Joyce Kulhawik, Channel 4
Best last year and still the one to watch. Sorely missed when the Boss opened his national tour in Worcester while she was out sick. Nice to have you back, Joyce.
The Corrupt Midget
The SJC ordered housing court judge E. George Daher to apologize for having bestowed this sobriquet on his longtime nemesis, Billy Bulger. Actually, Daher deserves a dinner.
The Evans Wing
It took four years and $11.5 million, but the Evans Wing is back and packed with 700 fine European and American paintings, including works of such masters as Renoir, Monet, Picasso, O'Keeffe, and Pollock. The MFA, Boston, MA .
Ann Brown Allen
This gifted member of the Dance Collective has guested with numerous local companies and brought the house down on several occasions—most notably during her solo performance this past spring at the Joy of Movement Studio Theater.
Ciro & Sal's
It used to house a Howard Johnson's. Now it's gourmet Italian for Provincetown refugees (and anyone else who appreciates fine modern art and an attractive setting, and who has the patience to wait out the sometimes agonizingly slow service). 500 Boylston St., Boston, MA .
Ritz Bar
This is a perennial, and while you might be able to get more booze for your money elsewhere, you'll not get the ambience, service, and joie de vivre that accompany every martini here. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, 15 Arlington St., Boston, MA .
The Bookstore Café
Not only can you sit in a dining area upstairs, attractively done in butcher block and ferns, but you can peruse a how-to-cultivate-ferns tome while you sip your coffee. South Market Bldg., Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, MA .
Mango liquado from Carmen's Place
Blended mango, milk, and honey, with cinnamon or nutmeg to taste. But let your imagination soar: you can combine any of the available fresh fruits with milk, yogurt, or ice cream, plus honey and fresh-ground spices. 52 Boylston St., Cambridge, MA .
Ryles
Lean prime ground sirloin stuffed with your choice of cheddar, Swiss, American, Boursin, or blue cheese and tomato, pepper, onion, mushroom, bacon, or spinach. Served on an onion roll with a salad, it goes for $3.50. Inman Square, Cambridge, MA .
Longview Farm
State-of-the-art facilities (two complete studios, synthesizers, in-house musicians and engineers) on a hundred-year-old farm. Sauna, Jacuzzi, horses, the works. It was good enough for Stevie Wonder. West Brookfield, MA
Savoy
David O. Selznick would have been comfortable in this rococo gilt-and-plaster movie house. Unfortunately, given the roster of films that play there, the architecture is much more diverting than the show. 539 Washington St., Boston, MA .
Fourth-Floor Apartment
The Combat Zone has a number of good ones, but the best is to be seen on Newbury Street. Each afternoon, the occupant of a fourth-floor apartment near the Ritz disrobes, then cleans house. We applaud her lack of inhibition . . . and shades. Newbury St., Boston, MA .
Jeffrey Lyle, Emerge
A savior for those dying to have born-with-it blond locks, Lyle mixes up a shade so natural and places it so artfully that your roots will be ashamed to show themselves. 275 Newbury St., Boston, MA 2116, emergespasalon.com.
Bundle of Hope
Photograph by Jessica Scranton Be prepared to drop a bundle here: As soon as you spy the Zutano casualwear and fancy attire from European lines Petit Bateau and Deux Par Deux, you won't be able to resist stocking your kids' closets. 146 Front St., Scituate, MA 2066, bundleofhope.net.
Darren Le
Le considers himself, as he puts it, a teaching artist. That means a snip session with this rising star will not only rock your locks, but also leave you a wiz at recreating the Le-styled look in the weeks to come. G2O Spa and Salon, 338 Newbury St., Boston, MA g2ospasalon.com.