Best of Boston

Since a world-class education calls for plenty of high-caliber peering and scrutinizing, we weren’t surprised to find our winner within a tome’s throw of Harvard and MIT. Expanded last year to a second location, the doctor-owned Harvard Square Eye Care has been honing the vision of area academics for more than 40 years. Employees are notably agile when it comes to untangling insurance plans, and a full lab at the Porter Square shop means speedy turnaround on orders. Scouting trips to Europe keep the frame selection ultrafashionable, from the industrial cool of Germany’s Axel S. to the French flair of Lafont. Even nonbrainiacs will appreciate the ever-so-smart-looking results.