Captain Marden's Seafoods
This is the place where restaurants like Hamersley's and Biba get their fish. It does retail, too, and you can shop from the Captain's Wellesley market or pick up dinner from its take-away restaurant. Captain Marden's Seafoods proves there are plenty of fish in the sea— the Captain just caught the best ones. 279 Linden St., Wellesley, MA .
Helena Collins, Life in Synergy
Cross a weighted ball with a giant rubber band, and you get a workout that strengthens underused muscles while stretching overused ones. Helena Collins's resistance-training classes leave you long and lean, but these sessions are no slog—they're so festive, in fact, there's often a waiting list. 867 Boylston St., Boston, MA 2199, lifeinsynergy.com.
Erica Colameta, Michael Labrecque Salon
Favoring a multi-step approach e.g., a semipermanent rinse followed by Baliage, the French process that involves painting one teeny-tiny section of hair at a time Colameta excels at taking brown-haired gals from point A to point Angelina Jolie. 292 Newbury St., Boston, MA 2116, .
Pomodoro
If you're lucky enough to score one of the seats facing the window, the people-watching on Hanover Street alone is reason enough to make the trip. If not? The top-notch renditions of Italian classics will keep you more than occupied. What to Order: The fried calamari; chicken carbonara; veal scaloppine. 319 Hanover St., Boston, MA .
Appleton Antique Lighting
This small shop just down from Coolidge Corner has a nice selection of antique lights, sconces, and chandeliers, but the proprietor's real skill is in turning that old urn you found at Brimfield into a beautiful lamp, or rewiring the one you find in Grandma's attic. A good selection of shades as well. 195 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA .
Suburban Appliance Servicenter
Bring your tired coffeemakers, your weary blenders, and just about any other small appliance; this repair shop will make them work like new at prices that will probably leave you with enough change in your pocket to pick up one of their factory seconds. 271 Moody St., Waltham, MA .
TenderCrop Farm
It's one of the few established businesses in rural Newbury, but you'll find it easily; just look for all the cars parked near the 17th-century bran. Inside find farm-fresh berries and vegetables, local honey, and rafters of dried flowers, then ogle the buffalo and llamas outside. 108 High Rd. (Route 1A), Newbury, MA tendercropfarm.com.
Arnold Arboretum
Photograph by Bob O'Connor Truth be told, it's not a running route at all. It is instead a series of paths—some gravel, some grass—that meet one another and break away and circle back and then sometimes form new paths. Those, in turn, splinter off and lead the runner on a passage through a breathtakingly beautiful corner of the city. 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 2130, arboretum.harvard.edu.
Punch Bar
Points off for being a dark cavern in the corner of one of the city's ugliest hotels (the Back Bay Sheraton). But the cushy chairs and cozy nooks lend a decadent air to the art of cigaring. The selection is immense— 100 by our last count— and the bar staff is adept at guiding even novices to a satisfying stogie. Sheraton Boston Hotel & Towers, 39 Dalton St., Boston, MA .
Period Furniture Hardware
The densely packed display racks at this Beacon Hill cubbyhole offer one-stop shopping for rarefied brass, chrome, porcelain, and glass—knobs, pulls, hooks, hangers, rods, and other trimmings that can bring an Edwardian touch to the powder room or a Federal finish to the bedroom. 123 Charles St., Boston, MA periodfurniturehardware.com.
Interlocks
The stylists at Interlocks don't just cut your hair. They teach you how to maintain the style, and which products to use to keep your tresses looking salon-perfect long after you've left the chair. And with an adjacent full spa, this is a one-stop shop for hair, nail, and body needs. 58 Merrimac St., Newburyport, MA interlockssalon.com.
NYNEX
NYNEX has failed so far to unplug the Boston Phoenix's escort-service ads, even though (hypocrisy alert) the NYNEX yellow pages contain 15 pages of escort-service ads. Score another one for the First Amendment.
Jim McGovern, Democratic congressional candidate in the 3rd District
Longtime Washington aide to Joltin' Joe Moakley, McGovern knows where the bodies and the bacon are buried better than incumbent Peter Blute. With Pal Joey sticking around for at least one more term, McGovern, if elected, could be the most influential Massachusetts freshman member since Joe Kennedy.
Shreve, Crump & Low
Some people marry for love; some, for a ring from Shreve's. With what is easily one of the most complete selections of diamond rings around—from dainty two-carat marquis to five-carat solitaire boulders—Shreve's has every fiancée's fancy covered. Bonus: the attitude-free, patient, and educated staff. 330 Boylston St., Boston, MA shrevecrumpandlow.com.
Quadrum
When the bride seems too special for a diamond standard solitaire, check out the rings at this wonderful shop. Sleek contemporary designs by Niessing; bold rings with semi-previous stones and innovative settings by Barbara Heinrich; and ornate baroque bands by Nathan Levy make picking just one ring harder than negotiating a prenup. 127 Newbury St., Boston, MA .