😎🍎 Apple cider doughnut-maxxing

🚴 OK, now THIS is a life hack we need: We just learned you can get this sick Bluebikes key fob to unlock a bike (instead of fumbling through the app). Bonus: You can pick one up for FREE at the BPL!

📲 Pssst! We’d really like to hear what you think! The Brief is a new local daily news app designed for younger audiences. What you’ll find: 10 important stories with a clear ending — no infinite scrolling. Sign up here to join the beta!

🥳 And everyone say HBD to Members Patti and Riley Davis! Ah yes, a Bluebikes key fob and a doomscroll-free news app — just what you asked for!

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

You see it now: Your bestie with a car is taking performative IG pics at an apple orchard an hour outside the city. Meanwhile, you’re seething with jealousy from your tiny Boston apartment.

Don’t fret, sweet B-Sider. We’ve got ways to fall-maxx around the city, no car required.

Here’s the plan:  

🍎 Sip on boozy apples at Downeast Cider House. Cream puff. Apple pie. Pumpkin. That’s just a taste of the many cider flavors you might find on tap in Downeast’s Eastie taproom. You can build your own tasting flight from their rotating lineup, or grab a full pour in their outdoor cider garden. Bonus: Make it a full outing with one of their pottery workshop nights this weekend. <3

🍩 Chow down on the best apple cider doughnut in town. Hot take: The cider doughnuts from Red Apple Farm at the Boston Public Market > any apple cider doughnut we’ve tried outside the city. YUP. They’re piping hot, adorably mini, and earned a crucial endorsement: Alex Schwartz, creator of the New England Cider Donut Map, said, “they have doughnut-making down to a science.” Say less.

🪦 Get spooked by Boston’s Puritan history. Who knew death could be … fun? At least that’s how we felt after hopping on a Boston By Foot tour to explore Roxbury’s Eliot Burying Ground (you can also tour the Dorchester North). It’s the perfect mix of Puritan history in a spooky setting (also, the tombstones are gorgeous?). But for full-on spook, catch their Beacon Hill with a BOO! tour to uncover the murder and mayhem lurking beneath the neighborhood …

🎃 Pick the prettiest pumpkin in all the patch at Allandale Farm. OK, this may not be a traditional pumpkin patch. But, this MBTA-accessible farm might be the closest thing to a fall farm moment without a drive. They just laid out this gorgeous plot of pumpkins and squash, along with their usual lineup of fresh farm produce and flowers. 

🛶 Paddle in the glow of the fall moon. Part wildlife/history tour, part outdoor adventure, Paddle Boston’s moonlight tour along the Charles is a chill, 2-3-mile group paddle that's sure to put you in your autumn feels. But frankly, a solo paddle might be our favorite way to leaf peep.

🍁 Take in the trees with a foliage walk at Mount Auburn Cemetery. You already know we’re huge fans of this gorgina landscaped cemetery in Cambridge, and fall is where she really shines. Hop on one of their guided foliage walks to see the cemetery’s most colorful trees. Our only non-negotiable: Climb Washington Tower for panoramic views of Boston and beyond.

🎓✨ Instead of buying another planner you’ll abandon by October, try something actually useful. Adobe's Student Spaces in Acrobat is now available (for free!) with tools to help you study smarter, including custom study guides, video and audio summaries, citation generation, and handwritten-note conversion. It can even help review your resume and prep for interviews. Basically, one less thing to panic about.

🌀 Get ready to rumble with a rare fall nor’easter. The wind’s a howlin’, the sky’s a stormin’, and Emily’s flight is … still set for takeoff (for now). 4-6 inches of rain, 50-55 mph winds, coastal flooding, and scattered power outages are all possibilities as this storm barrels through New England, starting around 5 p.m. today and lingering into at least Sunday. So hunker down and queue up this list of new shows and movies to watch. Keep an eye on the storm’s latest here.  

