🚚 😋 Food truck season is BACK

Happy Friday, Boston!

🚇 This is your official reminder about this weekend’s MBTA shutdowns. Red Liners: Shuttle buses will replace service from Broadway to Ashmont and from Broadway to North Quincy on Saturday and Sunday. Orange Liners: Shuttle buses will replace service from Forest Hills to Ruggles on Saturday. Godspeed.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Milton NIMBYs strike back 

• MBTA April service changes

• A statue for Spencer

Up first…

OUT & ABOUT

Grub at the Greenway

Your lunch break is about to get 10 times more delicious. The Greenway’s 2024 food truck program kicks off its 15th season on Monday, serving up everything from Jamaican food to bubble tea to burgers. 

Here’s what to know:

🍕 25 local food trucks and vendors will be gracing the Greenway through October. In addition to fan faves like the Chicken & Rice Guys, Cookie Monstah, and Paisani (see: subs the size of your head), visitors can expect to see newbies like Smoke, a brand new Southern BBQ truck with burgers, wings, and fixings, Zaaki, a Mediterranean street food food truck serving shawarma and falafel, and Bees and Thank You, a grilled cheese-only spot whose sales support pollinators.

🚚 The trucks will rotate between time slots and locations. Vendors will be popping up at seven different locations across the Greenway: Dewey Square Park, Rowes Wharf Plaza, Trillium Garden, Rings Fountain, State Street, The Greenway Carousel, and (new this year!) Hanover Street. For the most options, hit Dewey Square and Rowes Wharf during any weekday lunch slot.

⏰ Expect a slow and steady spring rollout. TLDR: The best way to know what’s what is to check out their weekly schedule here. But for a look ahead, the Dewey Square and Rowes Wharf locations will fully open for the season on April 1, with about 12 trucks between the two, followed by a rotating dinnertime truck at Trillium on April 16. And on May 1, expect one to two trucks at State Street and Rings Fountain for lunchtime, and at the Greenway Carousel and Hanover Street for lunch and dinnertime. 

☀️ But if you can’t catch them during regular hours, fear not! In addition to their regular schedule, every Saturday from May through October (and Sundays, too starting in June), you’ll be able to catch a sampling of the trucks at the Greenway Artisan Market. And on Saturday, May 4, you’ll be able to find most of the vendors all in one place at their Food Truck Festival.

😋 Overwhelmed by all the options? We’ve got the intel. While pretty much every spot is worth a try, according to Olivia Horte and Natalie Ng, the Conservancy's program manager and program coordinator, you can’t go wrong with a sub at Paisani. As for notable newcomers, Bees and Thank You isn’t one to miss (and based on these pictures, we’re already drooling). 

B-SIDE MADNESS

Boston’s best nightlife

💃 Welcome to round four of Nightlife Madness! We crowdsourced some of Boston’s best nightlife venues to create our own March Madness bracket, where B-Siders can vote which spot is the city’s best. Round three’s winners were Modern Underground and Bell in Hand. Make sure to keep on voting! 

TOGETHER WITH MFA BOSTON

K-Pop, Netflix dramas, and more 

🫰 Want to see the iconic "Squid Game" guard uniforms in person or step inside a K-pop dance routine? Head to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and check out “Hallyu! The Korean Wave” — a groundbreaking exhibition celebrating South Korean pop culture. Peruse approximately 250 objects showcasing Korea's innovative contributions to art, cinema, drama, music, fashion, beauty, and technology. This exhibition is a must-see for anyone interested in learning more about Korea’s rise as a cultural superpower (or maybe you've just got a BTS obsession — no judgment!). Get your tickets now and don’t miss out on this unique, immersive experience. 

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🏘️ Milton NIMBYs strike back. The town of Milton fired back at Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who sued the town over their recent refusal to comply with the MBTA Communities Act (requiring MBTA-served communities to zone for more multifamily housing). Milton’s response to the lawsuit calls into question the legality of the act itself, and Campbell’s authority to enforce it, saying, basically, that the state is overstepping. The case is set to be heard in court this fall, and if Milton wins, the effects will ripple across Mass.

🏭 Mass. is thinking twice about its pollution practices. Gov. Maura Healey just announced a set of new regulations on air polluting facilities (like power plants and manufacturers) that would force environmental regulators considering new facilities to examine their impact on nearby communities, e.g., income levels and current levels of pollution. Experts are hopeful that this will help address the disproportionately high levels of pollution in Boston’s communities of color. In some other good air quality news: New England’s last coal plants will officially be gonzo by 2028.

🚇 Next stop: The MBTA’s April service changes. And boy, are they a doozy. Long story short, if you’re on the Silver, Orange, Blue or Red lines: We’re sorry. On the Silver line, expect one evening of street level service on April 6. Orange and Red lines, expect a few repeats of this weekend’s shutdowns. Blue Liners, your time in the sun is over, prepare for a three day and a nine day shutdown later in the month. And commuter railers, we’re out of words, but check here to plan ahead.

💐 Spring has officially sprung. How do we know? The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s annual nasturtiums have returned to the museum in all their glory. In case you didn’t know, nasturtiums are beautiful orange flowers, which, each year, get meticulously and laboriously grown into 20 foot vines by museum staff, and hung out of the museum’s courtyard windows come springtime to celebrate Isabella’s birthday — a tradition that Isabella herself began. The flowers will be up through April 14. Grab tickets here!

THINGS TO DO

Weekend plans

💅 Get a BOGO manicure with your bestie. It’s your last chance to take advantage of MiniLuxe Seaport’s Bring Your Own Bestie March promotion — simply book a manicure with a friend and get one manicure for free!

🍺 Celebrate a Boston beer birthday. Night Shift, brewer of refreshing local Boston beer, is turning 12! Grab a special birthday brew and celebrate with them at their (free!) Funkiversary Party on Saturday.

🌅 Dust off your sunny side. It’s been a long winter. Some of us could use the chance to uncrank our crankiness, and Saturday’s Be-In Boston, dedicated to simply being positive, is just the place.

✂️ Mix, match, and montage. The MFA’s Drop-In Art Making series this month features the art of collage, inspired by “Dinorá Justice: The Lay of the Land,” which you’re invited to emulate through your own masterpiece this Sunday.

🧀 Don’t be sheepish. Learn all about (and taste) the delicious cheeses that come from sheep’s milk at Formaggio Kitchen on Saturday. And yes, there will be wine and charcuterie.

— Written by Claire Nicholas

🎉 Want more things to do recommendations? Refer five friends to unlock three bonus items. For those who already have, enjoy below.

ONE LAST THING

A statue for Spencer 

The Boston Marathon’s official pup is getting a forever place on the route. A statue to commemorate Spencer, the Golden Retriever who cheered on Boston runners from the sidelines for eight years, will be unveiled this weekend.

Spencer, who passed away in 2023, was a therapy dog who first gained some attention for holding a “Boston Strong” sign in his mouth during 2013’s race, but went totally viral in 2018 for this video of him cheering on runners in the rain. In 2022, Spencer became the official dog of the Boston Marathon, a role that, this year, will be taken on by his owner’s new pup, Jimmy. 

The statue’s unveiling will take place Saturday at noon at the intersection of Olive, Frankland, and West Union Streets in Ashland (near the spot he used to cheer from), and it’ll be free and open to the public.

— Written by Gia Orsino

🐶 Thanks for reading! We’re not crying, you are!

💜 Special shoutout to today's sponsor, MFA Boston, for supporting local journalism and bringing culturally rich experiences to our city.

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