Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club
Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club While it’s hard to unwind these days, this luxe resort is making it a little easier to get some much-needed R & R. Extra pre- cautions—including contactless golf-cart pickup, grocery-delivery service, and reduced capacity at pools and at Ocean Edge’s private beach—provide peace of mind, while new private experiences such as beach yoga and oyster tours make it easy to practice social distancing while giving the kiddos an unforgettable adven- ture. So go ahead, book that luxurious mansion suite. Boozy mudslides delivered straight to your beach chair await. 2907 Main St., Brewster, MA 02631, oceanedge.com.
Café Chew
Warm, comfortable, and blessed with a private garden, Café Chew is the sort of place that makes newcomers feel like regulars. Many ingredients, including the coffee and honey, are locally sourced; the pastries are made fresh by the in-house pastry chef; and the fare itself is exceptionally satisfying, despite—or perhaps because of—its simplicity. 4 Merchants Rd., Sandwich, MA 2563, cafechew.com.
Hot Locks
The Hot Locks staff knows hair—the salon's been at the mane game for nearly 20 years. Well-trained by co-owner Sonny Rapozo, the seven stylists deliver flattering cuts, natural color, and enticing extras like scalp massages and deep conditioning treatments (and after a week at the beach, who doesn't need one of those?). Go in for the works or a basic blowout that will leave your locks looking, well, hot. 580-B North Falmouth Highway (Rte. 28A), North Falmouth, MA 2556, hotlockssalon.com.
Ceraldi
A seven-course chef’s tasting — in Wellfleet, you say? Yes, it’s here, and yes, it’s 100 percent worth springing for. Chef Michael Ceraldi’s menu changes daily based on what’s available from the food purveyors surrounding him: That means one night you might find black-licorice ravioli with P-town diver lobster; another night monk-liver torchon with seaweed bagna cauda. Ceraldi, meanwhile, holds court at the center of this nightly dinner party, explaining each dish to diners at two seatings per evening as the consummate host. 15 Kendrick Ave., Wellfleet, MA 02667, ceraldicapecod.com.
Lone Star Taco Bar
Bacon-wrapped and smothered in refried beans, crema, and chipotle mustard, Lone Star’s over-the-top Sonoran dog tastes best around midnight—wonder why that is? In fact, the Mexican spot’s full menu of satisfying snacks—including house-made chorizo tacos, piquant chili con queso, and crispy tostadas—is available until 1:30 a.m. every night at both the Allston and Cambridge locations. Pair them with a hydrating Topo Chico mineral water, and you’ll thank yourself in the morning. Multiple locations. 479 Cambridge St., Allston, MA 02134, deepellum-allston.com/lonestar.
Trident Booksellers and Café
Sprinkler damage from a small fire in the winter of 2018 forced this Newbury Street fixture to close its doors for the first time in 34 years. When it finally reopened six months later, bookworms and café dwellers alike were relieved to find Trident’s thousands of books and diverse selection of international, national, and niche magazines placed neatly back on shelves. The reopening brought a fresh layout, too: With a revamped children’s area and additional first-floor café seating, lingering with a new read has never felt so good. 338 Newbury St., Boston, MA tridentbookscafe.com.
Toro
Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette have since added Toros in New York City, Bangkok, and Dubai, but a night out where it all began is as fun as ever. That’s thanks to Spanish wines that flow like water, sizzling garlic shrimp and crisp patatas bravas that grace nearly every table, and nostalgic tunes from the likes of the Beastie Boys and Lil’ Kim that keep spirits high (and conversations interesting) all night long. Please allow the requested 30 minutes for the top-notch paella Valenciana, packed with shellfish, sausage, and chicken—it’s worth the wait. 1704 Washington St., Boston, MA toro-restaurant.com.
Woods Hill Pier 4
Years after the Seaport building boom started, we finally have a restaurant patio worthy of the water’s-edge views: Restaurateur Kristin Canty’s splashy, sprawling, 92-seat terrace, where Miami swing meets New England ka-ching! There, the indoor/outdoor bar slings thirst-quenching cocktails infused with local ingredients—think foraged lavender or honey from Canty’s own beehives—that perfectly complement chef Charlie Foster’s day-to-night patio menu of farm-to-fork fare: say, lobster popovers or a Cubano sandwich made with ham from Woods Hill Farm in New Hampshire. 300 Pier Four Blvd., Boston, MA 02210, woodshillpier4.com.
