💃🪩 Boston’s sexiest new restaurant

It’s Monday, Boston.

🍰 Polar Seltzer is known for its wacky flavors … But its newest drop of small-batch dessert flavors, including cinnamon bun and apple crisp, might be the wackiest yet. It’s unclear where exactly folks can get them, but Reddit has a few suggestions.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Bad news for City Hall haters

• Lights. Camera. Speeding tickets.

• A local “Bachelor” contestant

Up first…

B-SIDE CERTIFIED

Is this Boston’s sexiest restaurant?

It’s B-Side Certified time, baby! Per your request, we took a trip to the South End to check out Desnuda cocina & bar, a new Latin-Asian fusion spot. 

Here’s what we thought: 

FIRST IMPRESSION

🪩 This place gets our stamp of approval on vibes alone. The space strikes the balance of being cozy and sexy, but not too dark or loud to chat with your table. The decor? Groovy, retro-glam meets trendy. See: Lots of wood, fun patterns, gold accents, and red mood lighting.

🍷 Quick note: There’s also a “vinyl bar” area downstairs. The menu is the same (at least, for now), and the vibes are very similar, but more intimate. However, we’re told they have programming plans.

FOOD & DRINK 

🍹 The cocktails were a 10/10. The Amarillo Passion ($17) was like a margarita’s sophisticated cousin — tangy and smooth with a passionfruit kick. Another winner: The Dragon Kiss ($16), which was watermelon-forward and refreshing without tasting artificial.

🌮 The tapas-style plates had some big winners. Our fave was the crispy tuna tacos special ($18). Think: A poke bowl bite wrapped in a crispy shell. The miso eggplant ($6) was also delish — perfectly cooked with a great depth of flavor from the miso and sesame. 

🍛 But some dishes juuust missed the mark. The meats in the pork belly bao buns ($16) and tacos de carne ($16) were excellent — rich, buttery, flavorful, and well cooked. But the fixings in both were cause for some deductions. The tacos’ avocado puree and salsa were fresh, but lacked flavor. The bao’s pickled veg and sauce were solid, but felt a little basic compared with the rest of the menu.

🍄 There was one question mark. The maitakey ceviche ($14), a vegetarian ceviche, was unlike anything we’d ever tasted. We found it a little too acidic, which, when combined with some off-putting, bouncy, chewy textures, made for an odd eating experience. It needed something fatty or creamy to balance it out. 

VALUE

💸 The prices reflect the space’s trendy vibe. With tip, we paid $132.25 — a little steep compared with some of our other B-Side Certified picks. But FWIW, the experience felt elevated, and we were impressed by the freshness and quality of the ingredients across the board.

✅ The verdict? B-Side Certified. While we’re not exactly sprinting back — our wallets wouldn’t let us — between the sexy vibes, yummy drinks, and the tapas winners, we’d put it in the rotation for a special occasion.

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🏛️ Boston’s ugliest building just became a local landmark. Bad news for City Hall haters: On Friday, Mayor Michelle Wu announced that the 1968-built brutalist fortress officially received historical landmark status for its “architectural and cultural value.” Which is a little ironic, considering it was once named the fourth ugliest building in the world and has faced calls for demolition since before it was even finished. But with its new designation, we can expect it to be around for a long time.

📸 Your next speeding ticket might come from a camera. Gov. Maura Healey tucked a provision into her 2026 budget that would allow cities and towns to catch and ticket speeding drivers with cameras. She said the tech will make the roads safer and ease the burden on local law enforcement. The cameras would need to be marked by a sign, and speeders going 11 mph or more over the speed limit (or 6 mph in school zones) would face a warning, then a $25 fine, which could go up if drivers are caught repeatedly. Now, it’s up to the Legislature.

⚡ Your electricity bill miiiight spike next month. Starting Feb. 1, President Donald Trump said he’s going to put a 25% tariff on “all products” from Canada and Mexico. Since New England gets about 5 to 10% of its electricity from Canada, officials estimate the tariff could increase Mass.’ electricity bills by between $100 million and $200 million statewide. Gov. Healey’s office said about half the increase will hit government and business entities, and the other half … will hit us right in the pocketbook. She’s calling for local officials to push back.

⚽ BOS Nation doesn’t want to share a field with the Revs. Why? The team doesn’t want to be a “baby sister,” according to Jennifer Epstein, controlling owner of BOS Nation FC. She told the Globe that typically, when women’s pro-soccer teams share space with men’s teams, the women’s team is renting. That means the men’s team gets to cash in on naming rights and concessions, while getting priority scheduling for game times. If the controversial White Stadium plan goes through, BOS Nation would be just the second pro women’s soccer team to have its own venue.

QUICK QUESTION!

🏛️ What do you think about Boston’s City Hall building?

GIVEAWAY

Together with Emerson Colonial Theatre

Enter to win tickets to four must-see shows at Emerson Colonial Theatre! To enter, just refer a friend and have them accept your invite by the end of the day on Jan. 29. If you have already referred a friend to B-Side (and they’ve accepted), you're eligible! Full details below*

18+. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Limit one entry per person. See Official Rules & an additional entry option here.

THINGS TO DO

Weekday checklist

🌹 Watch Grant give out his first impression rose. The newest season of “The Bachelor” kicks off tonight, and Parlor Sports in Somerville is hosting Monday-night watch parties allll season long. Spoiler: A Mass. native is on the show!

💃 Put on your dancin’ shoes. Brews and Bachata are on the menu at Castle Island Brewing’s free Bachata event on Wednesday. Requirements: Basic rhythm, a can-do attitude, and a love for good tunes.

🤓 Prove you’re the smartest friend. Clue: A fun way to spend a Wednesday night in Southie. Answer: What is … “Jeopardy” night at Fresh?

💋 Let’s talk about sex, baby! This “Awkward Sex and the City” show on Thursday is exactly what it sounds like: Comedian Natalie Wall reliving intimate tales about their sex life for your comedic pleasure. 

🐍 Ring in the Year of the Snake. Thursday marks the MFA’s Lunar New Year celly, where you can enjoy $5 minimum, pay-what-you-wish general admission starting at 5 p.m., along with a boatload of special events.

❤️‍🔥 Start your Valentine’s engines early. In search of a book club? Love romance novels? This romance book club at Trident on Thursday might be for you. First book on the docket: “Funny Story” by Emily Henry. 

😋 Take a New Orleans food tour … in Boston. The Make Friends After College FB group (lots of 20- and 30-year-olds) are hanging at Shaking Crab on Friday with a side of New Orleans-inspired sips and bites. 

ONE LAST THING

A bachelorette from Newton

There’s a chance our next Bachelorette is going to be from Mass. Yeah, it’s a one in 25 chance, but still, it’s there! 

Tonight, a new season of “The Bachelor” kicks off, and contestant Juliana Pasquarosa is a Newton native (!). She’s described as “a bubbly, outgoing woman who isn’t afraid to speak her mind and go after what her heart wants.” And she’s after the heart of Grant, a “self-proclaimed mama’s boy.” 

If your broken brain (like Emily’s and Gia’s) likes to read “Bachelor” spoilers as soon as they drop, you can learn about Pasquarosa’s fate on the show. But if you’re not into that, don’t say we didn’t warn you! 

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🌹 Thanks for reading! Fingers crossed we can finally get a Boston-ajacent hometown episode.

⛷️ The results are in: 46% of B-Siders are team cross-country skiing as opposed to snowshoeing. One reader said: “If I eat shit I may as well look slightly cooler.” 

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