Best of Boston

Bring a big group to this Brookline Village hot spot — you’ll want plenty of friends to share with as you order up bowls of nang kai tod (crispy chicken skin), warming kang pu (crab curry), and a unique green papaya pad thai. Wash it down with a cocktail (or three) highlighting Southeast Asian flavors — we love the Sazerac with Thai tea–infused rye — before heading down the street for more snacks at little sibling Merai, which is slated to open this year.