Sonny McLean’s Irish Pub on Wilshire in Santa Monica, CA is the perfect place for relocated Bostonians, Red Sox fans and people who just love a quality Irish pub. The entire place is covered, inside and out, with Boston sports memorabilia. There are tons of high-backed booths with tables so you can order drinks and food. If you have a big group – they even have a separate room that I am sure you can reserve. If you are in the mood for great pub grub, beers with friends and sports – Sonny’s is the place for you. They have a great menu that features everything from Fish N Chips, to Guinness Beef Pie, to Sheppard’s Pie, to Boston Steak (New York Strip) and even Irish Nachos! They have pub trivia on Tuesday nights, Karaoke on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights and enough drink specials to keep you happy and I think they give out cash on Thursdays – I was confused when I went, so I better look into for that next time. There aren’t many Irish pubs in LA – so if you are in the mood for an Irish pub or it’s St. Patrick’s Day and you have no place to go… Sonny’s has you covered. To find other great places this Holiday, visit globalYP.net, a local online directory.

My husband and I have lived in Jamaica Plains, MA for about ten years and we have been to Doyle’s Cafe many times. The great thing about this place is that it is great for a Saturday morning brunch when no one is around AND it works well as a tourist-stop when family and friends want to come in and see the real Boston. This is a famous and politically connected bar where the Irish and political elites of Boston still come in for a drink. It is where President Obama called and found Sgt. Crowley– the Cambridge Police Officer who arrested a black Harvard professor. Sgt. Crowley was drinking his “usual” beer here– and this is the place for “usuals.” Even if you aren’t looking to develop a long term relationship with a local pub, this is still a great place to hang out and be a part of the pulse of this Irish-American city. If you sit at the bar, choose the end away from the door for your best “people watching” post. The booths in the back are great for having your own private meeting, but not for seeing and being seen. And, don’t forget to eat and drink while you are there. They have fantastic American-ized versions of Irish pub classics. To find find other great places this Holiday, visit globalYP.net, a local online directory. 

We discovered the Carol Ann Bake Shop in Faneuil Hall several years ago and keep coming back for the chocolate mousse. In a word-scrumptious! We have driven several hours out of our way to get some of that great chocolate mousse. One cup-full is more than enough to share between two people. Believe me, and I’m a chocoholic, don’t try to eat a whole cup by yourself, that is too much. The chocolate mousse is so rich and flavorful. We usually make the Carol Ann Bake Shop chocolate mousse a meal. While Faneuil Hall has numerous types of food, including desserts, Carol Ann Bake Shop’s chocolate mousse is absolutely the best! We usually don’t even try to have the mousse for dessert–it’s our meal. It’s definitely worth a cheat day on your diet. Anyway, the mousse is easy to walk off since there is so much easy walking around Faneuil Hall (just don’t wear heels, the cobblestones are uneven). The Carol Ann Bake Shop also carries cookies, muffins, scones, pastries, cupcakes, whoopie pies, etc. All are wonderful and everything is baked right on the premise. Try a trip to Faneuil Hall and Boston’s waterfront area, tons of attractions (historic and modern) and the best variety of food around. The Carol Ann Bake Shop has the best chocolate mousse in Boston, enjoy! To find other great places in your area, visit globalYP.net, a local online directory.

My Girlfriend and I went to Redbone’s Barbecue last year for Valentine’s Day. Not a traditional way to spend the special day, certainly, but definitely a memorable one! The food was delicious! I ordered a huge plate of brisket, Texas dry-rub ribs, and beef ribs. Underneath those were a large portion of the most flavorful French fries I’ve ever eaten, as well as a huge helping of mac n’ cheese. My girlfriend ordered a pulled pork sandwich – which I absolutely had to try. It was just as delicious as my plate of ribs, if not more so. The only downside to the whole experience was that it took a little longer than we were expecting to find a seat. We had to wait about 15-20 minutes before sitting down. I would recommend calling ahead and making a reservation. However, the service was incredibly fast. We had our meals in less than 10 minutes after sitting down – and this was a packed restaurant, too. Redbone’s seems to be constrained by the location, because if they could find a larger building they would be able to seat many more people and reduce the wait time during high-traffic times. The cost actually wasn’t bad, especially for a restaurant in Massachusetts, and the decor of the place really gave off a fun vibe. We’ve been back since, and plan on going again before we leave Boston. I highly recommend it. To find other great places in your area, visit globalYP.net, a local online directory.

I love the Museum of Science. I live in the Boston area and have gone to it numerous times throughout my life. While some exhibits have not changed over the years, the temporary exhibits and the IMAX theater definitely make the Museum of Science a must for anybody visiting Boston, or for families in the area who want to do something local on a rainy day. For locals, a tip I might give you is that some local libraries hand out passes to the museum at a much cheaper price than the actual museum charges; while it does not cover IMAX and special tickets like that, it will significantly lower the price. What I love the most about the Museum of Science is the hands-on activities that are in the museum. The museum consists of typical exhibits, but The Museum of Science also has several interactive exhibits. There are free shows with audience participation, animal shows, dissections and the like in the Human Body Connection, demonstrations throughout the museum… you name it, the museum has probably done it at one point. This museum is great for kids. All the interactive exhibits allow kids to take an active part in science, rather than a passive role. The IMAX theater is by far my favorite thing at the museum. The films that are shown can range from under the sea all the way into outer space. The Museum of Science in Boston is an interactive museum great for kids and adults of all ages. To find other great places in your area, visit globalYP.net, a local online directory.

