AND BEYOND...

Once upon a time (as in, ten years ago), the suburbs of Boston were nowhere you would want to eat, and residents made regular pilgrimages into the city whenever they longed for a memorable meal. Today, not only do those living outside Boston stay put for excellent meals in their own backyards, it isn’t uncommon to find Bostonians trekking (sometimes for hours) outside city lines to try a new suburban gem that’s popped up.
With such widespread demand fueling more and more excellent restaurants around the state, one can only conclude that Boston's culinary landscape is as ever-expanding as
its appetites.

North Nautical history fills seemingly every corner of the towns hovering above Boston, starting with the town of Salem — infamous for its historic witch trials, but just as noteworthy for cultural assets like The Peabody-Essex Museum. Meanwhile, quaint towns such as Essex, Ipswich and Marblehead define pastoral seaside beauty, just as small cities like Gloucester and Revere mix long histories of fishing with urban industry. But they all have one thing they all have in common: incredible, straight-from-the-sea seafood.

West The sophisticated environs of Boston's sprawling western neighbors rival city living in more ways than one. This cluster of leafy ‘burbs offers historic sights galore in Concord and Lexington; top-notch boutiques in Chestnut Hill, Newton and Wellesley; and, seemingly everywhere, terrific restaurants. And not just staid New American, either — throughout the area, diners find everything from fresher-than-fresh sushi and creative Asian to homey French and first-rate Italian and Spanish.

South Beyond its status as the gateway to Cape Cod and the home of Plymouth Rock, the South Shore is also a destination in its own right, thanks to its picturesque fishing and boating towns, beautiful lighthouse-dotted beaches, and, of course, its noteworthy eateries. With so much oceanfront, it's little surprise to find excellent fish and shellfish here — but less expected are the adventurous bistros of Hingham and Braintree, the ethnic gems of Quincy and Hull, and the great little cafes and bakeries of Duxbury and Scituate.