🤫💋 Boston’s secret first-date spots

It’s Monday, Boston.

😭 Remember that adorable stuffed puppy MBTA staff found on the Red Line tracks? It still hasn’t been claimed, but they’ve given it a bath so its family might recognize it. And we can’t take it anymore! SOMEONE ADOPT HIM! 

🎂 On a happier note … HBD to B-Sider Ashley Bonanno! You’re the best! BTW, would you consider adding a very sad adopted stuffed dog to your b-day list? Asking for a friend.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Snow totals around Boston

• Vintage shoppers get a little treat

• A room full of GOATs

Up first…

TELEPHONE TAG

Boston’s perfect first date spots

A great restaurant sets the tone for a great first date. But finding that great restaurant … is another story.

Since it’s the season of love, we asked local restauranteurs where they’d take someone on a first date for this month’s edition of small biz telephone tag. Here’s what they said:

🍝 Tonino loves Prairie Fire. What makes a stellar first date spot? The sexy combo of just-right lighting and music, according to Tonino chef-owner Luke Fetbroth. At Tonino, that comes from the meticulously curated, seven-plus hour playlists and “an excessive amount of candles.” But if he were taking someone on a first date, his go-to is Prairie Fire in Brookline, which knows how to create a similarly intimate atmosphere. “You get the wood-fire oven burning, the music is good, lighting is good … it just feels cozy,” he said.

❤️ Prairie Fire loves Eastern Standard. The key to a good first date spot for Prairie Fire GM Ricky Czachor? Striking the perfect balance between intimate and comfortable; a neighborhood haunt that knows how to make a night feel special. The overall “high-energy vibes” combined with more “intimate … romantic nooks” at Eastern Standard fit that bill. Plus, “I know a lot of people … that got married after going there on the first date,” he said. Now that’s a hard sell.

🍷 Eastern Standard loves haley.henry. Eastern Standard’s GM Sydnie Loboda likes to use a first date as an opportunity to sus out her date’s foodie vibes. Are they adventurous enough to share that octopus dish? Or, more importantly … are they down to share food? haley.henry’s fun, dynamic menu makes answering those Q’s easy. It has funky offerings “without being pretentious,” Loboda said, plus a consistently fun energy. Bonus: If things are going well, the move is to keep the party going at Temple Records. 

💏 haley.henry loves Zurito. “A place that has some novelty to it can create a lot of conversation between two people on that first date,” said Hanna Lauerman, GM of haley.henry. Lauerman recently went on “a 5,000th date” to Zurito in Beacon Hill, and thought it would be a great first date spot, thanks to its tapas-focused, super-sharable menu. “It contributes to that sense of, you're doing something together … you're kind of like discovering all these new little adventures.” Pro tip from Lauerman: Get the tosta matrimonio. 

QUICK QUESTION!

👬 Let’s hear it: Are you pro- or anti-sharing food with your S/O?

TOGETHER WITH THE BOCH CENTER

Come for the history, stay for the movies

🍿🎟 Some things are just better in a theater — like seeing Elle Woods slay, Robin Williams break hearts, and Leo … well, Leo. In honor of the Wang Theatre’s 100th anniversary, the Century Cinema Series: Lights, Camera, Boston! is bringing six iconic films back to where it all began. From Legally Blonde to The Departed, experience Boston’s biggest on-screen moments inside the city’s most legendary movie palace. And did we mention it’s free? Reserve your free tickets now.

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

❄️ We did it, Boston. We finally got a real snowstorm. It’s no Snowmaggedon, but we’ll take what we can get. Most of Mass. got around three to six inches of snow (give or take) on Saturday night into Sunday. Boston got 4.2 inches. And Mother Nature isn’t done. Heading into this week, we could be looking at a light dusting on Tuesday, a sloppy, wintry mix on Thursday, and a system over the weekend with the potential to dump a few more inches. Keep up with the latest here.

🚃 The MBTA has 99 problems … and most of them are GLX derailments. Early Sunday morning, two Green Line trolleys collided at the East Somerville station, sending four train operators and one passenger to the hospital (the passenger was taken to MGH for a neck injury, and has since been discharged; the operators were released without being admitted). The details were still fuzzy as of Sunday evening, but we do know the moving train collided with an out-of-service, stationary train, causing one car on each to derail. For now, the National Transportation Safety Board is looking into it.

