🎃☕ We’re SO back

It’s Thursday, Boston.

😢 We don’t need to tell you that eating out in Boston ain’t cheap. But we DO need to tell you that it doesn’t always have to be. Enter: This Globe list of 22 spots to eat for under $20. Thank us later.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Boston goes electric 

• Tonight’s fireworks show

• Missing cow: FOUND

Up first…

FOOD & DRINK

Dunkin’ 🤝 Pumpkin’

Whether you like it or not, it’s PSL season, at least according to Dunkin’. On Wednesday, the chain’s 2024 fall menu dropped, so in the name of journalism, we ordered one of everything (minus the apple cider doughnut, which we couldn’t find). Then we ranked the seasonal menu items based on taste.

Here’s what’s worth a try:

🍂 No. 12: Almond spice coffee. Unfortunately, this drink just wasn’t good. The toasted almond shot made for an unpleasant, chemically taste. Hard pass.

🥜 No. 11: Nutty pumpkin coffee. Ditto here. The hazelnut flavor also tasted artificial, but the cream masked it a smidge better than the almond spice coffee’s almond milk.

☕ No. 10: Pumpkin chai. The pumpkin and chai flavors were both OK, but this drink’s downfall was a truly unappealing level of sweetness, which overpowered everything else.

🫐 No. 9: Iced blueberry Dunkalatte. The new Dunkalatte is a latte with coffee milk (shout out, Rhode Island!). In this case, the blueberry didn’t play well with the coffee milk flavor, but unlike the previous three, it isn’t an immediate no.

🍩 No. 8: Pumpkin cake doughnut/Munchkins. A glazed Dunkin’ doughnut is a glazed Dunkin’ doughnut. No complaints, but besides the pumpkin flavor, it’s nothing to write home about.

🍌 No. 7: Banana chocolate chip bread. This bread is our true neutral: The banana flavor is OK, and we’d eat it happily in a pinch, but it’s a little too slimy and spongy for us to seek it out.

🥓 No. 6: Maple sugar bacon breakfast sandwich/wake up wrap. We tried the sandwich, and while the egg, cheese, and croissant were nothing special, the maple sugar bacon flavor was delish.

🍁 No. 5: Pumpkin muffin. Compared with the doughnut, the muffin’s pumpkin flavors were more subtle, less sweet, and had a definite spiced quality that you miss in the other pumpkin items.

🧊 No. 4: Pumpkin frozen coffee. Unlike the chai, Dunkin’ got the sweetness levels just right here. This is giving more “dessert” than “coffee,” but it tastes like a pumpkin coffee milkshake, and we’re here for it. 

🥔 No. 3: Loaded hash browns. No surprises here: Hash browns, cheese, and bacon = good. Minus a few points for the slightly artificial cheese taste.

🎃 No. 2: Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte. It’s famous for a reason! This PSL is exactly what you want it to be: Pumpkin-y, coffee-y, and warm. If it has one fault, it’s a tinge too sweet.

⭐ No. 1: Dunkalatte. In a surprise upset, the Dunkalatte edged out the PSL to come out on top. The coffee milk flavor is more mocha-y than sweet, which made for a more balanced drink overall. You win this one, Rhode Islanders.

QUICK QUESTION

☕️ Are you a pumpkin spice latte person?

TOGETHER WITH ZOO NEW ENGLAND 

The zoo is getting lit (with lanterns)

🎶And at last I see the light 🎶 Now through Nov. 3, immerse yourself in the Franklin Park Zoo’s Boston Lights! Featuring enchanting lanterns displays — including a 115-foot octopus — and nightly Chinese dance performances, this Insta-worthy event is perfect for date night, family fun, or hanging out with friends. Score your tickets online with plan-ahead pricing and four-pack deals. Plus, students can enjoy College Night specials on Tuesdays and Wednesdays!

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

⚡ Going electric is about to get easier. Boston is going to gain at least 300 new EV charging ports thanks to a $15 million federal grant, another step toward the city’s greater goal of every household being within a five-minute walk of a public charging station or EV car share. The placement will focus on filling gaps in traditionally underserved “environmental justice communities.” Bonus: The Mass. DCR also earned a separate $1.2 million for 40 publicly accessible charging stations, most of which will be in parks. 

🌧️ Mother Nature may be coming for your Labor Day plans. If your holiday weekend itinerary includes spending time outdoors, keep your eyes on the weather. While today and Friday are looking dry and sunny, if a bit chilly, Saturday and Sunday have the potential to disappoint. While the temps and humidity are going to creep up, so is the potential for rain or storms, particularly Saturday evening and Sunday morning. But per usual, the forecast is always changing, so keep up with the latest here.

🚌 BIG changes are coming to MBTA buses. On Aug. 25, the T launched its new fall schedule, which includes some changes on the 66 bus route to prep for phase one of an upcoming major bus revamp. The 66’s outbound route now ends at the Harvard Upper Busway, and the JFK Street at Eliot St. and Johnston Gate stops are gone and replaced with one at 16 Eliot St., and the inbound route’s first stop will now be Harvard Square at Garden Street - Dawes Island. Visual learner? Check it all out here.

🎆 Want to kick off Labor Day weekend with a BANG? You quite literally can at Boston Harbor Now’s annual fireworks spectacular at Christopher Columbus park tonight. The event is totally free (although you can register) and will kick off at 6:30 p.m. with a live music performance by local acts Last Minute and Coastwise. Then, the fireworks show will begin around 8:30 p.m. It’s BYOB (bring your own blanket!). Find all the details here.

ONE LAST THING

Missing cow: FOUND

Remember, about two months ago, when we told you about a missing cow in Roslindale? TBH, we didn’t either, until we found out that he’s BACK!

That’s right, according to a Facebook post from Animal Control, the cow (which was illegally living in Boston) successfully hid from authorities in thick brush until Aug. 20, when he finally re-emerged. Once spotted, Animal Control was able to corral him into a temporary pen by luring him with food. 

The cow is currently being held at a farm in Methuen until the MSPCA can find an adopter. 

— Written by Gia Orsino

🐮 Thanks for reading! Oh, and did we mention? He’s adorable!

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Zoo New England, for supporting local journalism and adding a little more color and light to our city. 

📲The results are in: 45% of polled B-Siders say that while they’ve seen health info on social media, they don’t usually take it. One reader said: “My mother-in-law is always sending me wild TikToks and I just react.”

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