🚘😬 PSA: Traffic is gonna be ROUGH

It’s Tuesday, Boston.

⭐ OpenTable just dropped its list of the top 100 restaurants in the country … and an impressive FIVE of them are right here in Greater Boston, including a few of our faves like Pammy’s and Bar Vlaha. Check them all out here.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• The Red Line is slow zone free!

• Boston’s newest winter pop-up

• A very high school hijack

Up first…

TRANSPORTATION

The worst week on the road

We are officially in peak Thanksgiving travel season. And between the record-breaking year for road and air travel, a big travel window, and a potential nor’easter on the horizon, there’s a LOT to discuss. 

🚘 When we say “record breaking,” we mean it. This Thanksgiving, AAA expects that 79.9 million U.S. travelers will be heading over 50 miles from home. That’s 1.7 million people more than in 2023 and 2 million more than in 2019. According to Jill Young, AAA Northeast's director of PR, those record numbers are still coming from the post-pandemic “revenge travel” mentality, plus folks who are using the holiday stretch to take a vacay or check out a new destination. 

💼 WFH culture = a bigger travel window. With WFH freeing us up to be more flexible with travel, no day this week is safe from traffic. AAA extended their travel projections for the first time this year to include today and Monday, Dec. 2. And because of the holiday travel/commuter mingling, those days may see some of the gnarliest traffic, according to Young. 

🚙 Per usual, most of those 80 million travelers will be on the road. Approximately 71.7 million, if you’re keeping track. According to MassDOT’s traffic projections: 

• The worst times to drive are: Tuesday until 5 p.m., Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday from noon to 3 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. on. 

• And the best are: before 8 a.m. from Thursday to Sunday, and after 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. 

🌧️ About that nor’easter … we have good news. Per Caitlyn Mensch, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, things aren’t looking as grim for us as we thought. She said that southern New England can expect little more than “moderate” rainfall on Thanksgiving day and Friday morning, amounting to more of a “nuisance” for travel than a major problem. But if you’re heading to New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, or upstate New York, you could encounter a bit of snow. “It's definitely not going to be like a high-impact situation, but it is winter driving,” she said. 

✈️ Still, you should keep an eye on your flights. According to Samantha Decker, Massport’s assistant director of media relations, Logan is “expecting potential weather across the Northeast that could impact flights.” So at the very least, stay informed!

❄️ All of that said, the weather is famously ever-changing, so keep up with the latest here. 

QUICK QUESTION

🚘 How are you traveling for Thanksgiving?

TOGETHER WITH THE FENWAY

Jingle all the way to The Fenway 

🎄 *Cue the twinkling lights and Michael Bublé playlist* This holiday season, make The Fenway your go-to spot for festive fun. Whether you’re snagging a tree at The Fenway Tree Farm or sipping on Cisco brews for a good cause at the Fenway Chalet powered by Cisco Brewers, every stop will have you more jolly than before. Catch dazzling light projections, wrap up last minute shopping, and feast on seasonal bites from over 25 local eateries. Plus, join The Fenway newsletter or follow along on Insta for giveaways, advent surprises, and more holiday happenings you won’t want to miss. 

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🚇 Everyone say “congratulations!” to the Red Line. Because it’s officially joined the Blue and Orange lines in the slow zone-free club! That’s right, following the end of its most recent successful shutdown, for the first time in 20 years, the entire line is free of speed restrictions. If you’re keeping score, that means we’re down 57 slow zones from this time last year. Even better: After a two-weekish shutdown in December, the Green Line is expected to follow suit, making the entire MBTA clear. We’re tearing up a little. 

🌧️ Last week’s rain means all the wildfires are out, right? Wrong, unfortunately. Despite much of Mass. finally getting about an inch of rain late last week, as of Sunday, there were still 20 wildfires burning across the state, and most of the state remains in “critical” drought condition. Basically, while a bit of rain certainly doesn’t hurt, it’s not enough to make up for the months-long deficit or extinguish a fire alone. So for now, sticking to those drought and wildfire guidelines (think: shorter showers, no outdoor fires) is still best practice. 

🩰 No gatekeeping: Here’s how to see “The Nutcracker” for just $25. The secret? BosTix. This summer, the iconic discount ticket booth at Faneuil Hall by ArtsBoston officially reopened, and today (Nov. 26) and Dec. 7, it has some seriously *festive* deals. On those days BosTix is offering $25 tickets for some of Boston’s most popular holiday shows for folks who buy them in-person, from “The Nutcracker” to “Christmas with the Back Bay Ringers.” You can also nab some deals online. 

⛄ Step aside, Snowport, there’s a new winter wonderland in town. From Dec. 5 to Jan. 25, Winter Fest, an all-new winter activation, is coming to Charlestown’s Hood Park. Some deets are still under wraps, but for now we know that it’ll be a giant, “magical” winter park with ice skating, an artisan market, performances, a life-sized gingerbread house, food and drink (including booze), and more. For now, that’s pretty much all we got, aside from the fact that they’ll be kicking things off with a tree lighting. Keep tabs on their website for updates.

ONE LAST THING

A very high school hijack

Picture this. You’re Edith Stone Lentini, a Nantucket Airbnb owner who gets a definitively sketchy message asking to book your home for a night. The sender says they’re a mom looking to book for their young daughter and her friends to have a Halloween party on Oct. 28. 

The message concludes: “It wouldn’t even really be a party. I will leave the house spotless and I’m sure nothing will be ruined.” Smartly, she ignored the message. But come Oct. 28, Lentini got a call from local cops responding to a noise complaint at her house … for a party. 

Turns out, the kids had broken in through an open window and partied there anyway. But the kicker? They left the place nearly spotless, taking all the pictures and mirrors off the walls, rolling up carpets, and even moving the TV. 

“As much as I’m upset about this, they did take care of the house,” Lentini told the Nantucket Current. 

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🫢 Thanks for reading! The audacity is absolutely shocking, but I gotta say, “I’m sure nothing will be ruined” is sending me.

📝 Correction: The BosTix item has been updated to reflect that the $25 deal is only available on Nov. 26 and Dec. 6 for those who visit the booth in-person. Other deals are available online.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsors, The Fenway and Samuels & Associates, for supporting local journalism and spreading holiday cheer in Boston. 

🎄 The results are in: 38% of B-Siders decided that we should try out Harpoon’s Holly Jolly Bar for our December edition of B-Side Certified, and we just can’t say no to you. One reader made a great point: “You should review all of them! (it counts as a business expense, right?).”

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