Jeanne O'Brien Coffey

The solitary house rises rosy-hued and defiant in the midst of a salt marsh, like a grand dame keeping up appearances. A closer look reveals a sadness reminiscent of an Edward Hopper painting—the facade peeling, plantings overgrown—an icon of a bygone era.
The Pink House, as it has come to be known, captures the imagination of just about everyone who passes it along the Plum Island Turnpike in Newbury. Even local wildlife is drawn to it—snowy owls and hawks often perch on the cupola, rising a...

The 16-year-old learned an important lesson about overpacking when we stepped off the boat in Venice. According to Google maps, the walk from the dock to our hotel was just 15 minutes. But what Google maps does not tell you is that walk is primarily up and down bridges. While we were there for the canals that serve as streets in this spectacular city, we hadn’t thought through what that means from a practical standpoint.
Turns out that meant dragging a suitcase up and over four bridges in 90-...

I am about shin-deep in the Irish Sea, my hands flapping about like hummingbird wings, as I question my judgement. I’m gasping for air, as the shock of the chill 50 degree Fahrenheit water laps at my knees. The air temperature is about the same, with a fine mist falling—romantic weather for a stroll on the strand, but not generally inviting for bathing.

“Once you can control your breath, you’ll be fine,” assured Susan Dillon, a coach from SwimCamp Ireland. With most every fiber of my being ca...

It’s unusual to use the word chic next to a description of crab cakes. The old-school dish doesn’t usually gain high marks for presentation. But the house crab cake at Seamark Seafood & Cocktails, the new restaurant at Encore Boston Harbor in Everett, is downright artful. The crab cakes arrive jauntily tipped on a bed of yellow sweet corn salad, surrounded by a circle of chartreuse avocado purée and dots of chipotle cream—an apt dish for the glamorous surroundings.
But what makes this dish sp...

Step back in time to these 10 historic restaurants and inns, where US presidents, Hollywood royalty, and Prohibition gangsters once drank, dined, and slept
Snuggle into a booth where Hollywood stars once lingered over cocktails, sit in a tavern where Founding Fathers plotted a revolution, or dine in an award-winning novelist’s childhood home. Whatever your interest, there’s a restaurant with a fascinating story and legendary eats on Yelp’s list of 10 of the Most Historic Restaurants. We found...

In Gloucester, boats unload catches of squirming lobsters, bluefin tuna, haddock, and cod at the bustling docks, as they have for centuries, surrounded by this Massachusetts town’s panoramas of postcard perfection. That duality has been irresistible to artists for more than 150 years.
Gloucester’s working waterfront often serves as inspiration for artists. Photo by Mauritius Images GmbH/Stock Photo
“There’s something about the water and the working waterfront,” says Loren Doucette, a Gloucest...

While the craziest a doughnut got even a dozen years ago was probably Boston cream, modern makers are not above sticking just about anything on a fried round.
Trendy places proffering outlandish toppings have their fans, but so do shops that have been around for decades, sticking to the basics: honey-dipped or powdered sugar.
After hundreds of miles and many, many calories, we’ve discovered a place in our hearts (and bellies) for both. Here are our highly subjective picks from t...

From classic crab cakes and lobster rolls to unique ceviche tostadas and crab-topped fry bread, you’ll find all the best catches at these top seafood restaurants in America
It’s a seafood shell-abration! As the days get warmer, cravings for seafood towers, lobster rolls, and fresh ceviche increase. Seafood is also the second most popular Recognitions category earned by Yelp reviewers across the country. So we’re shining a spotlight on our community’s favorite places (and dishes) from coast to...

New England has eclipse fever. Of course there are themed cocktails and viewing parties, but small towns in the path of totality are girding themselves for some apocalypse-level craziness. A Facebook post from the Plainfield, Vt., (pop. 1,236) Department of Emergency Management and Hazard Mitigation warns residents not to attempt to drive on highways or rely on cell phones, because visitors will be “totally unaware that our cell networks can't handle the traffic.” The post also suggested loca...

Ah, the simple pleasures of burying oneself in a good book. Northern New England offers plenty of independent bookstores to scratch that itch.
Around Northern New England, independent bookstores offer a snapshot of local interests while serving as outposts of community. Visitors can find good reads, of course, but also perhaps a recommendation for the best sandwich around or a special hiking trail. Denizens discover everything from local scuttlebutt to ...

Stepping into The Lincoln, a new hotel in an old mill building in Biddeford, Maine, feels like entering a portal to an imaginary alternative life. One where I am an urban dweller with impeccable taste and all the time in the world to sip cocktails in a chic lounge while leafing through books on design.

There’s a lot of dreck in the zero-proof space. While overall the offerings are improving every day, there are still many that taste more like a punishment than a treat. So it’s not surprising that when Sean Goldsmith decided to stop drinking four years ago, after a long weekend in Miami, he found his options sadly limited at first.
That void led Goldsmith and his friend Trevor Wolfe to launch The Zero Proof, a one-stop shop filled with only items they can vouch for.
“We taste everything and ...

Business
Spindrift founder Bill Creelman wants to upend the seltzer industry and do for carbonated water what Sam Adams did for beer. And he’s starting by asking what the competition is really made of. —By Jeanne O’Brien Coffey
On a brisk day just after the new year, Bill Creelman, founder and CEO of Spindrift, sets a shiny, unlabeled aluminum can on his desk at the seltzer company’s new headquarters in Newton. The unassuming gesture is ripe with anticipation: Inside is Spindrift’s newest fla...