Itโs Wednesday, Boston.
๐ฃ 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.
๐ฅณย Speaking of epic days โฆ itโs B-Sider Valentina VPโs b-day! As a birthday gift, shoot [email protected] an email and weโll waive that membership requirement just for you. <3ย
๐ Whatโs on tap today:
The Charlesโ report card
Bostonโs summer mixtape
The Boston Tea Party (LEGOโs version)
Up firstโฆ
FOOD & DRINK
Our sauciest MBTA crawl yet

Video: Emily Schario. Gif: Gia Orsino
Grab your Lactaid and an appetite, besties โฆ Because weโre going to the Boston Pizza Festival! This two-day celebration of the best โza 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 festivalโs local heavy hitters. Hereโs how to eat your way around Bostonโs best pizza on the T:
๐ Stop 1: Premiere on Broadway near Ball Square. Some restaurants insist on just making pizza, but Premiere somehow manages to sling a banginโ 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 donโt just go for the โza โ this family-owned and -operated restaurant is also known for its high-energy live music and drag shows.
โ Stop 2: Tradesman Coffee & Pizza Bar near Sullivan Square. You had us at coffee AND pizza. This Charlestown cafรฉ is serving all the usual cold brew, sandwich, and doughnut tower(!?) suspects, but they really said, โhold my latteโ 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!
๐ฎ๐น 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 thatโs soft in the middle and crispy on the outside. Weโre 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?ย
๐ Stop 4: Florina Pizzeria & Paninoteca near Park Street and Bowdoin. IYKYK, Florina really is THAT girl. She took home the coveted Peopleโs 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 teamโs fave slices (the most important opinion <3). IMO, itโs the closest youโll find to an NYC-style slice around Boston: thin, crispy, ginormous, a little chew *chefโs kiss*. Our rec: We dream about their white Margherita pie. Just look at this cheese pull!
๐ค Stop 5: Crispy Dough Pizzeria near Roxbury Crossing. Look, weโre not gonna tell you that this spot has THE best slices in the city. But this Mission Hill institutionโs pies are absolutely nothing to sniff at โ 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.
๐คค 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! Hereโs the full vendor list.
TOGETHER WITH SECOND SUMMER CYCLE
A coastal ride with a cause
๐ดโโ๏ธ This is less about miles and more about meaning.ย Second Summer Cycle rolls through Cape Cod on Sept. 14 with scenic routes (choose from 15, 34,ย 60, and 101 miles), zero pressure, and a whole lot of heart. Youโll 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

Image: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe
๐ The Charles Riverโs annual water quality report card is IN. And letโs just say โฆ sheโs not making the honor roll. This year, Bostonโs two sections โ the lower basin and Muddy River โ received a B and C+, respectively. Thatโs a slight improvement over last year, but the Charles River Watershed Association said itโs โstalled progress,โ reflecting how lackluster infrastructure and climate change can impact the riverโs 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: Donโt dive in just yet.
๐ถ Your new summer playlist just dropped. Introducing: Dear Summer Vol. 3, the third installment of Mayor Michelle Wuโs 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 โReaL Pโ Idiokitas. This yearโs 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.
๐ฌ๏ธ Boston is blowing us away this year. Literally. 2025 has been the cityโs windiest year on record since we started keeping tabs back in 1936. Wind gusts this year have averaged nearly 32.64 miles per hour โ 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 itโs also thanks to the jet stream, which has been sitting close to Boston all year.ย
๐ Bookworms, this is your Super Bowl. Actually, itโs your Boston Public Library Read-a-thon. Every year, the BPL invites readers to help them fundraise โฆ 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 weโre talking summer reading โฆ the BPL is giving out free (adorable) tote bags to folks who pick up summer reading bingo cards while supplies last. RUN!
QUICK QUESTION!
๐ฅน Just wondering โฆ would you recommend The B-Side to a friend?
Let us know below!
ONE LAST THING
Bostonโs mini lego master

Image courtesy of LEGO Discovery Center. Illustration: Gia Orsino.
What if Spongebob were at the Boston Tea Party? Itโs a question no artist had considered โฆ until 12-year-old Arlo Mesinschi, Bostonโs newly crowned LEGO Mini Master Model Builder.ย
Until February, Arloโs interest in LEGOs was casual, but when the Somerville storeโs master builder saw his work (specifically โa celestial hand emerging from the depths of our oceanโ), he suggested Arlo enter the piece in LEGOโs regional Boston building contest.ย
One trophy (made of legos) later, and Arlo earned himself a spot in LEGOโs 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.ย
The piece will be shipped to Denmark soon, where itโll be judged against 27 other international pieces. Good luck, Arlo!ย
โ Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario
๐งฉ Thanks for reading! The closer you look at it โฆ the more you see.
๐ Special shoutout to todayโs sponsor, Second Summer Cycle, for supporting local journalism and offering a chance to pedal toward a brighter future.ย
๐ The results are in: 55% of B-Siders said they arenโt prepared to judge whether or not anyone running 26.2 miles should qualify for Boston. One reader said: โI donโt even like to drive that far!โ
๐ฅณ ๐ต Don't forget to grab your tickets to Best Day Ever, our Aug. 2 food, music, and shopping bash at Artists for Humanity!
๐ Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].