With Boston, MA‘s Logan Airport’s ribbon of fog, your inbound flight is delayed, so your 1.5 hour stopover means you land as your next flight lifts off. Two connections still to make, having already missed both, and there are only so many coffees one can drink in a 4 hour wait, even if it is just 10am. Combined with security screening woes, you’re overwhelmed and Terminal C’s Jet Traveler’s Mini Spa beckons. Get an Escape Manicure for 30 minutes of almost bliss, at only $20 plus a good tip. You self-select from a wide range of polish, most enjoying the hand scrub in taking away the thought of lurking germs replicating on every airport surface and skin. To reduce immediate smears or your newly manicured nails, drying is offered along with the ubiquitous celebrity magazine; you have the time of course, so your fresh sparkly nails flip the magazine’s grimy pages, and you can finally relax while you wait for your next flight in Logan Airport. Stop flipping through the phonebook and start searching through globalYP.net, where you can find a great selection of local business listings, all available online.

If you’re like me, there are two things in life that you can get really passionate about…food and music. Sadly for us, the trend of great live music in great restaurants is becoming a thing of the past. If live music is even a part of a dining experience any more, it’s often a trade-off, either the music is fantastic and the food and drinks are awful, or vice-versa. Fortunately, in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston, there is one place that still strives for excellence on both fronts: Smoken Joe’s BBQ and Blues. The fact that they put BBQ and blues in the name of the restaurant shows the importance they place on both. They keep a very high standard in the kitchen with ribs, chicken, and pulled pork, that are all cooked authentically and to perfection, and their barbeque sauces, whether you want more tang or more heat, offer the subtlety of fine art. The smoothness of their sauce is not only the perfect complement to their food, but it’s the perfect complement to dessert (the music). They have a full calendar of blues, jazz, crossover, and even the occasional country singer or comedy act. They offer a great balance of local and visiting artists, and all are simply the best, which seems to be the standard for everything here at Smoken Joe’s. GlobalYP.net offers local listings online.

Rustic Kitchen is located in the heart of Boston’s theater district and is a restaurant that should not go unvisited. Rustic Kitchen is quite a large establishment. Upon walking in you are greeted with a sort of “loungey” feel with a large bar and high bar stools. There are also two formal dining rooms and private rooms for large parties. As soon as you sit down you are greeted by the friendly wait staff offering you some complimentary fresh baked bread. The place is decorated with all Italian memorabilia, maps, canned food and more. One thing that makes Rustic Kitchen special is that they make all of their own pasta by hand. You can peek into the kitchen depending on where you are sitting and you can see the chefs making the pasta and hanging it up to dry, in the colors of yellow, red green and purple. It is quite amazing. On top of all of that they do LIVE cooking shows with a great chef who does cooking classes every Thursday night. This is a great place to have a formal night out with friends, family or that special someone.GlobalYP.net is a great place to find local business listings online.

Bead + Fiber is a gallery, jewelry and fiber workshop in Boston’s artsy South End. The shop opened in the fall of 2008 and has since expanded its stock of yarn, wool, beads, wire, felting supplies and sterling silver jewelry components. The shop also serves as an art gallery, displaying and selling art in many mediums including textiles and beadwork, among others. One of the more compelling parts of the shop is the lavish display of the proprietor’s bead crocheted necklaces, bracelets and earrings adorning the store windows. The owner, Andrea Garr, is a former lawyer whose jewelry business “A.Garr Creation” planted the seed for the shop after she had set up an studio in the South End. Bead + Fiber is Garr’s answer to spreading her love of creativity to the public by keeping a full schedule of classes and a full stock of high-quality crafting supplies on hand. The space itself is bright and airy, with three sides of the space comprised of glass. The modern and funky decor compliments the style of the owner, and inspires creativity in every visitor. Bead + Fiber has a fair selection of beads for the budding jewelry designer, and has all of the tools on hand to create anything from your very first necklace to something more complicated and ornate. The prices are reasonable and the staff is helpful and knowledgeable. If you’re in the South End of Boston (perhaps for the South End Open Market, which runs through the summer, or for gallery hopping), Bead + Fiber is a great place to explore your own creativity and work off the inspiration you might gain from the artists in the area. GlobalYP.net is a great place to find business listings online.

Symposium Books is the great little bookstore across the street from the Boston University Barnes and Noble. Symposium also has stores in Providence and in Washington DC, and online book reviews as well as ordering are available. The Kenmore Square location is easy to miss, but is a treasure once discovered: it is slightly below street level, between several restaurants and the entrance to the train station. There is an eclectic collection of books here with a large section devoted to architecture and the visual arts. Other featured areas include politics, history, economics, eastern and western religion and philosophy. There is a significant literature section, and another section of biographies; mysteries and science fiction are represented but less abundant. There is a small children’s book area. Many of the works are scholarly, all are available at prices reduced from cover costs, and some are real bargains. The staff members are knowledgeable and helpful and very aware of the stores strongest suits. There are occasional author events, and some signed books are on the shelves. These are mingled with other copies, so shoppers must look for them carefully. This is a great bookstore for browsing: it seems to be highly expected. Visit Symposium to discover new and old works that you simply didn’t know about yet. Plan to take your time and come back often. Any book lover will enjoy this small shop where books feel good in your hands and are easy on your wallet. To find more great bookstores in your area, visit globalYP.net, a local online directory.