Feast & Fettle
After a few years of prepping three squares a day, it’s only natural to want to outsource the task of home cooking to someone, you know, outside the home. Thankfully, Rhode Island–based Feast & Fettle expanded its family-style meal delivery service to Greater Boston last year, and there’s something for everyone on the extensive menu. Bonus: The company has also been known to partner with local faves like Flour bakery and Blackbird Donuts for add-on treats. feastandfettle.com.
Crystal Ballroom
To understand the century-old history of this intimate venue, just look up at the twinkling chandeliers that grace the hallowed hall’s ceiling. Once a ballroom overlooking Davis Square, the second-floor space above the Somerville Theatre was recently renovated with new bars and a state-of-the-art sound system and now hosts indie performers, comedians, and dance nights during the week and on weekends. You can even rent the space for receptions, presumably when it’s a nice day for a white wedding. 55 Davis Square, Somerville, MA 02144, crystalballroomboston.com.
Just Add Cooking
There are an endless number of meal kits on the market, but only one that taps into New England’s creative culinary minds. From bangers and mash from New England Charcuterie’s Joshua Smith to black-bean burgers from Grafton Group culinary director Mark Goldberg, Just Add Cooking’s recipes (made with locally produced veggies and proteins) are so simple that even the most frazzled home chef won’t mess them up. MA justaddcooking.com.
Julie Cooke at Bon Visage
Waxing's never fun but always necessary, especially in summer. With Julie, the ordeal almost doesn't hurt (okay, just a little, but the silky smooth results are definitely worth it). 69 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
James Hook & Co.
With more than 250 bubbling tanks of ocean water, and a staff that knows everything there is to know about lobsters, Hook is the oldest lobster dealer in the country (dating back to 1925). The staff will retrieve any size lobster you want—even a 15 pounder—and provide instructions on how to cook 'em perfectly. Hell, they'll even cook 'em for you. And if you have a landlocked friend in, say, Wisconsin, James Hook will ship them right out. At about seven bucks a succulent pound, how could you go anywhere else? 15-17 Northern Ave., Boston, MA .
Harvest
Like to eat while on display, with the entire passing world gawking at your menu choices? Pull up a sidewalk seat on Newbury. Prefer to dine discreetly en plein air, where you can focus on the meal, the company, and the cool breezes? Settle in at Harvest's soothing garden retreat, tucked into a hidden nook off Harvard Square. Kick back among the sun-dappled linden trees and order a plate of chef Mary Dumont's salmon with green garlic, or the tea-marinated duck with rhubarb. Then try to decide which is more restorative: the food or the setting. 44 Brattle St., Cambridge, MA 2138, harvestcambridge.com.
Audubon Circle
Done up in modern-looking wood panels and slate surfaces, this Kenmore Square favorite exudes a cool, relaxed air—even on a recent game-night visit (and despite its general proximity to BU hordes). Created by the pros who went on to open pizza specialist Cambridge 1 and cheeky pub Tory Row, it's an ideal meet-up for friends seeking a weeknight fix of cold microbrews and juicy Kobe hot dogs, or stellar grilled hanger steak and a reasonably priced bottle of vino on a quiet, early Saturday evening. 838 Beacon St., Boston, MA 2115, audubocircle.com.
Front row, second section at the Sony Harvard Square Theater
Separated by an aisle from the eyeball-burning section, these choice seats are elevated to give you a great view and plenty of room. 10 Church St., Cambridge, MA .
Island Creek Oyster Bar
There are a few ways to enjoy this new Kenmore Square institution: tucked away in the corner of the dining room by the oyster-shell-lined walls; perched at a high-top in the lounge; or sitting at the raw bar. Wherever we wind up, you'll find us throwing back bivalves followed by fried-oyster sliders, bowls of shell-free mussels, and champagne cocktails galore. Catch selections change daily (like the Idaho red trout, pictured above), but look for the halibut. Perfectly seared on the outside and snow-white and flaky on the inside, it's like créme brûlée of the sea. 500 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 2115, islandcreekoysterbar.com.
Craigie On Main
Tony Maws isn't one of those chefs who tries to make it look easy. In his new Central Square digs, the open kitchen takes center stage, providing an unobstructed view of exactly how that (Vermont organic) lamb three ways and (Maine dayboat) halibut get onto the plate. Maws even spells out his principles on the Craigie website, including 'First we find the ingredients, then we create the menu'—which means that every day he's sourcing what's local, in season, and, for the most part, organic. By degrees, Maws takes it further than anyone else in town, and his work is your reward. 853 Main St., Cambridge, MA 2139, craigieonmain.com.
Tu y Yo
Powder House Square’s traditional Mexican kitchen is well known for its regally stuffed and sauced chile relleno en nogada and, yes, crispy grasshopper tacos. But what you absolutely can’t miss here are the produce-forward dishes: nopales (cactus) that tastes like tangy green beans; dense, tender chunks of chayote (Mexican squash) smothered in verdant pumpkin-seed mole; and slate-gray blooms of cuitlacoche (corn smut, an edible fungus), which cook into soot-colored mush but charm with an earthy, mushroomy depth of flavor. 858 Broadway, Somerville, MA tuyyorestaurant.com.
Machine Age
In the urban tundra between the Seaport District and South Boston sits an inconspicuous-looking 9,000-square-foot warehouse. Within it you'll find a candyland for modern-design addicts, a place where George Nelson, Hans Wegner, and Florence Knoll repose in sculptural armchairs and austere chaises. A favorite stop for interior decorators and movie stylists, Machine Age takes midcentury furnishings from around the world—dining sets, sofas, storage systems, lamps—and restores them to perfection, and also frequently updates pieces with new but always appropriate upholstery. Like so much of what it purveys, this place is a genuinely rare find. 645 Summer St., Boston, MA 2210, machine-age.com.
Q Division Studios
Last year, Q joined the exodus that has seen just about every cool band, club, and scene relocate north of the Charles. Leaving the South End, Q's owners took their two vintage sound boards, a Neve 8068 and a Trident 80Band, and headed for the burgeoning Davis Square. Along the way, they acquired the requisite computer gizmos and hired engineer/producer extraordinaire Matthew Ellard. Even with the plush lounges, oodles of classic equipment, clients like James Taylor and Aimee Mann, and infamous annual who's-who-in-Boston-music Christmas party, Q still remembers the little voices: Local bands are welcome with open ears. 363 Highland Ave., Somerville, MA qdivision.com.
T.T. the Bear's Place
Boston has no shortage of excellent small music venues, but T.T.'s just keeps edging out the competition. Perhaps it's because former Clash guitarist Mick Jones chose this Central Square nook to showcase his new group last April. Or because it features a healthy mix of worthy local bands and visiting punk veterans like New Model Army and Jesse Malin. Or because some weekends DJ Chris Ewen busts out our favorite '80s New Wave classics. Whatever. It's cramped, it's sticky, it's totally authentic—and it's unbeatable. 10 Brookline St., Cambridge, MA 2139, ttthebears.com.