Coach Mike MIlbury of Boston College
He never got to leave his unique personal stamp on the place. The poor guy wasn't there long enough even to hit somebody in the head with his shoe.
Boston College Student Sports Complex
New and clean and complete—if you want better, you'll have to go to Jyväskylä, Finland. off Beacon St., Newton, MA .
"Boston Romance Package" at The Bostonian Hotel
Canopy beds, Jacuzzis for two, fireplaces in many of the rooms, lush bathrobes, a continental breakfast, champagne, and a horse-drawn-carriage ride through the city make a weekend here a perfect way to celebrate a new relationship—or toast an old one. North and Blackstone streets, Boston, MA .
Cate McQuaid, <em>Boston Globe</em>
Covering both the galleries and the small exhibition spaces, McQuaid's reviews are insightful, enthusiastic, and deeply serious. Boston artists know she's out there, and they know she cares.
Boston Nature Center & Wildlife Sanctuary
A summer camp for kids and a natural oasis for everyone else, this 67-acre property boasts miles of trails and boardwalks, as well as the Clark-Cooper Community Gardens. massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/wildlife-sanctuaries/boston-nature-center.
AMC Loews Boston Common 19
This centrally located mega-multiplex is chock full of big-budget luxuries. The semireclining seats are roomy enough for even the most ample popcorn-fed tushes. The monstrous screens do justice to even the most audacious CGI effects. The sound systems pump more decibels at audiences than Logan's runways do at Eastie residents. And if one show is sold out, there'll be another screening starting down the hall in five minutes. 175 Tremont St., Boston, MA amctheaters.com.
John Aloysius Farrell, <em>Boston Globe</em>
Despite the pompous triple-barreled byline (does anybody at the Globe not have a middle name?), Farrell has written some of the smartest, sharpest, and most stylish stuff on the presidential campaign trail.
YMCA of Greater Boston, Central Branch
Yes, we know it's the Y. But you can't beat a nonprofit organization for inexpensive dues, and the Huntington Avenue YMCA has more amenities—and a more interesting clientele—than most gyms in the area. 316 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA .
FleetBoston's "customer service initiative."
Translation: Fleet was forced to spend $150 million improving customer service after ranking second to last among the nation's 20 largest banks in a Consumer Reports survey of customer satisfaction, and dead last in a poll of corporate reputation by American Banker.
Gerald O'Neill, <em>Boston Globe</em>
He's back as head of the Spotlight Team, where he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1972. His touch was evident in the malpractice series—Spotlight's best in years.
The Boston College men's basketball team
From the elite eight to losing their troubled blue-chip recruit in one year. Already a "where are they now?" trivia question.
Bisq at Time Out Market Boston
There’s no secret ingredient in chef Alex Sáenz’s juicy, crispy fried chicken: It’s a simple flour coating. One bite and you’ll refuse to believe it, but it’s really all in the technique. A potato bun, bread-and-butter pickles, and ranch round things off for the sandwich form of his famous chicken. 401 Park Dr., Fenway, MA 02215, timeoutmarket.com/boston/eat-and-drink/bisq.
The "10 Miles West of Boston" Incident
HBO’s 2023 series The Last of Us depicted a present-day dystopian Boston in which the North End was a heavily militarized quarantine zone, and Quincy Market was a wasteland of fungal zombies. But the post-apocalyptic storyline required a greater suspension of disbelief in the third episode, when an establishing shot identified a coniferous forest landscape and steep mountain range as “10 Miles West of Boston.” The Internet wasn’t having it. As one local cracked on Twitter, “I [love] to take my family skiing in the mountain wilderness of Waltham.”