Fuller Craft Museum
Don't let the name fool you: This Brockton institution isn't a musty warehouse of old quilts and wooden shoes. It's instead a showcase for contemporary handmade objets d'art, a place where sublime ceramics made at East Cambridge's Clay Dragon Studios sit beside burnished-aluminum mobiles inspired by the myth of Icarus. Later this year, the museum will unveil an intricate, kaleidoscopic survey of enamel art from the 1920s to the present day, and, most eye-catching of all, artist Stan Munro's massive replicas of such architectural wonders as the Taj Mahal and the White House—rendered entirely in toothpicks. 455 Oak St., Brockton, MA 02301, fullercraft.org.
Moxie Salon
After one look at our tired tresses, bubbly owner Kerry Zirpolo proposed an action plan (permanent dye, low-maintenance lob) that made us feel understood, not pushed. She even gave us a nook to peck away at our laptop while waiting for the color to kick in. We left refreshed, renewed, and feeling like we'd just met a new friend. Even better? Weeks later, our hair still held its style, and our chestnut-brown touchup looked bold, not brassy. 691 Belmont St., Belmont, MA 2478, moxiebelmont.com.
Peter Cipriani, 29 Newbury
Sure, the only requirement for a good bartender is that he's quick with a drink. For a great bartender, stir in some personality. But to be elevated to Bar God status, you need a whole lot more. Peter has the perfect recipe: Take equal parts wit, charm, and smarts, add lightning reflexes with a lighter, perfect name recall, and fabulous looks, and top with a huge dollop of humor. No wonder 29 has been a magnet for big personalities- scientists and hairdressers and club kids and club owners - during the five years that Peter's held court. He thinks the patrons pack the small watering hole because they're "united in their love of alcohol." Ask a regular, and it's for Peter's sake. 29 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
Sports Club/LA
For gym rats who take their sweating seriously, the Sports Club/LA is as type A as its notably toned clientele. Some 114,000 square feet of equipment, including more than 150 cardio machines, means rare is the occasion that you're forced to idle by the water fountain, waiting for Sweaty Guy to max out his half-hour limit; deluxe locker room amenities mean you can look just as good leaving the gym as you did going in. And a schedule of 120-plus classes a week, among them an average of 10 daily yoga sessions at the new MindBody studios, means there's instruction for every fitness (and coordination) level. 4 Avery St., Boston, MA 2111, thesportsclubla.com.
Michael Moore
"Bloodless surgery" isn't a phrase typically associated with spa treatments. Then again, there's nothing typical about the way that Quincy native Moore—who coined the term to describe his massages—operates. His Stuart Street office is just that: an office, with no cucumber water or silk robes in sight. In place of such frippery, you get what is simply the best deep-tissue, Swedish, and therapeutic massages in Boston, for half the price of most rubdowns elsewhere. This year Moore's list of clients (which includes several local politicians, athletes, and news anchors) grew so lengthy that he opened a second location in Brookline. 441 Stuart St; 1678 Beacon St., Boston, Brookline, MA 02116, 02446, .
Michael Schlow
Being a great chef isn't just about respecting good ingredients or cooking with passion. It's also about being a good manager and building relationships with the guests you serve. Michael Schlow is all of the above, and more. With three restaurants in his expanding stable (Radius, Via Matta, and Great Bay), Schlow may not be the man who personally prepares you dinner, but he juggles each of his top-notch kitchens with aplomb. Schlow understands the culinary parameters of his ventures better than anyone—he knows, for example, that at Radius, less is more; that at Via Matta, cooking pasta is an art; and that at Great Bay, it's all about the bounty of our local waters. Radius, 8 High St.; Great Bay, 500 Commonwealth Ave.; Via Matta, 79 Park Plaza, Boston, MA michaelschlow.com.
Lester Harry's
Admit it: Even the inevitable grass, food, and spit-up stains won't discourage you from dressing your tot to the nines. And who can blame you? A trip to Lester Harry's could persuade every parent that the little pumpkin should be outfitted in the finest of European fashion: Bienvenue sur Terre shirts and tees, Marcel et Leon linen shorts, Lili Gaufrette sundresses. While you're at it, pick up a couple of sets of custom-tailored crib sheets. By the time you leave, you won't know what's cuter: your angel-faced nipper—or the store. 140 Washington St., Marblehead, MA lesterharrys.com.