😷 A small lesbian bar in Western Mass. broke the internet. And after reading this Globe magazine piece, we totally get why. Long story short: Last Ditch Bar in Greenfield needed to attract more biz, so it announced it was relaxing its very strict masking requirements from seven nights a week to six, with Saturday being mask optional. Then all hell broke loose in ways you’d never predict. Ex: One commenter suggested the bar was trying to “kill disabled people in the name of your own leisure and convenience.” Oh!

🧙 All aboard, witches. We’re going to Salem. The MBTA and Keolis announced they’ll be operating extra commuter rail trains to and from Salem every weekend in October. Woo! The bonus trains will operate during peak times on the Newburyport/Rockport Commuter Rail Line to accommodate folks heading up for Salem’s Haunted Happenings events. And these trains are necessary, as 111,000+ passengers rode the train to Salem during October weekends in 2025.

🚂 Amtrak’s fall sale = your excuse to use some PTO. The leaves aren’t the only things falling rn. Enter: Amtrak’s Falling Fares Sale, where travelers can get at least 25% off travel almost anywhere in the country (we’re looking at you, Northeast Regional!). Your job: Book by Sept. 30 for travel between Oct. 14 and Dec. 17 — just pay attention to these blackout dates and restrictions. Heads up: We saw some one-ways to NYC for as low as $21!

The Jewelry Bar in Canton, Mass. is an interactive space where you create something uniquely yours. The options are endless: custom charms, permanent jewelry, beaded designs, engraved pieces, lip gloss. It's part workshop, part social experience, and frankly, part therapy. Whether you're looking for some weeknight R&R or need a bachelorette outing, The Jewelry Bar can turn a few hours of jewelry making into exactly what YOU need. Learn more here!

🍺 Witness your first stein showdown. High Street Place’s free Fall Fest is bringing seasonal bites and brews, live music, lawn games, and a stein-holding competition to the food hall on Sept. 26. 

🎨 See Chinatown through a new lens. Sept. 26 is the city’s free Experience Chinatown festival where you can watch live performances, and support AAPI businesses.

🧣 Go secondhand for your fall wardrobe update. Covet is blessing Boston baddies with 20% off regular items and 10% off luxury pieces at its Beacon Hill store on Sept. 26 and 27.

🍕 Beat the Sunday scaries … with pizza and wine. PSA: Petula’s in Southie has the ultimate Sunday dinner deal: $55 for a choice of pizza plus a bottle of vino.

🦖 Spend a night at the museum. Sept. 27 = Adult Night at Science Park, where grownups can experience the Museum of Science after-hours at this adults-only night.

🥾 Snag the ultimate fall starter pack. Dunkin’ and L.L.Bean are teaming up for the collab heard ‘round New England: a merch and food pop-up at the Seaport L.L.Bean store on Sept. 27. Race you there!

🍂 Browse a cozy market for fall trinkets. Browse handmade jewelry, zines, vintage finds, and artisanal goods from local makers at Sunday’s Boston Hassle’s Autumn Makers Market at Cambridge Community Center on Sept. 27.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL! “Love Is Blind: Boston” has a premiere date!!!!

You’ve seen the casting calls, heard the filming rumblings, and might’ve even spotted a gold goblet in the wild. But we can now confirm that the Boston season of the iconic Netflix series will officially air Oct. 14. AH!

In case you’ve been living under a rock: “Love Is Blind” is a show where a group of single men and women from the same metro area are separated into “pods” where they can only hear each other’s voices to get to know each other. They can only meet face-to-face after they’ve gotten engaged. And, generally, chaos ensues …

We’re still waiting on an official trailer, cast list, and the locations of where things were filmed. But trust, as soon as we know more, we’ll be all over it …

— Written by Emily Schario

👮 Thanks for reading! Boston girlies about to become part-time FBI agents.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Adobe Acrobat, for making back-to-school chaos slightly more manageable.

📝 Quick update: Due to the impending storm, The Current’s grand opening party has moved to Oct. 2, from 4-6 p.m. That said, The Current shops (including MYKA) are officially open!

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and X. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] and [email protected].