Not one of the stores here is part of a commercial chain. Most are small, owner-operated, and sell things you won't find anywhere else. If you're a bibliophile, you may never wander farther than the venerable Bryn Mawr Book Store . An early spring day feels more so if you dawdle outside this neighborhood fixture, leafing through secondhand books displayed in Bryn Mawr's signature sidewalk cases, a little bit of Paris in Cambridge. No river may run behind you, but the affability of this bookseller and the sun alighting on your shoulders as you turn musty pages set a distinctly Parisian mood.
Most customers schedule a pie to pick up later.
Pick-ups are scheduled to the minute, lest the crusty, aromatic oeuvre sog. Emma's operates in a universe where pizza is sacramental. Henry Bear's Park at the corner of Standish Street is kinder-heaven. Inside, the shop carries books, crafts, stuffed animals, puzzles, games, and construction-gizmos, including Rokenbok systems, with which a child can drive you out of house and wallet. Full Moon is the perfect kind of restaurant for this neighborhood - informal, friendly, slightly funky.