😋🤱 A restaurant made for ... your mom?

🍲 If there’s one good thing about winter, it’s soup szn. The Globe’s annual winter soup club is back, dropping a delicious and free(!) recipe in your inbox every Thursday for six weeks. Sign up here!

🥳 And happy birthday to B-Side Member Melanie La! Our gift to you: This recipe for a delicious soup Gia’s been making on repeat this year. Have an amazing day!

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

If “try more restaurants” is one of your resolutions … you’re in the right place. There are tons of hot openings this month, and per usual, Boston magazine has the roadmap.

Here’s what’s worth a try:

🥘 Ama at the Atlas, Allston. Dorchester’s award-winning Comfort Kitchen is getting a sibling! Meet Ama, a globally inspired restaurant at the Atlas Hotel dedicated to mothers and caregivers. While the full menu is TBD, it won’t be a far cry from the Comfort Kitchen vibe, featuring ingredients from the African diaspora and global flavors (and rumor has it, a few fan faves from Comfort Kitchen may make an appearance). It’s set to open in late January.

🍹 Bonanza Bites & Cocktails, Somerville. Latin tapas + craft cocktails + a sexy, moody ambiance = the vibe at Bonanza, a newly opened spot near Porter Square. As for the menu, imagine a short and sweet assortment of small plates showcasing a modern take on traditional Latin flavors. Think: Arepa sliders, birria empanadas, and sweet plantain gnocchi (omg). Plus, the artisanal cocktails promise to be just as good.

Items to try:

🍵 Mizu Matcha, Back Bay. Boston’s matcha craze continues in ice cream form with this recent Newbury Street opening. Matcha-heads and Insta baddies will appreciate Mizu’s bright green matcha gelato, coming in five levels of “intensity” with corresponding shades of green. Not into ice cream?  There are also matcha parfaits, frappes, and tiramisu … plus ube, hojicha, and black sesame variations if you want to spice things up.

Items to try:

🥙 Mesob, South End. The neighborhood is getting a dose of Eritrean and Ethiopian cuisine with the opening of Mesob, named for the woven baskets that meals are served in. It opened in late December with daily lunch and dinner service, plus breakfast on the weekends. On the menu: Classic Ethiopian dishes like fitfit (spiced, shredded flatbread), kitfo (minced, spiced beef), and plenty of veggie-friendly options. It’s open now!

Items to try:

😋 Hungry for more? Check out all of Boston mag’s picks here.

🏈 “We are SO back” has never been more true. After a shocking, spectacular regular season, the Pats will play their first playoff game in six years this Sunday at 8 p.m. against the Los Angeles Chargers. Even better: Our AFC East champs are favored to win and will have home-field advantage *aggressively knocks on wood*. If you want to watch the game, there will be no shortage of watch party options (hey Banners, hey Game On!), but Mighty Squirrel will have $10 pizzas and $1 wings. LET’S GO, PATS!!!

🐶 Think finding an apartment in Boston is hard? Try it with a dog. The MSPCA is advocating for two new bills that would end pet discrimination in Mass. rentals. Apparently, housing issues account for over one-third of the animals in their care. Case in point: Out of 2,260 available apartments on BostonPads, just 1,221 allow pets, and only 90 are dog-friendly. And even if you can find a spot, they often come with extra fees. The new bills would nix breed-specific bans, cap said fees, and support elderly pet owners.

🏘️ Greater Boston rent is going … down!? Yes! According to a new report from rental website Zumper, there were significant year-over-year dips in median one-bedroom rent prices in Boston (-2.4%), Somerville (-6.2%), Quincy (-6.8%), and Newton (-2.0%). That said, cheaper doesn’t = cheap. All of those cities’ average prices are still well above the state median of $2,200, with Boston coming in at a whopping $2,880. But as far as we’re concerned, a win’s a win! Check out all the data here.

🧑‍🍳 Where do local chefs eat when they’re off the clock? Brick Street Bagels, apparently! Boston.com asked chef Tiffani Faison that very question as part of its “Yes, Chef” series. Her picks: A bagel from Brick Street or chicken pho from Pho Hoa for breakfast; a bowl of ramen from Ganko Ittetsu or a bento box from Maruichi Select for lunch; and Szechuan fish from Taiwan Cafe for dinner (which she says is the best dish in the city). As for a nightcap? You won’t catch her anywhere but Bubble Bath (which she owns).

💎 Deck your neck with BOGO charm necklaces. Head to Found Boston this weekend for this killer deal: Buy any custom charm necklace and get one of the same/lesser value for FREE. 

🧓 Get on the granny game train. First stop: The Substation’s New Year’s bingo night on Jan. 9. Yes, it’s free to play. Yes, there will be loads of prizes.

🔥 Live out your hockey smut clubbing dreams. If “Heated Rivalry” and the club had a baby, it would definitely look like this feral rager at Sunset Cantina tonight. The dress code: sports gear. <3

😋 Get a taste of Somerville’s best. The city’s food, art, and craft show is going down this weekend, starring fab local bites, creative art, and unique handmade crafts. 

🧶 Grab your crochet project and a cold one. ‘Cause Boston Queer Fiber Arts is coming to Drawdown Brewing’s hygge (fiber) arts and crafts (beer) event on Jan. 10! 

🌴 Practice your best “the tribe has spoken.” You’ll need it at Aeronaut Brewing’s "Survivor" night on Jan. 10. Expect fun puzzles, games, and the chance to meet former cast-member Jake O'Kane.

☕ Make Dry January a little more … caffeinated. Pepita Coffee inside Lamplighter is staying open till 10 p.m. every Saturday this month if you need an N/A pick-me-up. 

🚲 Bundle up for a bike ride. Yes, we mean this group bike ride through JP and Roxbury on Jan. 10. Note to the bikeless: They have a few free Bluebikes available for this ride (plus hot cocoa at the end!). 

Red Sox legend David Ortiz is good at a LOT of things. But after watching his stint on “The Masked Singer,” we can safely say that singing … isn’t one of them.

For the uninitiated, imagine American Idol, but all the contestants are celebs wearing ridiculous costumes to keep them incognito. In Ortiz’s case, he donned a giant red “googly eyes” costume and performed “Turn Down for What” by DJ Snake and Lil Jon (lol). You really just have to hear it.

Let’s just say, there was more screaming than singing, and ultimately, he was eliminated on night one. But he took it like a champ, and even snuck in a “Daa Yankees lose!” for good measure.

Watch the big reveal here.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

⚾ Thanks for reading! Also see: Gronk singing “Ice, Ice, Baby” in a tiger costume. 

🤑 The results are in: 39% of B-Siders said they consider anything under $10 to be a truly “cheap” activity. One reader said: “Cheap is cheap, free is free!” Fair enough!

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