For a memorable meal in elegantly contemporary surroundings, blow your budget at Radius (8 High Street, MA 02110, +16174261234, www.radiusrestaurant.com) where chef Michael Schlow brings French techniques to classic New England ingredients, or Barbara Lynch’s No 9 Park (9 Park Street, MA 02108, +16177429991) which serves sophisticated Mediterranean-inspired fare.

Its coastal location makes Boston a great place for seafood. Despite the gift shop at The Union Oyster House (41 Union Street, MA 02108, +16172272750, www.unionoysterhouse.com), America’s oldest restaurant retains an authentic atmosphere with quirky wooden booths and the curved mahogany oyster bar where expert shuckers put on a show.

The chic South End has a high concentration of cool cafés including Lynch’s charcuterie/wine bar The Butcher Shop (552 Tremont Street, MA 02118, +16174234800), the tiny, funky Delux Café (100 Chandler Street, +16173385258) and Charlie’s Sandwich Shoppe (429 Columbus Avenue, MA 02116, +16175367669), a lunchroom frozen in the 1920s.

Across the river in Cambridge, Inman Square abounds with hip, reasonably priced bars and eateries including the popular East Coast Grill (1271 Cambridge Street, MA 02139, +16174916568), Christina’s award-winning ice cream (1255 Cambridge Street, MA 02139, +16174927021), writers’ hangout the parlor Thirsty Scholar Pub (70 Beacon Street, MA 02143, +16174972294) and the slick dive bar B-Side Lounge (92 Hampshire Street, MA 02139, +16173540766).

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