😉🍕 Our *sauciest* MBTA crawl yet

It’s Wednesday, Boston.

🚣 Anyone craving a free boat day? On Thursday, our friends at Keolis Mass Adventures are giving away one pair of tickets to Castle Neck River at Crane Estate, the stunning car-free kayaking trip these B-Siders loved last year (a $230 value!). Become a B-Side member to be eligible.

🥳  Speaking of epic days … it’s B-Sider Valentina VP’s b-day! As a birthday gift, shoot [email protected] an email and we’ll waive that membership requirement just for you. <3 

👀 What’s on tap today:

• The Charles’ report card

• Boston’s summer mixtape

• The Boston Tea Party (LEGO’s version)

Up first…

FOOD & DRINK

Our sauciest MBTA crawl yet

Grab your Lactaid and an appetite, besties … Because we’re going to the Boston Pizza Festival! This two-day celebration of the best ’za around the state is shipping up to City Hall Plaza this weekend, and the weather is looking PRIMO.

Our way of celebrating? Creating one of our iconic MBTA food crawls starring some of the festival’s local heavy hitters. Here’s how to eat your way around Boston’s best pizza on the T:

🍕 Stop 1: Premiere on Broadway near Ball Square. Some restaurants insist on just making pizza, but Premiere somehow manages to sling a bangin’ brunch menu, Italian-inspired dishes, and more, ALL while pumping out gorgina-looking (and tasting) specialty pizzas. I mean, hello, have you seen this burrata pie? But don’t just go for the ’za — this family-owned and -operated restaurant is also known for its high-energy live music and drag shows.

☕ Stop 2: Tradesman Coffee & Pizza Bar near Sullivan Square. You had us at coffee AND pizza. This Charlestown café is serving all the usual cold brew, sandwich, and doughnut tower(!?) suspects, but they really said, “hold my latte” with their wood stone-fired pizzas made with fresh dough and fun toppings. Think: Pickled cherry vinegar peppers, goat cheese, and truffle aioli. Bonus: You can enjoy them on their outdoor patio!

🇮🇹 Stop 3: Quattro near Haymarket. Sometimes, the classics are classics for a reason. This North End staple is a masterclass in a Neapolitan-style brick oven pie: Super fresh sauces and cheese on a thin crust that’s soft in the middle and crispy on the outside. We’re a sucker for the classics like Margherita with mozzarella di Bufala (a.k.a. super boujee mozz), or Napoletana with oregano and garlic, but the prosciutto pie is lowkey calling our name. And did we mention the signature espresso martinis? 

🏆 Stop 4: Florina Pizzeria & Paninoteca near Park Street and Bowdoin. IYKYK, Florina really is THAT girl. She took home the coveted People’s Choice award at the 2018 and 2019 Boston Pizza Fest, was ranked by the Globe as one of the top spots to get a slice, and is one of the B-Side team’s fave slices (the most important opinion <3). IMO, it’s the closest you’ll find to an NYC-style slice around Boston: thin, crispy, ginormous, a little chew *chef’s kiss*. Our rec: We dream about their white Margherita pie. Just look at this cheese pull!

🤌 Stop 5: Crispy Dough Pizzeria near Roxbury Crossing. Look, we’re not gonna tell you that this spot has THE best slices in the city. But this Mission Hill institution’s pies are absolutely nothing to sniff at — and have kept sleep-deprived Northeastern students running for years. The slices are big and the price is right across the board, but the buffalo chicken pie has a special place in our hearts. This local pizza reviewer gave it top marks.

🤤 Prefer try them all in one place? You can still grab tickets to the Boston Pizza Festival here. $10 gets you admission and two slices! Here’s the full vendor list.

TOGETHER WITH SECOND SUMMER CYCLE

A coastal ride with a cause

🚴‍♂️ This is less about miles and more about meaning. Second Summer Cycle rolls through Cape Cod on Sept. 14 with scenic routes (choose from 15, 34,  60, and 101 miles), zero pressure, and a whole lot of heart. You’ll be supporting 20+ local nonprofits and earning your post-ride lobster roll the best way possible: with friends, fresh air, and a finish line party that goes all out. Register now and make this your most feel-good Sunday of the year.

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🌊 The Charles River’s annual water quality report card is IN. And let’s just say … she’s not making the honor roll. This year, Boston’s two sections — the lower basin and Muddy River — received a B and C+, respectively. That’s a slight improvement over last year, but the Charles River Watershed Association said it’s “stalled progress,” reflecting how lackluster infrastructure and climate change can impact the river’s health. Think: Thanks to excessive rain in 2023, 11 Olympic-sized swimming pools of unfiltered sewage and stormwater flowed into the river. Yum. Long story short: Don’t dive in just yet.

🎶 Your new summer playlist just dropped. Introducing: Dear Summer Vol. 3, the third installment of Mayor Michelle Wu’s annual summer playlist of local artists. Before you ask, unlike some politicians (apparently, President Obama is genuinely listening to Ice Spice and Charli XCX), Wu had some curation help from Local DJ Chimel “ReaL P” Idiokitas. This year’s edition includes music from 17 local artists and six DJs from across the city, including the B-Side-featured Divine Sweater, Boston Music Award-winner Yanna G, and OG Boston rapper Cousin Stizz.

🌬️ Boston is blowing us away this year. Literally. 2025 has been the city’s windiest year on record since we started keeping tabs back in 1936. Wind gusts this year have averaged nearly 32.64 miles per hour — over two miles per hour stronger than the previous 2010 record and 10 miles per hour above the historical average. And the reason why is pretty simple: More storms. Part of that has to do with climate change, but it’s also thanks to the jet stream, which has been sitting close to Boston all year. 

📚 Bookworms, this is your Super Bowl. Actually, it’s your Boston Public Library Read-a-thon. Every year, the BPL invites readers to help them fundraise … by reading! Basically, you make a fundraising page, get cash pledges for every book (or hour) you read, crack open your TBR pile, and watch the money pour in for the Boston Public Library Fund. And while we’re talking summer reading … the BPL is giving out free (adorable) tote bags to folks who pick up summer reading bingo cards while supplies last. RUN!

QUICK QUESTION!

🥹 Just wondering … would you recommend The B-Side to a friend?

ONE LAST THING

Boston’s mini lego master

What if Spongebob were at the Boston Tea Party? It’s a question no artist had considered … until 12-year-old Arlo Mesinschi, Boston’s newly crowned LEGO Mini Master Model Builder. 

Until February, Arlo’s interest in LEGOs was casual, but when the Somerville store’s master builder saw his work (specifically “a celestial hand emerging from the depths of our ocean”), he suggested Arlo enter the piece in LEGO’s regional Boston building contest. 

One trophy (made of legos) later, and Arlo earned himself a spot in LEGO’s global competition. He needed to create his best work yet, and one that represented Boston. Enter: The Boston Tea Party replica, a huge piece featuring a more-or-less historically accurate depiction of the night. 

The piece will be shipped to Denmark soon, where it’ll be judged against 27 other international pieces. Good luck, Arlo! 

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🧩 Thanks for reading! The closer you look at it … the more you see.

💜 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: 55% of B-Siders said they aren’t prepared to judge whether or not anyone running 26.2 miles should qualify for Boston. One reader said: “I don’t even like to drive that far!”

🥳 🎵 Don't forget to grab your tickets to Best Day Ever, our Aug. 2 food, music, and shopping bash at Artists for Humanity!

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