Barlette
The team behind the always-booked-up Brookline hit restaurant Cobble has done it again, this time with a BYOB cocktail bar. You read that right: You bring the booze, and Barlette provides the mixers, glassware, snacks, and dramatic-floral-wallcovering-bedecked vibes, complete with a variety of themed nooks to explore, like the book-filled Library. Just be quick — reservations open at noon on the first of every month and go fast. 318 Harvard St. #11, Brookline, MA 02446, drinkatbarlette.com.
New England Mobile Book Fair
Once you get used to the misleading name (it's stationary), the atmosphere (warehouse style), and the system (books listed by publisher), this is a browser's haven. Most books are 20 percent off, except in the remainder room, where prices are even less. 82-84 Needham St., Newton Highlands, MA .
New England Mobile Book Fair
It's hard to avoid temptation in this bibliophile's paradise—especially if you love cookbooks. All the latest books are sold at a 20 percent discount, and a separate room is devoted to publishers-overstock cookbooks at half price or less. 82 Needham St., Newton Highlands, MA .
New England Mobile Book Fair
The up-and-comer in this category is the nearly four-year-old Newtonville Books, but while that otherwise admirable small shop considers its lack of organization quaint and quirky, we just think it's confusing. The system at our pick, the family-owned New England Mobile Book Fair, also doesn't seem at first to make a lot of sense (the books are shelved by publisher) but turns out to be a piece of cake. Plus the relevance for books among the customers and knowledgeable staff is palpable, new hardcovers are discounted 20 to 30 percent, and you can spend contented hours in the endless warehouse-style stacks. 82-84 Needham St., Newton, MA nebookfair.com.
New England Mobile Book Fair
Inside this family-run warehouse are miles of floor-to-ceiling shelves stacked with almost any book you desire. Even better, the staff not only finds what you're looking for in a flash, but also will give you a review (and quickly order books that aren't in stock). We could spend all day in the expanded remainders section, or leafing through the great selection of cookbooks. New hardcovers are discounted 20 to 30 percent. It may look like a no-frills kind of place, but the Book Fair will even gift-wrap your purchase. 82-84 Needham St., Newton, MA nebookfair.com.
Cafe Fixe
The square’s best brews, pour-overs, and espresso are served in a café designed for quality R & R: There’s no WiFi, so unplug and unwind with some conversation—or maybe even a good book. 1642 Beacon St., Brookline, MA 02445, cafefixe.com.
The New England Mobile Book Fair
A literary institution with acres of current, classic, and arcane titles marked down 20 percent. 82 Needham St., Newton Upper Falls, MA .
Seven Stars
If you want to read up on holistic health or simply expand the horizons of your mind, Seven Stars, in Harvard Square, offers the greatest collection of esoteric books in the area. Subjects include tarot, metaphysics, old wisdom, astrology, meditation, relaxation, and visualization. Co-owner Yvonne Paglia (an astrologer herself) is a great resource. 58 John F. Kennedy St., Cambridge, MA .
The MBTA's #1 Bus (Harvard Square to Dudley Station)
A glimpse at the true, uncensored soul of Boston is found on a roundtrip ride on the MBTA's #1 bus. It bisects the city by running the length of Mass. Ave. from Harvard to Roxbury; along the way it picks up an array of characters from all walks of life, professions, and strata. Harvard Square intellectuals are joined by the eccentrics of Central Square, followed by the tech/science types from M.I.T. After crossing the river, the #1 glides through posh Back Bay and past Newbury Street, skirts Fenway, and then moves into the heart of Boston's music epicenter—Berklee, the Symphony, New England Conservatory, and Wally's. It then cruises through the South End and finally makes its way through the environs of Roxbury to Dudley Station.
The <em>Boston Magazine</em> Mode Squad.
This sparkling group of <bon vivants will lighten even the most mundane of occasions and bring a special kind of glitter to events which already have their own penache.
Charles River Canoe & Kayak at Kendall Square
Ditch the Google Glass and don a life jacket: In nice weather, there's no better way to spend your lunch hour than paddleboarding ($18) or kayaking ($15) up the Charles from the Longfellow to the Mass. Ave. bridge. 15 Broad Canal Way, Cambridge, MA 02142, paddleboston.com.
Inn at Hastings Park
Photo by Taylor VanDyke/Wave Collective Here’s a victory for Lexington: a Relais & Châteaux boutique hotel complete with luxurious Frette linens and fireplaces in the guest rooms, a special-occasion-worthy restaurant downstairs, and history all around. Looking for an excuse to get away without going too far from home? Book one of the 1800s-built inn’s immersive culinary weekends, which include cooking classes with owner Trisha Pérez Kennealy, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu in London. 2027 Massachusetts Ave., Lexington, MA 02421, innathastingspark.com.
Campus-ManRay
The interior looks like Metro's, the graphics look like Spit's, the setting's Central Square, and the art is, well, different. But it works. 21 Brookline St., Cambridge, MA .
Eastern Standard
This brasserie's knack for maintaining civility amid Kenmore Square's chaos is but one reason to worship Sunday brunches here. The others are the creme brulée French toast, the tomato and basil quiche, and the bloody marys made with vegetable-infused vodka (take that, V8!). The swank-looking digs may scare off the budget-fretful, but that'd be a shame. At $15 or less per brunch entree, Eastern Standard gives better (and tastier) bang for the morning buck than most. 528 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 2215, easternstandardboston.com.
The Superette
Where else can you buy yoga pants, high-end custom fragrances, tacos, and, oh yeah, an electric car all in one place — and top it all off with a round of indoor mini golf? That’d be the Seaport’s newest shopping destination. It may have been designed to look like a “charming European square,” but the sprawling 125,000 square feet of retail, dining, and entertainment space is New Boston through and through — and we’re loving every bit of it. Boston, MA 02210, bostonseaport.xyz/superette.