastern (mostly Chinese, with a little Japanese thrown in). The resulting dishes, like the fabulous Long Island duck breast marinated with achiote pepper, candied ginger, thyme, and garlic, should be enough to get even the most devoted urbanite to venture out to Wellesley. 583 Washington St., Wellesley, MA .
Emma's Pizza
Yo-Yo Ma has been known to scarf a slice, as has man-with-much-free-time Bill Weld. Sure, they live next door, but fans from far and near flock to Emma's. And even though the autocratic Emma is long gone from this Cambridge takeout fixture— she used to dictate that no pizza could have two meats— Emma's still makes the best thin-crust pie in town. Order early, especially on weekends, when it's a good idea to call at noon for an 8 p.m. pickup. 370 Huron Ave., Cambridge, MA .
Ritz-Carlton Dining Room
Good-for-you health food at the ritzy old Ritz? It's our guess that as successful babyboomers start to sag, they head back to their root vegetables for rejuvenation. But don't be fooled, the days of bland brown rice and tepid tofu are long gone. Take, for example, a Vegetarian Primavera with Roasted Bell Pepper Coulis or delicious Crab Cakes with Pickled Plum Sauce and Braised Napa Cabbage. After a macrobiotic lunch you'll have the energy (and the slim waist) to shop your way down Newbury Street. The menu changes weekly and it's $29 prix fixe for a three-course lunch or dinner. 15 Arlington Street, Boston, MA .
Dyke Night, Midway Café
Not that there's much competition in these parts, but Thursday night at the Midway Café is the place to see and be seen in the lesbian community. With a cowgirl aesthetic and more dykes than Holland in the rainy season, the scene is something like a tea dance after a couple of tequila shooters. Expect to see your ex-girlfriend, her new girlfriend, and your new girlfriend's ex—who once dated your recently out former roommate. After slugging down a few Red Stripes and grooving to the house, funk, and chick pop, you'll feel like you're all a part of the same mixed-up family. 3496 Washington St., Jamaica Plain, MA midwaycafe.com.
Moki
Go ahead and throw a bathing suit on under that heavy down coat — the Nordic sauna experience is here, and it’s fabulous. Come fall, this pop-up “village” on the Rose Kennedy Greenway will once again offer brave bathers their choice of three wood-fired saunas heated between 170 and 190 degrees (when it’s snowing out, that kind of heat feels juuust right) and a cedar-barrel cold plunge kept around 45 degrees. Can’t wait till the colder weather to get your outdoor sauna on? Good news: Moki’s hanging out in Mashpee through October. Multiple locations, MA mokisauna.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.