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Noah might have harnessed his flock two-by-two, but you're on another boat entirely: a single, independent, party animal of a vessel, one that finds safe harbor in the city's best singles spots. Rest assured, Boston has no shortage of spaces teeming with eager singletons--chalk it up to the city's propensity for enormous college populations, vagrant hipsters and brilliant but time-strapped professionals. Make eyes at these locales that ensure better-than-expected odds, and if nothing bites your line? Whatever--there's plenty of fish, and you still had a fantastic time.
(Photo: Lucky's Lounge by Christine Liu)
Come Solo
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Apple Store
Write a review100 Cambridgeside Pl Unit 202, Cambridge, MA 02141 (map)
If you think that a relationship between an Apple enthusiast and a PC fan would be absolutely unthinkable--the result of a religious zealotry that subsumes a small, but feisty subset--then scope for potential mates within the church of Jobs, so to speak. This location of the whiz-bangingly sleek Apple Store, in the Cambridgeside Galleria, has the added bonus of being in close proximity to Kendall Square (in other words, near plenty of brainy students and sexy technologists). Poke around the iPhones or MacBooks if you must, but keep one eye out for a cutie that might be keen to, ahem, push your buttons.
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Eastern Standard
Read Reviews528 Commonwealth Ave (Hotel Commonwealth), Boston, MA 02215 (map)
Everyone, without fail, is attractive at this Kenmore Square institution famous for its throbbing crowd, fastidious, historically correct drinks and a swell, hulking brasserie burger. That is to say, because beauty is in the eye of the beholder, whatever floats your boat swims here: Fenway Park spillovers, Boston University sophisticates, rapt cocktail geeks, resident hotel guests, industry kids, birthday posses, wandering barflies and anyone who finds themselves under the welcoming red awning. The vibe combines the magic air of exclusivity and democracy, where everyone can swig an ale or Sazerac in singles-embracing solidarity.
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Lucky's
Read Reviews355 Congress St, Boston, MA 02210 (map)
We're not going to make a joke about getting lucky here (oops, did we do just that?), but this red-hued, Rat Pack-esque, slider-slinging joint makes it too easy to ease into a sense of finger-snapping cheesy cool. Bonus: There's plenty of campy retro decor for aw-shucks ice breakers. This well-hidden, subterranean bar on a relatively bleak corner of industrial Fort Point is marked only by its glowing windows and the lines of hipsters snaking out the door on weekends, but it's a local legend for the feel-good, irony-free live performances from Thursday to Sunday, from head-bopping jazz trios to Sinatra-worthy sounds.
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Noir
Read Reviews1 Bennett St, Cambridge, MA 02138 (map)
Industry players and displaced night owls are like thirsty moths to a flame at this dim, drapey, boudoir-hinting lounge in the Charles Hotel--not the least because it hosts a rare luxury: the only daily 2am liquor license in Cambridge. Strong and cheekily named cocktails, elegant (OK, and phallic) bar lighting, open doors spilling out to a sidewalk patio and an addictive nut bowl (that's not a euphemism) make an easy backdrop for flirting with one of Harvard Square's high-rolling insiders. And if anybody yells at you to get a room, you can do so easily--there are suites upstairs, as if we had to remind you.
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Rocca
Read Reviews500 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118 (map)
Ever since the South End's head-to-toe gentrification (with rare pockets of the old-school grit remaining), the heterogeneity of this traditionally gay neighborhood has gotten to the point where just about anyone, of any sexual orientation, congregates to mix and mingle, with delightful ambiguity. But certainly some nouveau spots make like the gay bars of old; case in point, the Ligurian restaurant Rocca, which explodes into a full-out fabulous gathering of men as the evening creeps on. Drinks go swiftly in the curvy downstairs bar, where a diabolically handsome crowd churns up energy--and a little bit of mischief.
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