Best underground bar
We're not talking subversive. We're not talking secret, alternative, or anti-establishment. You don't need an invite and there's no private password. This bar is, quite literally, below street level. And that's the only underground thing about it. Because who needs the transgressive all the time? There are nights (and afternoons and, all right, the occasional morning) when all we want from a bar is some quiet, a place to enjoy a pint (or, all right, nine) entirely without pomp and pretense. The Cellar, a warm den below Mass Ave between Harvard and Central Squares, provides exactly that. Dim without sacrificing cheer, quiet without being dreary, this basement bar has proved our choice destination many an evening. On Thursday and Friday nights, look for the warmest-hearted bartender you'll ever encounter.

The Cellar, 991 Mass Ave, Cambridge, (617) 876-2580.