🍦 What everyone is screaming about

It’s Wednesday, Boston.

🚨 PSA: The Fairmont Copley Plaza just turned 111 years old, so they’re celebrating by giving away a one-night stay for $3.50 (the room rate back in 1912, lol) and a $111 dining credit to Oak Long Bar + Kitchen. Here’s how to enter.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• There’s an emergency

• The weather did us dirty

• Rooftop szn

Up first...

TELEPHONE TAG

I scream, you scream, they scream

It’s time for another round of telephone tag. With the last (unofficial) month of summer in full swing, we called up a handful of ice cream shops and asked where they go for a scoop (that’s not their own), and kept the train going.

So here are the best ice cream around Boston, according to the best ice cream shops around Boston:

🌱 J.P. Licks loves FoMu. “If you didn’t know it was vegan on the first bite, you wouldn’t know,” said Jenna Brown, the assistant manager of J.P. Licks’ mothership location. That’s how good she thinks FoMu’s plant-based ice cream is. Their small-batch scoops are made from a coconut-milk base, and while Brown isn’t vegan, milk “never sits quite right” with her (a sick joke for someone who manages an ice cream shop). She particularly loves their seasonal raspberry crumble, a red raspberry base swirled with chunks of sweet oat clusters.

🥥 FoMu loves Toscanini’s. According to Zaria Ginsberg, a FoMu scooper, Toscanini’s coconut ice cream with chunks of coconut flakes “was fire.” And her pick isn’t surprising given their ice cream has been ranked as some of the best in Boston — and the world. Toscanini’s is best known for inventive flavors (like bourbon-gingersnap and b3) and their decadent base. But Ginsberg also just likes the Central Square shop’s “good vibes,” as it feels a little “bougier” than just going to a Ben & Jerry’s or Emack and Bolio’s (which we should note, she still enjoys).

🤝 Toscanini’s loves Rancatore’s. Toscanini’s owner Gus Rancatore may be a little biased in his pick (his brother, Joe, runs Ranc’s), but when you make award-winning ice cream, your praise isn’t taken lightly. “There’s definitely some friendly competition,” Gus said. But Joe usually shuts down any speculation of family drama by telling customers, “mine’s just better.” Ranc’s ice cream is best known for what Joe describes as “lickability” and its powerful flavors. Gus is a recent fan of the bastani sonnati, a Persian-style ice cream made with rose water and saffron.

❤️ Rancatore’s loves … a little of everything. Joe doesn’t discriminate when it comes to ice cream and hits as many as he can both at home and while traveling. Honeycomb Creamery in Somerville is his favorite neighborhood shop for “wild” and “unusual” flavors (think Matcha Oat Latte and Cantaloupe Honey Sorbet). And he loves their staff, an area he pays close attention to in this business.

🍦 But his ultimate favorite might surprise you. When he’s out delivering his own ice cream, he always stops at Cedar Hill Dairy Joy, an unassuming, family-owned counter spot in Weston. Despite not liking soft-serve as a kid, he orders a java berry swirl (coffee and raspberry) and takes in the nostalgic ambiance of college kids working the counter and family-loaded picnic tables. “They’re just adorable in what they do,” he said.

QUICK QUESTION!

🍦 Who do YOU think makes the best ice cream around town?

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🏠 The state’s shelter crisis has reached code red. Gov. Healey declared a state of emergency in response to a recent surge in migrants that broke the back of the state’s already overburdened shelter system. Close to 5,600 families (about 20,000 individuals) are living in shelters across the state, up 80% from a year ago, with things really ramping up in the last six months. Healey can now appeal for extra federal funding, and skirt some of the usual bureaucracy to get individuals housing, food, and clothing. Want to help? Visit mass.gov/sheltercrisis for more.

⛈️ That storm did us dirty. It’s not any day that a tornado touches down in Mass. Let alone two. But Tuesday was not any day. Torrential downpours and winds roared across the state, with downed trees, power outages, road closures, and flash floods sending traffic on 128 under water. After surveying damage to the areas, the National Weather Service confirmed tornados touched down in Mattapoisett and Barnstable. Thankfully, no one was hurt. The good news? Today’s weather will be dry as a bone.

🥵 July was the hottest month on record. By a long shot. Scientists officially confirmed that July’s global average temperature of 62.51 degrees Fahrenheit was six-tenths of a degree warmer than the previous record set in 2019. And while that may not seem like much, most global temperature records are broken by just hundredths or tenths of a degree, not six of them. This announcement comes as heat waves have swept across the Southwestern U.S., Mexico, Europe, and Asia this year, another reminder of the deadly consequences of climate change.

🎤 WBUR CitySpace just released its fall event lineup. The multimedia venue on Comm. Ave. is set to welcome an array of speakers, artists, performers, and conversations this season. Popular series like Curated Cuisine, where attendees sample local chefs’ signature dishes, will be back, along with The Moth StorySLAM, an open-mic storytelling competition. New to this season is Field Trips, a series where you can meet up with folks who share similar interests (Board games! Running! Knitting!). You can see the full event lineup here.

ONE LAST THING

It’s rooftop szn

Armani Thao, a.k.a. @forkingwitharmani on IG, knows a thing or two about Boston rooftops.

The local food blogger known for highlighting the best eats in the area has been to over a dozen of them. So with a gorgeous stretch of weather on the horizon, we had to know where he’ll be camping out. He answered.

You can watch the full video of his favorites here (the last one might surprise you!).

😳 Thanks for reading! OK, pop off Dorchester Brewing!

🏠 The results are in: 25% of respondents from yesterday’s poll said they pay around $1,500 a month in rent, with 23% paying around $2,500. One reader with a $1,500 one-bed wrote, “anyone wanna fall in love to save on rent?”

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