🧐🧑‍🍳 Cheap eats? Someone cooked here.

🍊 Spin for a spritz? We’re teaming up with The Handle Bar and Bar Mezzana on May 30 for our ultimate summer kickoff: Choose between an HB Spin or Sculpt class, then head to Bar Mezzana's private patio for food, spritzes, mingling, and Aperol merch. Now that’s amore.

🥳 Happy Birthday to B-Side Member Emily Auger! Consider this the B-Side team buying you a b-day drink.

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Quick recipes that won’t break the bank? Yes, chef! We’re back with another round of B-Side approved bites from the Globe’s revamped recipe database. 

Here’s what’s cookin’:

🍝 10-minute simple spaghetti. We all need a pasta dish that comes together in a pinch. This is basically the adult version of a stovetop mac n’ cheese — rich, creamy, a lil’ crunchy. And all it takes is four ingredients and 10 minutes. Bonus: It’s topped with crispy, golden panko breadcrumbs. 

🥙 Lazy girl hummus. Turns out, you don’t need a food processor to make your own hummus. With just a bowl, a whisk, and a can-do attitude, this version from Ham El-Waylly (husband of culinary icon Sohla) puts store-bought versions to shame. Just simmer the chickpeas, whip them up with some tahini and garlic, and BOOM. 

🥧 Crumbly rhubarb oatmeal bars. This is your sign to take a trip to the farmer’s market for some rhubarb (which is in-season through June). Make a quick rhubarb compote on the stove with lemon and vanilla, combine it with a buttery oatmeal mixture, and bake until it’s gooey and wonderful. Plus, the compote is perfect over ice cream or yogurt.

🍳 Scrambled egg grilled cheese sammies. For this spin on a typical breakfast sandwich, you’ll tuck fluffy scrambled eggs into a sammy with Havarti and cheddar, then toast it all in a skillet of butter, grilled cheese-style. Red pepper and chives give it a dose of freshness.

🍋‍🟩 Lime-glazed pound cake. Pound cake is one of the easiest cakes to make thanks to its simple ingredient list: butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. This version is leveled-up with buttermilk in the batter and topped with a sugary lime glaze when it’s fresh out of the oven, adding an extra punch of tang. Pro tip: Top it with berries and whipped cream. 

🍪 Chocolate chip scones. These light, chocolatey morsels are responsible for launching the career of “the scone queen” herself, Danielle Sepsy. Though any scone will require a little TLC (think: forming and resting the dough), this version uses just a bowl and a whisk. The scones themselves bake in under 20 minutes. 

🥃✨ Consider this your sign to upgrade from “whatever’s on tap.” At Chattermark Distillery in Charlestown, you’ll find a hidden cocktail lounge under the Tobin serving locally crafted spirits, strong speakeasy energy, and cocktails worth leaving your usual bar rotation for. It’s low-key, distinctly Boston, and ideal for people with taste (and tolerance). Stop by for drinks, book a tasting or distillery tour, and casually discover your new favorite hidden gem.

🏒 Boston is officially 0 for 3 this playoff season. Pour one out for the Fleet, who were knocked out of the Walter Cup semifinals by Ottawa this weekend, dashing Boston’s last hope for a championship this season. The L came in heartbreaking fashion, too: The Fleet clawed back from an 0-2 deficit with a ridiculous three goal run in under two minutes, but the Charge fought back, winning the game 4-3 in double OT. Even worse: We can expect a major roster shakeup this offseason. So much for that TD game …

🤝 There’s a reason why Camberville’s cafe scene is so great. Apparently, many of the area’s most beloved cafes are interconnected through shared staff, spin-off bakeries, and longtime friendships. For example: Did you know that Vinal Bakery’s iconic English muffins were first created in Bagelsaurus, where owner Sarah Murphy used to work? Or that New Leaf Espresso founders Eoin Jaquith and Andrew DeBenedictis came up through 1369 Coffee House? In fact, Boston.com made a relationship map to track it all. 

🎭 Massachusetts’ funniest festival is BACK. Boston Fringe returns to Davis Square for its second year now through May 17 at the Rockwell, Dragon’s Lair, and Dente’s Barber Shop. Much like the The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Somerville’s version features a hodgepodge of uncurated performances, meant to give artists freedom to let their creative freak flag fly. The result? “A Tall Girl’s Lament,” a musical about being a tall woman in showbiz, or “PSA: Pelvic Service Announcement,” a comedy about pelvic floor health. Grab tickets here!

😋 It’s a great week to eat in the Seaport. The neighborhood has two foodie openings on deck: Daily Provisions, the NYC-based all-day cafe chain, is opening its second Greater Boston location on May 13, with a menu that’ll take you from breakfast to brunch to dinner. Bonus: The first 100 customers get one of their famous crullers for FREE! Plus, Sugar’s Hot Pizza, a new pizza, sandwich, and soft serve spot from the team behind Stubbys, will be right behind them, opening May 15. 

MAFW: In Full Bloom is happening May 23 at Plymouth Memorial Hall, spotlighting emerging designers, models, and creatives from across New England. Founded by Miss Maegan, Massachusetts Fashion Week is a platform built to uplift underrepresented voices in fashion through hands-on education, mentorship, and community. The runway show celebrates creativity with purpose and impact. Grab tickets for this celebration of New England fashion talent here.

Out: Backyard weddings. In: Front porch weddings. Just ask Sarah Welch and Philip Noonan, who tied the knot at this year’s Somerville’s Porchfest on the porch where they met and fell in love. 

The couple have a story straight out of a romcom: They started as roommates in 2019, then fell in love after getting quarantined together in the early days of COVID. One night, they pitched a tent in the living room to watch movies together, a scene that Noonan recreated when he proposed last year. The bar is high, ladies!

The wedding idea came about just weeks ago, when they realized their courthouse wouldn’t be open. Friends, family, and strangers gathered to watch the ceremony from the street, which, in true PorchFest fashion, included an acoustic rendition of “Tiny Dancer” from one of their friends.

Read more about their sweet love story here.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

💍 Thanks for reading! Someone call Emily Henry STAT.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Chattermark Distillery, for supporting local journalism and proving Boston still knows how to do drinks right.

📲 The results are in: B-Side readers are firmly anti-QR code menus. 49% are OK with them as long as there are also paper menus, and 48% outright hate ‘em! One reader said: “One of my firm Boomer takes! ”

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