The Vox is the perfect place to see and be seen. Although quite the meat market, if you are in the mood to schmooze it up and look your best on a Saturday night, it is a fun place as an outing with friends. Serving 27 of the most creative martinis around in a hip but unpretentious milieu, this swanky bar is Boylston Street's “It” spot. A mostly twenty- and thirty-something crowd fills the bar on weekend nights to down $9 martinis. It kind of has that 'beautiful people' vibe going on... which can be oh so good, and can also be a complete nightmare. There are some creepy types who frequent the place hoping to pick up the aforementioned beautiful people, but thankfully they are amusing to watch. Granted, the drinks are expensive, but with such tempting varieties as the Tiramisu Martini and White Crantini (a clear martini made for men who “don't want to be seen with a pink drink”), who can resist? 8 types of scotch ($8-14), 12 bottled beers and 6 on tap, traditional cocktails ($6-9), and wine by the glass ($7.50-10.50) provide ample variety for those morally opposed to martinis. Thanks to Vox Pop's massive space there's always a quiet corner to retreat to, even on busy weekend nights. No cover.

Like a final club for grown-ups, this smoky venue attracts Wall Street types and Polo boys who convene among leather couches and potted palms to relish the simple pleasure of a good smoke. The walk-in humidor houses 300+ varieties of stogies ($6-50). Enjoy a solid selection of wine, beer, port, and sherry from the hardwood bar, brought to you by the necessarily waifish blonde, while backgammon, chess, or sports play on the telly. For a paltry $1200/yr, you too can have your own locker with brass plaque in the humidor. Reservations recommended. Also available for private parties.

This restaurant is across from the Prudential Mall. Uno's in Uno's, there isn't much more to say about the chain deep-dish pizza place. The most interesting thing about this location, however, is that they now serve breakfast. It's basically an a-la-carte breakfast (cereal, croissants, coffee, tea, fruit) with a menu for things like eggs and pancakes.

Deluca's is the Back Bay grocery for your last minute items. The shop carried a small variety of most goods, but plan on paying a hefty fee for more grocery items. Downstairs has liquor, beer, and wine. (The staff have recommendation cards placed around the great wines). Upstairs there is a deli that makes a HUGE sandwich for a small price. In the summer, there are tables and benches set up around the bundles of flowers for sale. Try and nab a table, sit back, and watch the passer-byers. While the setting is idillyic and the shop charming, don't expect a large variety of goods in the small store as well as high prices.

Famous for its sangria, Tapeo is home to authentic Spanish food and European decor. Tapeo is Zagat-Rated. The tapas bar, with its killer selection of Spanish appetizers, offers a lively and adventurous atmosphere daily from 5:00- midnight. Tapeo Restaurant & Tapas Bar's Web site features a virtual tour. Click HERE for the Newbury Street restaurant's menu, with specialties ranging from Piedra (where the food is grilled on a stone from the Canary Islands) to their signature Pescado a la Sal (fresh fish baked in salt where the salt acts as a cooking agent which enhances the tenderness of the protein).

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Sister restaurant to Dali of Inman Square, Tapéo offers delectable tapas, meaty Spanish entrees, and sweet sangría in the heart of see-and-be-seen Boston. Although the menu changes seasonally, most of the more notable tapas ($5-7) like the baked goat cheese with tomato and basil, roast duckling with berry sauce, and saffron scallops are ubiquitous. Dishes are delivered with admirable alacrity, but lingering is requisite if you want to fully savor the luscious desserts like the chocolate tart ($5.50) and fruit-filled crêpes ($7.50). The real charm of Tapéo, however, lies in its 3 low-lit bodega-style eating areas, where small tables can become surprisingly intimate islands in the sea of bustling waitstaff and playful fellow diners.

This Prudential center based Shaw's is everything the average Joe would need and more. Not only do they have a full beer and wine shop built into the second level, but they are also open 24 hours a day. With large departments of produce, meat, bakery, and seafood, this Shaw's is def. stocked for the single shopper or the family of four. Also features an extensive organic and international selection.

At this bar “with an attitude,” you'll meet an unabashedly loud, obnoxious, and crude crowd (“All in good fun!”). Dick's sports a Southern feel, but don't come for the hospitality; the staff takes pleasure in harassing patrons, and it says something about the patrons that they keep coming back. Not the best place to go if you have taste, or if you like a decently-priced pint, though food is reasonable and served in quantity. 52 foreign and domestic beers, with 8 on draft ($6-7.50, refills $4.50). Live music provided by the house band most nights. No cover. By its own admission the “Shame O' the Back Bay,” Dick's prides itself on buckets o' grub, no bull, and a waitstaff that acts like, well, dicks. Check your dignity at the door and prepare to pay for the worst service you'll ever find as you devour a hearty selection of good, greasy food (think ribs, steak, chicken, and seafood) amidst the filth of thrown napkins and food fight residue. When your mouth isn't full, sing along with the great music selection or giggle as your fellow patrons get humiliated. Grab a drink from the long bar to dull the ego blows, or retreat to the campy bathroom, complete with naughty goodie dispensers. A great place for birthdays or other group events, Dick's will force members of the party to wear giant paper hats scribbled with insults (“I sleep with my mother”; “Hung like a gerbil”), among other exercises in humility. Su brunch (10am-3pm; $16) features various carnivorous delights as well as a plethora of desserts. Free validated parking after 5pm. Entrees $5-26. This section contains information from Harvard Student Agencies' Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard.

McGreevy's, a sportsbar and Irish restaurant and pub situated on the top of Boylston Street in the Back Bay and a stone's throw from Fenway, is reopened for the first time since it closed for Prohibition in the 1920's. Originally opened in 1894 by Michael 'Nuf Ced' McGreevy who was the bartender and leader of the Royal Rooters, the famed fanatical fans of the Boston Americans (who later would be renamed the Boston Red Sox), it was a sports bar that hosted the likes of Ty Cobb, local Boston politicos and celebrities. Open again by the Dropkick Murphy's Ken Casey, this reinstituted institution wants to bring a piece of history back to the city, and good times all around.

A sophisticated, sexy, and romantic urban eatery that is the little sister of Mistral. The fare (Italian with a Mediterranean flare has been called imaginative and expensive, and the wine list is predominately Italian. As the interior is filled with murals and deep tones, Sorellina consistently called one of the most romantic restaurants in Boston.