boston-best

Goods & Services

  • Gifts

    Olives & Grace

    Sofi Madison has a gift—well, dozens, in fact. The owner of Olives & Grace has an eye for well-crafted wares and local foodstuffs like Jan’s Farmhouse crackers and McCrea’s caramels…...

    Gifts - Olives & Grace Photo Credit: Nicole Popma
  • Antique Store

    Ramble Market

    Making your way to Waltham may require more than a CharlieCard, but this new collaborative of more than a dozen antique and vintage dealers is worth seeking out…...

  • Bike Shop

    Community Bike

    Great inventory is key for a bike shop, but this one doesn’t stop there. The repairs are speedy, the prices are fair (check for coupons on the website) and the staff is savvy…...

  • Book Nook

    Papercuts J.P.

    For a literary city, Boston proper boasts fewer bookstores than you might expect, so we cheered in November when publishing veteran Kate Layte opened Papercuts J.P.…...

    Book Nook - Papercuts J.P. Photo Credit: Holly Rike
  • Caterer

    East Meets West

    If you’ve been to a wedding, bar mitzvah or corporate event in the Boston area, chances are you’ve dined with East Meets West…...

  • Dry Cleaner

    Holly Cleaners

    With 59 years of service and four locations, Holly Cleaners’ credentials were earned long ago. But this family business doesn’t rest on its reputation…...

  • Floral Studio

    Bloom Couture

    To simply call Bloom a flower shop wouldn’t do the studio justice. Owners Suphoj Chancheaw and Scott Vanich, an interior designer and a graphic designer, respectively…...

    Floral Studio - Bloom Couture Photo Credit: Holly Rike
  • Furniture Store

    Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams

    Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams showrooms stretch from Bogota to Taipei, but the multi-level South End flagship is considered a model for other outposts…...

  • Gardening Boutique

    Niche

    Just because you don’t have a yard doesn’t mean you can’t have a garden. Niche, a wee garden shop that sprouts from a subterranean storefront on Tremont Street, caters specifically to city dwellers…...

  • Home Boutique

    Pioneer Goods Co.

    The style at Pioneer Goods Co. falls somewhere between urban hipster and rustic New England. Owner Justin Power peddles vintage, new and repurposed furniture and accessories…...

  • Kitchen Store

    Local Root

    The sibling of furniture fave Didriks, Local Root is a sophisticate’s kitchen boutique with a decidedly French accent…...

  • Meal Service

    Just Add Cooking

    “I don’t have time to cook,” is a popular refrain (and excuse for getting takeout), but the team at Just Add Cooking knows that it’s not the cooking that’s time-consuming…...

    Meal Service - Just Add Cooking Photo Credit: Nicole Popma
  • New Addition

    Society of Grownups

    College may have been fine for mastering math and history, but chances are you never became as well-versed in real estate, career networking, salary negotiations or stock investments…...

  • Pet Resort

    The Urban Hound

    The Urban Hound is no kennel—it’s a five-star canine hotel. There’s a pristine lobby with potted shrubs and apothecary jars of treats…...

  • Record Store

    Skippy White’s

    Fifty-four years ago, local DJ and record shop owner Skippy White shook up the airwaves and introduced Boston to a sound previously unknown to much of the city…...

  • Sporting Goods

    City Sports

    We love our mom-and-pop stores, but we also couldn’t be prouder that City Sports is a homegrown hit…...

  • Toy Store

    Tadpole

    Soon-to-be parents with a checklist of essentials should head to Tadpole, a shop stocked with everything from car seats to swaddles to cuddly Wubbanub pacifiers…...

  • Wine Store

    The Urban Grape

    There’s the kind of wine store where you blindly grab a bottle of whatever’s featured on the end aisle, and then there’s the Urban Grape, where you can actually try 16 wines before you buy them…...

    Wine Store - The Urban Grape Photo Credit: Holly Rike