Best Pub MATT MURPHY’S, Brookline A no-frills, friendly spot straight out of an urban Dublin neighborhood. The cheese platter with soda bread is a meal in itself; and the fish-and-chips comes with spicy ketchup and pickled onions–all of it wrapped in newspaper. 14 Harvard St. 617-232-0188; mattmurphyspub.com Best Romantic Restaurant L’ESPALIER, Boston After years of […]
Best Movie Theater KENDALL SQUARE CINEMA, Cambridge There is life beyond the megaplex, and here it is: a smart mixture of classics, foreign, and independent films. Perks include fresh pastries and coffee, plus inexpensive parking. 1 Kendall Square. 617-499-1996; landmarktheatres.com Best Toy Store HENRY BEAR’S PARK, Brookline, Cambridge, Arlington Books for all ages, retro and […]
Best Men’s Sportswear THE BROWNS, Williamstown From durable U.S.-made Bills Khakis to Jack Victor sportcoats and a lot of quietly cosmopolitan designer clothing in between, this attractive, friendly shop will help redefine your wardrobe without breaking the bank. 16 Water St. 413-458-1618; downtownwilliamstown.com Best Mountain View STONY LEDGE, Williamstown Stony Ledge, accessible from Mt. Greylock’s […]
Best Heirloom Veggies URBAN OAKS, New Britain You may not expect to find an organic farm in the Hardware City, but that’s exactly what you get at Urban Oaks. The volunteer-run store is chock-full of heirloom and specialty produce, from ‘Thai Dragon’ peppers to ‘Red Kuri’ squash. 225 Oak St. 860-223-6200; blog.urbanoaks.org Best Women’s Boutique […]
SLIDE SHOW: Winslow Homer works I stand alone on a boulder-strewn shoreline, a rugged symbol of Maine. The waves thrash against the rocks. Get Our FREE Yankee Best New England Vacations Guide! Email(Required) Subscribe They shoot a salty mist onto my face and clothing. The sound is almost deafening. It’s no surprise that they call […]
Fairest of Them All For sheer scenic beauty, no New England strand tops Crane Beach’s 4 miles of soft, white sand, against a backdrop of undulating dunes, piping plovers, and the mansion at Castle Hill for company. If you walk a bit, you’ll find a private spot, even in high summer. Locals caution that July’s […]
Castle Hill Inn & Resort is all very F. Scott Fitzgerald: a rolling hill covered in a rich carpet of emerald-green grass, cascading to the water’s edge; sun-filled patio and a sea of umbrellas; the regulars in crisp linens and print sundresses sipping champagne and discussing whose yacht is in the harbor. But you don’t […]
Through some magic of architecture, the dining room at The Red Inn promotes the illusion of floating, like the many boats just outside in Provincetown Harbor–or maybe we were seeing things after our pre-lunch bike ride through the dunes to one of the lighthouses. The sea-level view here seems never-ending; the Atlantic just rolls on […]
I live in a house with two small boys, two large dogs, and one boisterous husband. Silence is truly golden. I find myself cherishing the kind of peace and solitude that in my youth would have left me with a bad case of cabin fever. Time and maturity have taught me to embrace silence. In […]
The May basket — let’s bring back a small gesture of caring and celebration of this season,” says Jayne Ward, who has enjoyed a lifelong career in the antiques and gift business. This, her third shop, Homeward Designs’ Cottage Style, in Rindge, New Hampshire (603-899-9545), is co-owned with her daughter, Melissa Ward Messer, formerly a […]
Any juried group exhibition is bound to be something of an eclectic grab bag. That’s just the nature of the beast. But the I-95 Triennial at the University of Maine Museum of Art (in downtown Bangor, not on the Orono campus, April 23 to June 12) is shaping up to be even more eclectic than […]
There are, of course, a lot more than two signs of spring in New England about now. But these are my favorites… After the various early signals of spring in New England — the Boston Flower Show, spotting a robin among snow patches on the lawn, and gathering pussy willows for the dining room table […]
