Lounge Life
Find your fave among the new rock and dance clubs, hotel bars, and neighborhood joints.
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(Dina Rudick / Globe Staff)
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Tigers can weigh 600 pounds, leap as far as 24 feet, and break a deer's neck with a single well-placed chomp. They sure do make bad pets. That's what visitors to the Franklin Park Zoo learned when Bengal Tiger ANALA and White Tiger LUTHER (pictured) went on display in June after the US Fish and Wildlife Service rescued them from their neglectful, outlaw owners in a sting operation. In addition to being one of the most impressive animal exhibits at the zoo in years, the display is designed to help educate visitors about the plight of tigers illegally kept in the United States. Franklin Park Zoo, 1 Franklin Park Road, Dorchester, 617-541-5466, zoonewengland.com
Last fall, it would have been easy to imagine that Boston's MFA was the Museum of Fashion Arts. In addition to the opening of its exhibit "Fashion Show: Paris Collections 2006" (on view until March 18), the Museum of Fine Arts fed local mode mania by launching its new FASHION COUNCIL. For a contribution of $1,000 annually (a drop in the bucket in haute couture-land), members get access to special events involving fashion luminaries; first up in the inaugural year was a talk by Vogue magazine writer and editor Hamish Bowles. This year, members who pony up to cover costs will be able to join a curator for an educational trip to Paris. Funds raised from the 100-strong group support new acquisitions for the Textile and Fashion Arts department. How chic. Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 617-267-9300, mfa.org
(David L. Ryan / Globe Staff)
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THE ICA'S GORGEOUS NEW DIGS, FINALLY FINISHED, WERE WORTH THE WAIT.
It may take years to assess the impact that the INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART has on Boston or the place it will take in the international art world. But it represents a bold hope: as a draw for tourists, as an opportunity for Bostonians to open their eyes to thoughtful and provocative art, and as a chance for the city to change its stodgy, old-school reputation. A tall order? Maybe. But the ICA is already carving out space in the city's cultural landscape, not only with the building design but also by establishing a permanent collection where viewers can see the work - from the comic to the sublime - of today's art stars. The more encyclopedic Museum of Fine Arts serves its purpose, and now the ICA can serve its own, with the right kind of commitment to modern art. The ICA is stepping up in a space that, unlike its cramped old home, entices visitors and honors exhibitors with spectacular harbor views, wonderfully open gallery spaces, and an outdoor grandstand. And as a vision, it is an impressive anchor to what is expected to become one of the city's hottest neighborhoods. The Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Avenue, Boston, 617-478-3100, icaboston.org
Neighborhood dives are sacrosanct in JP. So when word got out that the much-adored Triple D's was going to be turned into an uppity restaurant-lounge, the groans could be heard over the rumblings of the passing No. 39 buses. But then the ALCHEMIST LOUNGE opened, and - surprise! - locals swooned over the balance of high style (inky leather banquettes and 4-foot lanterns) and low-key attitude (notably cool waitstaff and even cooler live tunes on Thursday and Sunday nights). There's even good food now, and who can complain about that? The Alchemist Lounge, 435 South Huntington Avenue, Jamaica Plain, 617-477-5741, alchemistlounge.com
(Dina Rudick / Globe Staff)
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Often, when you want a cocktail, it's for the sake of relaxing, but that can be a challenge when music is booming, plates are clamoring, and people are elbowing. BIRCH BAR, which extends through the Westin Boston Waterfront's sweeping lobby, makes it easy. You can perch at the intimate bar or on one of the plush couches. With stone walls, a marble bar, wood floors, and towering "birch trees" positioned throughout, the space evokes a postmodern forest - albeit one where you can order a drink. Birch Bar, Westin Hotel, 425 Summer Street, Boston, 617-532-4600, westin.com/bostonwaterfront
Not too long ago, the Leather District wasn't the kind of neighborhood you wanted to traipse through at night - let alone in platform heals or a suit. Then along came DISTRICT, an instant draw for the nocturnal crowd with an eye for style. Owner John Stefanon's design for the club-lounge-eatery was inspired by Dante's Inferno. The Gothic accents are evident in the collage of antique book pages in one hallway and the black-and-white lampshades, but the place also owes credit to the Brothers Grimm, new wave, and the milk bar in A Clockwork Orange. For South Station commuters, it's a popular detour for dinner, but late night is when DJs heat things up and the Inferno influence becomes apparent. District, 180 Lincoln Street, Boston, 617-426-0180, districtboston.com
(Dina Rudick / Globe Staff)
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This town may not exactly be teeming with rock stars, but since the dimly lit REVOLUTION ROCK BAR opened, more and more of its average citizens have been living the life. You, too, can kick back in a cow-print booth beneath the graffiti-scrawled ceiling and take in live music (there are local bands several nights a week as well as DJ-spun tunes on weekends). Stiff cocktails and the motorcycle propped up at the bar's entrance certainly contribute to the effect - as do, inadvertently, the kitchen's perfunctory fixings. How rock 'n' roll can you get? Revolution Rock Bar, 200 High Street, Boston, 617-261-4200, revolutionrockbar.com
Boston's Colonial history isn't all tea parties, scuffles for liberty, and galvanizing horse rides. There's also a rich legacy of rum production you can celebrate in 2007 at RUMBA, the sleek bar in the waterfront district's InterContinental. Sure, you can get any drink you like, but RumBa opened with a list of 85 rums, including select aged varieties so complex that they taste almost like cognac. The class isn't just in the glass, though. There are brocaded couches, a Latin-tinged soundtrack, and a swish VIP room. You could get used to this place. InterContinental Boston Hotel, 510 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, 617-747-1000, intercontinentalboston.com
