Laughing Monk Café
A restaurant half-dedicated to Thai cuisine probably isn’t the likeliest candidate for the best sushi in Boston. Then again, chef Nick Korboon has earned a quietly dedicated following exactly for his convention-flouting finesse, with rolls featuring brown rice and plenty of creativity. With luck, for instance, you’ll find the Bangkok Dynamite—shrimp tempura, soft-shell crab, chili paste, jalapeño, and lemongrass—in the daily changing omakase, which always offers big bang for its buck. 737 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, laughingmonkcafe.com.
The Newbury Boston
What better place to celebrate your future than in a glamorous ballroom steeped in Boston’s past? When the former Taj reopened in 2021, the 1927 landmark building was reimagined as the Newbury Boston, complete with updates to the hotel’s storied party spaces. Book the Assembly Ballroom for thoughtfully preserved crystal chandeliers, silver-leaf-adorned ceilings, and dramatically draped, floor-to-ceiling windows that frame sweeping Public Garden views. 1 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116, thenewburyboston.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.
A Few Good Girls
Kids have so few good role models in the entertainment industry today. A Few Good Girls, a four-woman hip-hop dance group from Boston and Newton, is dedicated to dancing—and to promoting positive image.
Boston Bowl
Fifty glistening lanes which resound with pin thunder twenty-four hours a day. Donny Graham, the sports editor of the Washington Post has been known to make mid-night excursions to this candlepin paradise. 820 Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester, MA .
The Evans Wing
It took four years and $11.5 million, but the Evans Wing is back and packed with 700 fine European and American paintings, including works of such masters as Renoir, Monet, Picasso, O'Keeffe, and Pollock. The MFA, Boston, MA .
Pizza Pie-er
Fresh mozzarella. Sun-dried tomatoes. Anchovies, chicken, pineapple, ham. Green olives, green peppers. Black olives, red peppers. Asparagus, zucchini, artichoke hearts. Prosciutto, spinach, walnuts...and, oh yeah—they've also got four kinds of crust and 11 sauces. Good luck. 182 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA 2115, pizzapieer.com.
Eyestarr
The only downside to fake lashes is that they often look, well, fake. But when Andrea Starr is the one painstakingly applying length to our lids, we believe. After an appointment with the former LuxLash manager, you'll enjoy your new fringe for four to six weeks with minimal maintenance and nary a mascara tube in sight. 170 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 2116, eyestarr.com.
Crane Beach
Four miles of white sand, more than 200 species of birds, and awesome striper fishing in the flats. And, if you have a boat, you can get to the backside, an unpopulated part of the beach that stretches on so far, you'll feel like you're at the edge of the earth. Argilla Road, Ipswich, MA .
The Boston Phoenix
"Cardinal Sin" by Kristen Lombardi in the Boston Phoenix, March 23, 2001, which reported four months before the Globe that the court had sealed documents related to whether Cardinal Bernard Law knew in 1984 about Geoghan and did not remove him.
The Daily Stroll
JIM BRUECKNER Sign up your four-legged friend for 30-to-60-minute walks that avoid toxic ice melt in the winter and hot pavement in the summer; off-leash pup playgroups; or daycare, where they’ll enjoy lounging on couches and playing with toys. Your dog will come home tired but happy and ready to snuggle. thedailystrollllc.com.
Drew Bledsoe
He has a running back who blew out his knee, an owner who likes to vamp it up in front of the fans, a head coach with the personality of a suburban recreation director, and a personnel director who lost four starts to free agency and came a cropper in the college draft. You think you've got problems?
Citizen Public House & Oyster Bar
Citizen Pub is still pouring the same vertiginously deep rosters of rye, bourbon, scotch and Irish whiskey with the same precise connoisseurship, ambassadorial exuberance, and jaunty Japanese ice spheres as it did when it opened four years ago, back when vodka swilling still held sway. Welcome to the dark side. 1310 Boylston St., Boston, MA 2215, citizenpub.com.
St. Cloud
Brooks Brothers skirts, Louis shirts, white leather boots, and black funk. What do they have in common? You can see 'em all at the St. Cloud bar, where anybody and everybody feels at home nibbling an appetizer or scarfing down a four-course dinner, even at midnight. 557 Tremont St., Boston, MA .