Photo illustration by Benjamen Purvis / Source image generated by AI On the morning of May 3, 2023, a couple hundred uniformed students filed inside the Cambridge Matignon School’s wood-paneled auditorium and quickly took their seats. All around the school there were reminders of its long and storied 75-year history— from the banners and trophies that marked its time as a 1980s hockey powerhouse to the midcentury details that were hallmarks of the Cardinal Cushing–era architecture. And now, this assembly would make history, too. The head of school took the floor before the student body and a ..read more

Photo by Mike Diskin Late last year, chef-owner Jason Santos got word from the owner of the Pledge of Allegiance building, where his popular Back Bay spot Citrus & Salt had operated since 2017, that the restaurant’s lease wouldn’t be renewed. (The building was becoming a healthcare facility.) While that might’ve seemed like a grim prognosis, Santos knew there was no way he was shuttering his beloved coastal Mexican spot, thanks to its consistently booked-solid dinners and buzzy brunches. Instead, Citrus & Salt relocated to a new sprawling Seaport space with a riot of colors and textu ..read more

Ciao Somerville’s margherita pizza (San Marzano tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil, Parmigiano Reggiano). / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal May is here, and it’s an exciting month for Neapolitan-style pizza, fancy sushi, beer gardens, and lots more. Here’s the latest installment of our monthly guide on where to eat around Greater Boston—a mix of new restaurants, old restaurants doing new things, a few particularly great meals we’ve enjoyed lately, and a peek ahead at imminent openings. (Check out last month’s guide here.) Jump to: New restaurants to try this month Older restaurants doing new t ..read more

All throughout 2024, we’re celebrating the proud and distinguished history of our annual Best of Boston issue, which turns 50 this July. And from disco dancing to paddleboarding, we’ve certainly had a lot of good times over the years. Photo via Getty Images 1974 Best Strip Club The Mouse Trap Cabaret. Back in Dirty Old Boston, this was the place to go if you wanted to see a little skin. As the editors were quick to note, “they do take it all off.” Bonus points for being located in Park Square—“slightly safer” than the nearby red-light district known as the Combat Zone. Photo via ..read more

Photo via Getty Images One semester in high school, my friends and I signed up to take badminton to fulfill our physical education requirement. Our two-fold rationale was this: We’d heard the gym teacher didn’t consider badminton a “real” sport and would be more focused on other games being played at the same time, and since we’d play the game at a slow pace, it would be easy for us to chatter away uninterrupted. And that’s just what we did, all of us scoring an A in the class. It’s been decades since I’ve heard badminton mentioned in any context (other than the infamous David Ortiz Vitaminw ..read more

Photo by Nathan Tavares There’s a new dawn rising on Portuguese food in Boston. Need more proof than the swanky September opening of Amar, the more recent arrival of South End date-night restaurant Baleia, and the Portuguese-inflected pizzas at Mario’s in Roxbury? Check out Café Pastel, the European-inspired café also by Amar chef George Mendes that opened last week on the ground floor of Raffles Boston. Café Pastel doesn’t take its name from a pale color palette—though the spot’s rose gold curved accent walls are certainly soothing—but from the singular form of the noun “pasteis,” which is ..read more

The live Boston diver scallop at XOXO Sushi Bar, now open in Chestnut Hill. / Photo by Margaret Flynn When we first published this guide, we were a month into 2024, and the Boston dining scene was already jam-packed with delicious new openings—Mexican in Somerville! Noodles times two in Cambridge! A café/plant shop on Mission Hill! A pepperoni Negroni-filled food hall downtown! Casual omakase in Charlestown! Now, a few months later, even more spots have opened, and even more chefs and restaurant groups have announced upcoming plans, so we’re adding some updates. As 2024 continues, we’re look ..read more

Illustration by Mark Matcho We’re celebrating three years with our dog. Before we got him, I could have predicted a few of the things that Muggsy was going to change. I’d get bumped down from four to five on the list of house favorites. Dog hair would end up on everything. Chair legs would get chewed. We’d have less couch space. Check. Check. Check. Check. Other things I couldn’t have foreseen—including how often I would be standing and walking in the wind, snow, cold, rain, rain, and rain. But this isn’t more venting about how much I hate rain because I hate my rain boots—because I got new ..read more

Setting out at sunset on the Seine. / Photo by Prasit Rodphan/Alamy Stock Photo Few cities in the world instantly entice the senses and inspire the soul like Paris. Montmartre, the Latin Quarter, Saint-Germain, the Marais—this roll call of enchanting neighborhoods conjures images of quaint sidewalk cafés, verdant gardens, exquisite museums, intimate restaurants, and sun-splashed rooftops. With the Olympics beginning later this summer, the cosmopolitan capital has never looked more vibrant and prepared to welcome visitors. Wait, the French…welcoming? Indeed, even the Seine has undergone a mas ..read more

The Moody Street Dam in Waltham / Photo by Norman Eggert/Alamy Stock Photo At dawn, fog rose from the surface of the Charles River. On that morning last autumn, songbirds darted over the water as I kayaked downstream through a wide channel lined by maples and oaks in the suburban semi-wilderness of Millis, Medfield, and Dover. The presence of people seemed faint, almost primitive. The river twisted through S-turns, the current silent but strong under my boat, pushing me along. The world felt wild. As soon as I reached Natick, though, everything changed. I found myself in a pond 100 yards acr ..read more