"It's a bigger, grander Monopoly that plays faster," says Phil Orbanes, a onetime Parker Brothers executive and cofounder of Winning Moves, which makes MONOPOLY: THE MEGA EDITION. Not to be confused with Here & Now - the updated game featuring modern landmarks such as Fenway Park and Atlanta's Olympic Park - the Mega Edition is a supersized version of the traditional game, with more properties and bigger stakes, and even skyscrapers. The "speed die," which hastens the pace considerably, is an especially good addition. "If you're a top-notch player, it's in your blood to wipe out your opponents as soon as possible," says Orbanes. The new game makes it that much easier. Monopoly: The Mega Edition, winning-moves.com
(Photo by Brian Walsh)
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David Nadelberg used to entertain friends in Los Angeles by reading from a pathetic letter he had once written to a girl. Now anyone is welcome to share in this sort of public humiliation - or "personal excavation," as Nadelberg calls it. His audience-driven show, MORTIFIED, in which regular everyday folks read onstage from their childhood diaries and embarrassing letters, made its Boston debut last March, and people have been cringing with delight ever since. "To me, it seemed pathetic, slightly depressing, and a little bit bizarre," Brookline mother Sharone Jelden says of the diary entries that she has read onstage in recent months. "But apparently, to everybody, it's funny." Look for frequent Mortified Boston gigs at the Paradise Lounge in 2007. And remember to bring your diary. Mortified Boston, getmortified.com/live
Weekend snow warriors from the Boston area who make the three-hour trip to Vermont's Stowe Mountain Resort used to think of Spruce Peak as Mount Mansfield's ugly stepsister. They left Sterling and other sweet Spruce runs to the townies, mostly because the bus ride to the other mountain was a hassle. This season, that's all changed. There's now a TRANSFER GONDOLA BETWEEN THE TWO CALLED OVER EASY, which makes the trip in just two minutes, leaving visitors plenty of time to get to know the locals. Stowe Mountain Resort, 5781 Mountain Road, Stowe, Vermont, 800-253-4754, stowe.com
Provincetown, one of the country's legendary art colonies, finally has the museum it deserves in the updated and expanded PROVINCETOWN ART ASSOCIATION AND MUSEUM. Boston architects Jorge Silvetti and Rodolfo Machado miraculously squeezed in a sunny, open, and inviting contemporary wing while renovating the old Federal-style house on busy Commercial Street that has long been PAAM's headquarters. Encompassing 20,000 square feet, including a large underground vault, the museum is newly climate-controlled, so PAAM's collection - which includes works by Hans Hofmann, Robert Motherwell, and Red Grooms, among other elite 20th-century artists - is finally safe from the salt air. Just as important, the museum's clean lines and tall galleries give the art the backdrop it deserves. Provincetown Art Association and Museum, 460 Commercial Street, Provincetown, 508-487-1750, paam.org
How simple. This winter, skiers can take a commuter train from North Station in Boston to Fitchburg, then catch a free shuttle to Wachusett Mountain in Princeton. The SKI TRAIN leaves at 8:35 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays and returns at 5:35 p.m. There's no jockeying for seats on a crowded bus at 5 a.m., no parking hassle, no falling asleep at the wheel, and no worries about that apres-ski drink at the lodge. A train-ticket stub even scores a $6 discount off a lift ticket. Just don't miss the ride back to Boston - it's a long way to ski. Wachusett Mountain, 499 Mountain Road, Princeton, 978-464-2300, wachusett.com
(Wiqan Ang)
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Bostonians had not been kind to their innermost harbor island. At various times over more than three centuries, SPECTACLE ISLAND was used as a hideaway for the diseased, as a getaway for the gambler, and as the home to a dump and a grease plant and a horse-rendering factory. Decaying garbage oozed into the ocean for decades before the mess was capped with Big Dig-dug dirt. Now, after years of governmental bickering and construction woes, the island is an attraction worthy of its name, with 5 miles of trails, a marina and museum, a snack bar, swimming beach, and clean bathrooms. It boasts an evolving ecosystem - raccoons and muskrats, red-winged blackbirds and red-tailed hawks, and 10,000 native plants - shaped by salt air and engineered soil. Its jaw-dropping views of the skyline and harbor were seen by 15,000 visitors last summer; your next chance is May 5. Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area, bostonislands.org
What happens when an acclaimed singer-songwriter grows weary of going on the road to venues that she believes aren't as good as performers or audiences deserve? In the case of Carol Noonan, she creates an enviable cultural arts center closer to home. Along with her husband, Jeff Flagg, Noonan updated the barn in the family's backyard, and the STONE MOUNTAIN ARTS CENTER was born. The 200-seat venue has already attracted bluegrass icon Ralph Stanley and country singer Marty Stuart to Brownfield, Maine (a 2½ -hour drive from Boston, just over the New Hampshire line). Noonan and Flagg put in a kitchen, too, that serves casual meals with wine and beer before each show, and they have partnered with local inns to accommodate overnight guests. The near-term lineup includes Cajun band the Mamou Playboys (Valentine's Day), Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser (March 9), Mary Chapin Carpenter (April 1), and folk legend Richie Havens (April 6). Stone Mountain Arts Center, 695 Dugway Road, Brownfield, Maine, 866-227-6523, stonemountainartscenter.com
Nick Tommarello of URBAN INTERACTIVE set out to liven up the area's tourism scene with a series of games played by reality-TV-style teams. Players, who sign up at the company's website, visit historic landmarks (there are indoor games for winter), following cues from actors working on the course, as they compete to solve a mystery. Games are set in the North End and Copley Square. In the spring, Boston Common and Harvard Square adventures begin. Urban Interactive, 800-930-7517, urban-interactive.net
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