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Holiday treasure hunt

We search high and low for great gifts at thrift and secondhand shops
Is it trash or treasure? The editorial team here at the Portland Phoenix compiled this year's incarnation of our annual local gift guide by searching for diamonds in the rough.
By DEIRDRE FULTON, NICHOLAS SCHROEDER, AND JEFF INGLIS | December 07, 2011

Where to go with what's in your pocket (or couch, or car)

Cheap eats
After about two weeks of being back in school and eating every meal — day after day after day — in the cafeteria, it's going to start sucking. It's actually written in the student handbook.
By LEISCHEN STELTER | August 31, 2011

Review: Posto

Top-notch Italian that's under the radar no more
Some places, no matter how good, manage to fly under the radar. And the recent trend of restaurateurs opening a pizza place, establishing a reputation as a lower-priced, "On the Cheap" joint, and then upscaling into a full-tilt sit-down spot (see: Nebo), has made things even trickier.
By ROBERT NADEAU | August 04, 2011

Review: Fill Belly's

A JP comfort-food spot that's been around the block
As the wheels of the food truck turn, so does the cyclical nature of trends. Fill Belly's latest spin is a retro one: a brick-and-mortar storefront.
By LINDSAY CRUDELE | July 27, 2011

Review: Tamarind House

A gentle step down from our fiercest traditional Thai restaurants
Tamarind House perhaps shows too restrained a hand with its cuisine's boldest flavors, but it's a useful step up from the bowdlerized meekness of the suburban Thai run-of-the-mill.
By MC SLIM JB | July 20, 2011

Review: Bella Drew's

Mix-and-match Southwestern for the Financial District crowd
Bella Drew's, a new luncheonette, serves what it calls Southwestern-style cuisine, a regionalism expressed mostly by liberal applications of avocado.
By LINDSAY CRUDELE | June 29, 2011

Jaho Coffee and Tea brings Slow-Life to South End

Review: Jaho Coffee & Tea

A slow-life beverage chem lab opens in the South End
Jaho is dedicated to slow living and slow brewing, but the haughty morning attitude of Boston commuters rushing for a cup may challenge this shop's efforts to make caffeine consumption relaxing.
By ARIEL SHEARER | June 15, 2011

Review: Camie's Bakery

A friendly neighborhood Haitian joint you don't want to overlook
If you're keeping an eye out for quality cheap eats, the car and the MBTA are not always your friends. While drivers focus on the road and buses retrace the same main-drag routes, it's only pedestrians who get off the beaten path to notice the kind of joints that quietly thrive on neighborhood trade.
By MC SLIM JB | May 25, 2011

Review: Darul Kabab

Outstanding Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi fare in an unlikely setting
The latest evidence for the encouraging trend of Indian-restaurant diversity: the debut of Darul Kabab, a Cambridge spot that features halal Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Northern Indian fare, prepared by a chef from Delhi.
By MC SLIM JB | January 26, 2011

Medical Miracle

Cheaper prescriptions — for free?
It started out normally: I was filling a 90-day prescription at Hannaford, and my insurance co-pay was $20. But wait! said the woman behind the counter. Was I a Hannaford Healthy Saver?
By JEFF INGLIS | February 25, 2009

Eatin’ good in Boston’s ’hoods

15 joints, pubs, and bistros worth the trip
Part of the backbone of any urban neighborhood is its small, independent restaurants.
By MC SLIM JB | September 20, 2007

Cheap thrills

Paw Sox, Penny Slots, and Ponies — so cheap, it might cost you
Summertime inevitably raises the question: what are we going to do with our crazy, hot selves? Summer Guide 2006: Cheap thrills from Bar Harbor to New Haven.
By ELLEE DEAN | June 14, 2006