🚉 Southeastern Mass. is entering its commuter rail era. The MBTA announced that the long-awaited South Coast rail will begin service on March 24 pending final approval. The rail will extend commuter rail service to Taunton, Freetown, New Bedford, Middleborough, and Fall River, linking them to Boston for the first time in 65 years. The agency announced that full fare from these destinations will run you $12.25, with trains running every 70 minutes on weekdays and every two hours on the weekend. Check out more details here. 

🛍️ Vintage shoppers, we have a little treat for you! Enter: Raspberry Beret. This secondhand Cambridge shop has been around in Mass. for nearly 20 years, and it officially opened a new location in Allston last month. The third locale has been booked and busy since it opened its doors, hosting a fill-a-Baggu sale, welcoming consignment appointments, throwing a PJ party, hosting DJs, and more. Expect a mix of eclectic and vintage clothes that are sourced to be unique from other local offerings, and priced right. You can check them out here.

MEDIA SPONSORSHIP

Celebrate your Valentine’s Day week with Sofar Boston! 

A pop-up concerts company, Sofar Sounds programs secret concerts featuring the top local musicians in Boston playing in unexpected spaces. Show locations and lineups are revealed just a day before the show.

No matter what the Valentine’s holiday means to you, there’s a show you’re gonna love. Bring your own friend (and booze) to Beacon Hill on Feb. 13 for Palentine’s Day, experience Love at First Bite in East Cambridge on Feb. 14, turn the page on Valentine’s Day at a bookstore in the Seaport on Feb. 15, or join us for a Valentine Matinee featuring a live DJ and cocktail followed by a show at a vinyl listening lounge in Fort Point on Feb. 16. 

B-Side members get 20% off all these shows! Join the membership to join the fun.

THINGS TO DO

Weekday checklist

💋 Let’s talk about sex … trivia. It’s only weird if you make it! Test your sex knowledge at Long Live Roxbury’s sex trivia night on Feb. 12. The winning team will get some sexy prizes, but the team with the best name won’t go home empty-handed.

😎 Be the ULTIMATE wingman … Or woman … or person. This pitch-a-friend event on Feb. 12 is the perfect opportunity to tell the public (via slideshow) why your buddy deserves love. And did we mention there will be dogs? 

🌝 Stretch out under the snow moon. Leave the bad vibes (and your snow boots) at the door, and warm up with this full moon yoga class and meditation at the Museum of Modern Renaissance on Feb. 12. 

💏 Honor one of the romcom greats. A free screening of “Clueless” at Trident Booksellers on Galentine’s Day (Feb. 13)? As if!

🎤 Hear your fave podcasters IRL. The “Gals on the Go” podcast is shipping up to The Wilbur for a live show on Feb. 13. Enjoy the ultimate Galentine’s night out with hosts Brooke Miccio and Danielle Carolan.

🌹 Trade a dozen roses for moss in a jar. You can DIY your own succulent arrangement in this workshop on Feb. 13. Or, make your lover a full-blown terrarium at Portico Brewing’s terrarium party. 

🎥 Catch up on Oscar-nominated flicks. You’ll have the edge in your Oscar pool after heading to the Coolidge Corner Theatre for its showings of Oscar-nominated short films on Feb. 14

😳 Go on a hunt for naked people. Naked people in ART, that is. Hop on this naked at the MFA scavenger hunt on Feb. 14 and 15, where you’ll sniff out unclad sculptures and paintings.  No knowledge of art — is required or nudity. 

ONE LAST THING

A room full of GOATS

Not all look-alike contest winners are created equal. But we can confidently say that the winner of Time Out’s Tom Brady look-alike contest does kinda look the part!

NBC10 Boston described the crowd of GOATs as “a dozen people with jawlines of varied definition” — ouch. But one stood out: Will from Brookline, N.H., who was in town with his mom and stepfather. 

As NBC10 said, Will was “arguably the only person in the lineup who really did look like Brady.” 

The resemblance is genuinely there, and Will self-admittedly gets the Brady comparison a lot. We get it.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🐐 Thanks for reading! He looks like Tom Brady, but can he post cryptic emo IG stories about his ex-wife’s new baby like Tom Brady? Unclear.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, The Boch Center, for supporting local journalism and bringing 100 years of entertainment to Boston.

🏈 The results are in: What do B-Siders hate more: Philly, or non-Pats football dynasties? The answer: Non-Pats football dynasties. 50% of B-Siders say that they rooted for the Eagles in Sunday’s Super Bowl, and you guys cracked us up with your write-ins. One reader said: “I couldn't care less about football but I LOVE seeing grown men upset.”

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