😋🍜 Food coma in 3, 2, 1...

🥤Good news: Dunkin’s 48-oz. iced coffee buckets are back Aug. 7. Even better news: They made an iced bevvy bucket holder so you can put said bucket in your car’s cup holder. <3

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

My steak too juicy, lobster too buttery … Yeah, we shouldn’t be complaining that Boston mag gave us toooooo many new bites in their roundup of new restaurants this month.

Here’s what’s cookin’:

🌯 Baba Shawarma, Downtown. Syrian-style chicken shawarma is the only thing on the menu here — and it looks GAS. Their juicy, chicken is wrapped in a thin crispy saj bread, topped with a garlic sauce and sweet pomegranate molasses. Their secret spice blend + 48-hour long marinade is what takes it to the next level. Hello, look at this GIANT spit! And apparently, they’ll have soft-serve coming soon …

🍽️ THE thing to try:

🍜 Wonton Cafe, Leather District. Say it with us: “Boston needs more Hong Kong-style cafes!” This new gorg casual spot will fill *every* cozy comfort craving you could possibly have, from pork and shrimp dumplings to lo mein to curry beef stew. (Their wonton noodle soup looks like it could heal us.) And you can wash it all down with some classic Cantonese bevs, like Hong Kong-style milk tea and yuen yeung (a.k.a. if coffee and milk tea had a baby).

🍽️ Things to try:

🍵 byChae, Back Bay. We know her, we love her, so we’re PUMPED to hear that byChae is finally opening up its own storefront on Newbury Street on Aug. 8!!! The brand has been going viral for its matcha pop-ups over the past year — even collabing with big brands like Aēsop and Gap. Banana pudding matcha? Coconut mango sticky rice? Yes, please! With cream tops, of course.

🍽️ Things to try:

🐆 Leopard Lounge, Southie. Dalia just opened up this shmexyyyy spot (think: red velvet booths, moody lighting, and leopard print pillows obv) underneath its main restaurant — and it screams date night. Open Thursday to Saturday nights till 1 a.m., this late-night concept offers nearly everything on Dalia’s food and bev menu. So you already know we’ll be ordering a midnight round of our three faves: ~buttery~ pan frito, the charred snap pea salad, and the confit cabbage with black garlic aioli.

🍽️ Things to try:

😋 Still hungry? See Boston mag’s full list of new restaurants. 

🚴🌊 Cape Cod views, miles logged, and a beachside finish. Second Summer Cycle is your excuse to swap the usual Sunday plans for a scenic ride through Cape Cod. Choose your challenge (15, 34, 60, or 100 miles), soak up the views, and cross the finish line at Smugglers Beach with live music, food trucks, and local brews waiting. Plus, every mile supports 19 local nonprofits — so your ride does more than just look good on your feed. Register now and start training. 

🌿 What happens to pot businesses if recreational marijuana goes away? That is the question now that weed legalization is back on the November ballot. There are two options: shut their doors completely, or turn into medical dispensaries (which btw cost wayyyyy more than recreational ones). Not to mention, ~100 weed businesses are owned by people in Mass. social equity programs, designed to help those arrested for possession tap into the legalized industry. And ironically, they were meant to right the racial wrongs of the war on drugs …

📚 Trump is demanding answers from local universities. Every university pres received a laundry list of Qs about admissions policies, campus protests, and more. Each college needs to respond with an online public statement by EOY. This comes after Trump offered a “compact” last year to nine schools (including MIT) with a deal: align with his political priorities in exchange for more federal funding. Surprisingly, the new letter didn’t have any strict demands or consequences, like funding freezes, if schools don’t comply.

🍽️ Our dining scene is at a tipping point. The TL;DR: Out-of-town restaurateurs with $$$ are rapidly moving into Boston, but our beloved local restaurants are falling like dominoes (see: Bar Mezzana, Chickadee, Nine). Globe food critic Devra First said it looks like this shift boils down to a few factors, particularly labor shortages and affordability (shocker). The bottom line: The city needs to take some *serious* action to preserve, grow, and diversify our restaurant scene. Before Boston ends up, well … bland.

🦪 PSA: It’s National Oyster Day!!! And all your fave spots are shuckin’ it UP! Joe’s Waterfront is rollin’ out buck-a-shucks alllllll day (until sold out), and Puritan Oyster Bar has half-priced half-shells all night long (usually $3.50 each!). Or if you’re lookin’ to dip from work early for a pre-dinner snack, Atlantic Fish Co. is serving up $2 shucks from 3 to 6 p.m. Plus, we have our daily go-to $1 oyster spots like Mooo…. Beacon Hill and Rochambeau. See the full list here.

Below are some of the hottest local things to do. This month, B-Side Members can save more than $100 across our events, plus more monthly deals!

🦪 Aug. 18: B-Side Supper Club at Margeaux Supper Parlor, $55. We’re opening up the last few spots to all readers for this Supper Club, which comes with something extra special: an oyster shucking education with wine pairings. Plus, of course, an intimate dinner with fellow B-Siders. Tickets here!

🕯️ Aug. 20: Candlelit Yoga & Sound Bath, $15. End your week in a candlelit room, stretching out to a sound bowl meditation led by Summer Street Wellness’s founder. This sound bath is designed to release stress and leave you lighter and refreshed. Stick around after for wellness freebies! Book here with code BSIDESSW.

💗 Sept. 19: Pause Festival, $50 Earlybird. Reset, connect, and treat yourself to an afternoon with your besties. Start with a B/SPOKE stretch-out, then get pampered by Dry Bar; The Tox, Olfactory (for VIPs), and get inspired by a panel of local women leaders. Get your ticket here! Members save $20.

👀 Want to feature your upcoming event above? Click here.

🏙️ 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!

The Zac Brown Band pulled an Oprah: “Everybody gets a free cruise!” Yup, they gave *every* single fan in the crowd (more than 35,000!) a cruise-for-two aboard the Margaritaville at Sea during their Boston concert on Aug. 2. 

This was THE largest live giveaway in history, with a ~$40 *million* value. 

“Tonight, we’re doing something even Jimmy [Buffett] would say is crazy,” Brown said, right before they sang “Same Boat.” 

Brown said this was a surprise thank-you gift for their 15th straight sold-out show at Fenway — an all-time record for the ballpark. 

And they’ve never done any giveaways even near this scale before (they’ve given out cruises on this “Love & Fear Tour,” but capped it at four per show).

Plus, the trip is for a new ship called the Beachcomber, and Zac Brown even co-designed a live music stage on it (of course, called “Same Boat”).

— Written by Kelly Chan and Emily Schario

⛴️ Thanks for reading! Who knew Zac Brown Band would become our friends with a boat??

💜 Special shoutout to today's sponsor, Second Summer Cycle, for supporting local journalism and offering a chance to pedal toward a brighter future. 

🎓 The results are in: 60% of B-Siders support three-year bachelor’s degree programs. One reader said, “All for liberal arts education, but if I could have gotten out in 3 years without having to take ‘clap for an A’ (music 101) or ‘rocks for jocks’ (geology 101), I would have.” Tbh rock for jocks sounds like a fun time …

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