🍝 The North End’s got some new competition

It’s Thursday, Boston.

🚲 Blue Line shutdown got you down? Good news: Blue Cross Blue Shield just announced that they’ll be footing the bill for five free BlueBike unlocks for all riders during the Blue Line shutdown (through April 28). Just use the code MBTABLUEAPRIL. Happy biking!

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Boston’s new climate officer

• Consider the Belichick tea spilled

• The very hungry marathoner

Up first…

B-SIDE CERTIFIED

The North End meets Comm. Ave.

When the Green Line takes you to get pasta near BU, that’s amore. For this month’s B-Side Certified, we tested BE Pasta Bar, a new fast casual restaurant on Comm. Ave. serving build-your-own homemade pasta cups, sandwiches, and salads, using ingredients from across the pond.

Here’s what we thought: 

FIRST IMPRESSION

👀 It’s an unassuming hole-in-the-wall pasta joint. Which at first glance, made us think the food could be a coin flip. We walked by on a gorgeous spring day when their main front window (basically an entire wall) was open, allowing passersby to catch all the action from the street. The inside was soaked in natural light, and its navy accent wall was splashed with a trendy neon sign displaying its namesake.

FOOD & DRINK

🍝 Think: North End pasta meets Sweetgreen fast-casual vibes. The assembly station starts with throwing your pasta shape of choice (think: rigatoni, macaroni, fusilli, spaghetti) into a vat of hot water that resembles a deep fryer. Our server scooped our sauce pick into a literal pint-sized container, followed it up with the al dente noodles, another scoop of sauce, then toppings and cheese. Basically, the pasta equivalent of a hot fudge sundae. 

👏 Simply put: The pastas slapped. Commercialized home cooking seemed too good to be true, but the pastas were fresh and al dente, the sauces were flavorful, and the toppings added texture and depth. We tried the fusilli pasta with vodka sauce, chopped chicken cutlets, and fresh parm, and the pesto alla spaghetti that they sauteed fresh on the spot.   

🍗 The chicken parm sammie was good, but could be better. It had all the makings of a classic sub: A toasted sesame sub roll laden with red sauce, breaded chicken cutlets, and provolone. But we found the chicken a little dry. However, the cutlets that topped our pasta didn’t have that issue, so we’d definitely give it another chance. 

VALUE & EXPERIENCE

🤑 BE Pasta proves that fast casual isn’t just for salads. Will it replace your favorite North End spots entirely? Probably not. But it’s certainly better than the boxed stuff you’d make at home (and you could easily squeeze two servings out of your pint). A solid pasta dish, let alone one starting at $11 that you can take on-the-go, is a steal in this economy. But if you ladle on the toppings, you’re looking at closer to a $15 bill, still pretty comparable to other fast-casual food options. 

🌃 Bonus: It’s open till 10 or 11 p.m. most nights, so if you’re a BU student, you have a new semi-late night food option that’ll put your ramen noodles to shame. 

✅ Final verdict? B-Side Certified. You can see what some of the pasta cups look like here.

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

 ☕ An ESPN report just spilled some major Bill Belichick tea. ICYMI: When Belichick (the now-former wildly successful Patriots coach of 24 years) left the team, he thought he was a shoo-in for the Atlanta Falcons’ vacant coaching position, but ultimately didn’t make the cut. And apparently, Robert Kraft, owner of the Pats, is partially to blame (although the Pats deny the report). Rumor has it that bad blood between Kraft and Belichick may have tanked Belichick’s chances by painting him as controlling and hard to work with in conversations with top Falcons officials, blindsiding Belichick. Read the whole saga here.

🌎 Boston just named its first chief climate officer. Brian Swett, a seasoned sustainability pro and former environment cabinet chief in Mass., was announced for the role, which he’ll begin in June. Swett will be an integral part of creating the city’s new climate cabinet, and will work across departments to help implement Mayor Michelle Wu’s ambitious climate agenda. And considering that we know Mass. needs to step on the gas a little when it comes to climate action, his appointment (and “delivery mode” mindset) isn’t here a moment too soon.

🦞 New England’s love of lobster may come with a price. According to a new study of New Hampshirites’ seafood consumption, our seafood-heavy diets might put New Englanders at a higher risk for exposure to a type of forever chemical called PFAS (per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances). While PFAS exposure can put people at higher risk for everything from heightened blood pressure to certain types of cancer, you don’t need to swear off lobster rolls just yet. According to officials, the findings make a case for setting PFAS limits in seafood rather than cutting it out completely. Phew. 

🍽️ The New York Times is telling Bostonians where to eat. We know, we know, but hear us out: Their new list of Boston’s best restaurants is actually … really good. Along with relatively well-known favorites like Comfort Kitchen, Pammy’s, and Neptune Oyster, they also managed to throw in some of our personal, more low-key sleeper faves like Cutty’s in Brookline, Tonino in J.P., and Sofra Bakery and Cafe in Cambridge that sometimes miss the usual “best of” lists. Okay, New York, you can have this one. Check out the list here.

QUICK QUESTION

🏈 Read up on the Belichick tea and tell us: Who do you think is in the wrong?

ONE LAST THING

The very hungry marathoner

Marathons are tough on your legs. But often, they can be equally tough on your tummy. Which is why most people have a very specific eating and drinking regimen for race day. 

But Matt Choi (@mattchoi6), a runner and influencer with over 400k followers on Tiktok, is not most people. Choi ran the Boston Marathon on Monday, and, according to this video he posted, seemed to eat pretty much anything and everything he was offered along the way (spoiler: it’s a lot). 

By the finish line, he’d consumed five gels, an orange slice, a banana, two ice pops, fruit snacks, Swedish fish, two doughnuts, and four cans of beer, not to mention a ton of water and Gatorade. 

And (as far as we know) there were somehow literally zero stomach issues to report. Check it out here.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🍺 Thanks for reading! And special shoutout to Gia’s BF, who inadvertently snagged himself a stunning cameo at mile 23.

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