Q:

Browse folders and files using the Places menu

I love the Places extension and the menu it provides. However, usually, I use the file browser to open one file, and rarely use it more than a few seconds (navigate, select file, bang enter, done), and I find it a waste to open and close the file browser each time I want to open, say a paper I downloaded. Is there a way I can expand the Places, such that I can navigate subfolders right there, and click on the file to open it (kind of like the directory tree packaged with any decent code editor)?
The pain point is the Files app that Gnome now ships with also does not have a decent looking directory tree.

A:

You can try two options:

install and switch to the GNOME FlashBack session with sudo apt-get install gnome-session-flashback gnome-panel.  
install and switch to the MATE DE with sudo apt-get install ubuntu-mate-desktop^.

