It’s Thursday, Boston.
🐘 Tired: Somerville turkeys. Wired: Back Bay elephants. TBH, 100 life-sized elephants were not on our bingo card …
👀 What’s on tap today:
Hottie alert
$69 omakase
Queen Maye’s preseason
Up first…
TRANSPORTATION
Green Liners are taking an L
Images: Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe. Illustration: Kelly Chan.
Fire up the duck boats shuttle buses! ‘Cause we’re in for a BIG Green Line shutdown from Aug. 8-16 …
Here’s what to know:
🤔 Why is this happening again? The MBTA’s goal is two-fold: improve accessibility (we’ll dig into this in a sec) and replace the signal system, which should prevent T traffic and ultimately be more reliable in the long run.
⚒️ Back to that accessibility goal: Apparently, many Green Line stations were built before the Americans with Disabilities Act. So it’s time for some much-needed upgrades to a bunch of above-ground C branch stops on Beacon Street (think: sloped walkways, bigger/higher platforms).
🚃 OK, here’s the breakdown of branch shutdowns:
B branch: Gov. Center and Babcock Street is OOO. Your alts: Take the shuttle between Babcock Street and Back Bay (then get on the Orange), or ride the 57 fare-free. One bright side: You can ride from Babcock Street to BC for free.
C branch: No service from Gov. Center allllllllll the way to Cleveland Circle … There’ll be shuttles from Cleveland Circle to Back Bay, BUT they’ll skip St. Mary’s Street, Kent Street, and Brandon Hall.
D branch: Diva down from North Station to Kenmore. You’ll be shuttlin’, too, to Back Bay. Like the B, you can hop on the D from Kenmore outbound, at no charge.
E branch: Say goodbye to North Station to Heath Street. The 39 bus will be your bestie for getting to Back Bay (and the MBTA is beefing up the number of buses on the route).
🚨 Warning: Our spidey senses suspect Back Bay station on the Orange Line might be slammed.
😬 Friendly reminder: Symphony will still be closed after this … till 2029.
♿ Need accessible T service? There are vans between Copley and North Station.
🙏 Your white knight might be the Worcester commuter rail. Ride it fare-free between South Station, Back Bay, and Lansdowne. If you go beyond Lansdowne or you’re taking any other line, you’ll have to cough up the normal fares.
😓 Want more info? Here’s the deets.
CITY
Quick & dirty headlines
Image: Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe.
🥵 Annnnd we’re back with another ~heat advisory~. Temps are slated to soar into the high 80s today, but with the raging humidity, it’ll feel more like the high 90s. Plus, we’ll likely see some heavier storms on Friday and Saturday, coupled with some strong winds. BUT we shouldn’t see any flash floods this time *fingers crossed*. You know the deal: Here’s the map of the city’s cooling resources (yes, indoor ones, too!).
🧑🍳 There’s a new BPL chef in town. Meet Suman Shah, a.k.a. the new chef-in-residence at the Roxbury branch nutrition lab. In case you’re new here, this residency program brings in professional chefs to host community culinary classes, demos, 1:1 seshes, even menu planning. Her goals? Expand the BPL’s cooking programs (keep your eyes peeled here for future events), host cultural food convos, and help locals build simpler, healthier meals. Note: If you see a spot for any classes, snag it! They fill up fast.
✈️ JetBlue wants your fall trip to make it out of the group chat. PSA: They’re offering STEALS on select one-way flights this fall, both within the U.S. and to Europe — and they end TODAY. We’re talkin’ $129 to San Diego, $184 to Aruba, and if you want a cheaper (but still gorg) New England getaway, try this $59 flight to Presque Isle, Maine. You can also snag sub-$300 one-way tickets to London and get to Dublin for $319 for most of October.
🍣 Sorry, did you say $69 omakase??? Enter: Jūni, a new omakase spot opening in Quincy on Aug. 6, with prices we can actually get behind. For just $69, you can get 12 courses with sashimi, hand roll ingredients, and more (peep the soy marinated tuna!). Started by Momi Nonmi chef Chris Chung, this spot’s shtick is that you get *everything* on one big ol’ platter (vs. waiting for the chef to give you each piece), and you can build and eat it however you want.
QUICK QUESTION!
🍣 How much would you pay for omakase?
Let us know!
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT
Pilates 51 stories above Boston?
🏙️ Fit Scene Boston and View Boston are teaming up for another round of their Rooftop Wellness Series on Aug. 15. Join Boston Body Pilates Waterfront for a signature mat class with Boston Body founders, and a Boston skyline backdrop that will make the class fly by. Strength, stretch, and sculpt while you take in the breathtaking views, then explore wellness vendor activations, and grab a curated goodie bag. Check in starts at 9 a.m. Book here!
ONE LAST THING
Bakemas training camp
Image: Scott Eisen/Getty Images. Illustration: Kelly Chan.
Shhh! Our show is on! Patriots QB Drake Maye may be back to work at training camp, but so is the Queen of New England.
Our fave Pats WAG Ann Michael Maye is BACK with some sweeeeet recipes, starting with these delish PB&J-swirled blondies from Sarah Fennel’s “Sweet Tooth” cookbook.
We actually lol’d at this user’s comment: “I’m kicking my feet thinking how Drake is going to have a couple of these after a big nutritious dinner.”
Ann Michael’s goal this month: Make a cookbook recipe at least once a week to share with us. <3
And fans in the comments are already itching for this year’s Bakemas, a.k.a. her December baking series. (We’re four months out … but same.)
— Written by Kelly Chan and Emily Schario
🍪 Thanks for reading! We smell another Super Bowl appearance … and cookies.
🦪 The results are in: 49% of readers are slurpin’ oysters by the dozen. But a good chunk of B-Siders are not fans. One simply wrote: “It's a gross rock.” (lol) Respectfully, you might be eating the wrong side …
💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and X. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] and [email protected].