💕 Local V-Day sweets for your sweet

It's Tuesday, Boston.

💖 Happy Valentine’s Day! Didn’t buy a card for your boo? We got you. We made some V-Day cards on our IG they’ll love (which may or may not include the MBTA).

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Rent control proposal drops

• Another warm week

• The North End’s oldest restaurant

Up first…

FOOD & DRINK

Local sweets for your sweet

Last-minute Larrys, this one’s for you. Here are four local spots to grab 11th-hour sweets for your sweet (or yourself) this Valentine’s Day:

🍰 If they’re all about aesthetics, get them the “Twisted Love” dessert from the highly Instagrammable Jonquils Cafe and Bakery on Newbury Street. It’s made with chocolate sponge cake, dark chocolate mousse, chocolate crunch, and raspberry coulis. And just like all of their showstopping treats, it's almost too pretty to eat. Open til 6 p.m.

🍪 If they like unconventional sweets, Nussli118 in Cambridge makes desserts and snacks that are plant-based and gluten-free. B-Side producer Katie Cole thought their brownies were the perfect amount of sweet, despite being made without any refined sugar. Open til 5 p.m.

💝 If they like variety, get them an assortment of macarons from Bao Bao Bakery and Cafe in Chinatown. We really liked the champagne and ube flavors. If macarons aren’t they’re thing, this Asian fusion bakery has plenty of pastries to pick from. Open til 9 p.m.

🍫 And if they’re a chocolate lover, you can’t go wrong with anything from EHChocolatier in Cambridge. Food & Wine says they have some of the Best Chocolates in the U.S. We recommend their Love Shack Bar made with freeze-dried strawberries. It’s basically a chocolate-covered strawberry in bar form. Open til 5 p.m.

👀 If you need to see it to believe it, we put together a video highlighting all of these treats for you to virtually feast on. Enjoy!

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🏠 Wu’s rent control proposal just dropped. The proposal she formally submitted to the City Council calls for rent increases of only 6% a year plus inflation, which would cap out at 10%. New construction would be exempt from this policy the first 15 years it’s open (like those new Seaport apartments), as well as small owner-occupied properties (like triple deckers). Next step: The City Council must approve the proposal before being approved on Beacon Hill before hitting Gov. Healey’s desk. Strap in.

💸 So about that millionaire’s tax … There may be a way to get around it. A new report found that high-earning married couples could skirt the new 4% surtax by filing separate state tax returns even if they file jointly for federal taxes (which you can do in Mass.). So that $1 billion in new revenue could be cut by $200 to $600 million. Some state legislators have already filed bills looking to close this loophole by requiring couples to file their state taxes the same way as their federal taxes.

🌡️ February is the new March. We’re expecting mild temps in the 50s this week with Thursday likely making it into the 60s and breaking a record. Current forecasts suspect that temps will stay above average for the rest of the month with March potentially cooling off — but by how much and if there will be snow is TBD. And you know what warmer winter temps mean (aside from climate change)? An earlier maple syrup season. Maple producers are already tapping their trees and seeing sap runs a month earlier than normal.

😂 Yes, there are outtakes for that Ben Affleck Super Bowl ad. USA Today readers ranked Ben Affleck’s Dunkin’ Super Bowl commercial as one of their favorites of the night. So Dunkin’ decided to keep the party going and released outtakes from filming in Medford and Revere … and they’re pretty hilarious. Affleck messes with customers a lot more than what we saw during the Super Bowl (he tries to sell a customer water in one clip). Watch all the outtakes here and start your Tuesday on a high note.

ONE LAST THING

North End’s oldest restaurant

The North End has a lot of history and a lot of Italian food. And when you combine the two, you may find yourself wondering: “What’s the oldest Italian restaurant in the North End?”

Well according to Boston.com’s Wickedpedia, it’s Regina Pizzeria.

The pizzeria opened its Thatcher Street location back in 1926. And while the toppings you can get on your pie have changed, the restaurant's booths are in the same original configuration, and the original oven has not been moved. Think of it as an opportunity to step back in time while still enjoying the modern luxury of buffalo chicken pizza.

🍕 Thanks for reading! Here’s something that would send the 1920s North End Italian community into a frenzy: pineapple pizza.

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