Serendipity
Loaded with sour cream and caviar. 120 Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, MA .
Dough-C-Dough-Nut-Shoppe
Grab your partner one of these. 438 Main St., Woburn, MA .
Robert Gerard, St. Botolph's Restaurant
Witty, erudite, and pours a good drink. 99 St. Botolph's St., Boston, MA .
Metropolitan Cabinets & Countertops
From virtual schoolhouses to makeshift boardrooms, entertaining hubs to culinary fun zones, kitchens have become the most vital — and versatile — spaces in our homes. This design-savvy Norwood institution understands what we need from these hardworking rooms — and responds with locally crafted, customized-to-the-nines cabinetry that supports our every demand. Islands with hidden outlets to charge laptops? Check. Bar areas with built-in wine storage? Check. The innovative team even takes our furry friends into consideration, ginning up hiding spots with specially sized drawers for Fido’s kibble bin. Multiple locations, metcabinet.com.
Looc
In our fantasies, we while away our days in a Parisian café, composing flowery prose over café au lait. In reality, we've got desk jobs and are lactose intolerant. So we shop at Looc, and make believe. With an inventory that epitomizes accessible Gallic chica spare palette of black, gray, cream, and beige from French and French-informed lines like Simone, Nili Lotan, and Thread SocialLooc helps us look the part of the ingnue, in styles that still manage to fit our made-in-America behinds. 12 Union Park, Boston, MA 2118, .
Dolores Sanborn, Austen's
Our nails were ugly. So when we got the tip to see Dolores at Austen's, we were only too happy to test her out. Could our yucky stubs be transformed into beautiful digits? Miraculously, yes. In fact, we can't decide what we liked best: the cheerful yellow walls and big open windows of the cozy salon, the goodies to eat while you wait (orange juice and croissants, cookies, even brie), or the manicure itself, which made our nails look sophisticated, not scary. And Dolores is a sweetheart: If her pleasant demeanor and easy laugh don't win you over, her mean hand massage will. 115 Newbury Street, Boston, MA .
Waltham Camera & Stereo
Its service will be music to your ears. Fast, too. 361 Moody St., Waltham, MA .
Audio Replay
They'll get your stereo to play again. 171 Amory St., Brookline, MA .
Neiman-Marcus
When you really want your kids to shine. Copley Place, Boston, MA .
Hamlet & Kenn
Primarily a caterer, their cookies and petits fours are unrivaled. 123 Appleton St., Boston, MA .
Leighton's Clambake
They make their pit without digging up your backyard. 512 Union St., Weymouth, MA .