🍕 Pizza! Pizza!

Happy Friday, Boston

🥳 And happy birthday to B-Side reader Adam Dutton. We appreciate you! Respond to this email with your special day if you want a B-Side B-day shoutout.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Hospital masking changes

• T-Swift train tix

• A weenie day

Up first...

FOOD & DRINK 

Restaurant openings du jour

New month. New restaurants. Here’s a roundup of recently and soon-to-be opened spots to add to your foodie bucket list.

NOW OPEN

🍕 Pizza Project, Allston. What started as a mobile pizzeria during the pandemic just opened  the doors to its first brick-and-mortar slice and sandwich shop in the Charles River Speedway. This spot specializes in naturally leavened, stone-milled, Sicilian slices. And you can find fun pies and specialty sandwiches among their weekly and rotating specials.

From their menu:

• Rosso pizza with sliced garlic, oregano, basil, and tomato sauce

• Pepperoni pizza topped with hot honey

• Italian sub with mortadella, capicola, and Genoa salami (plus all the standard fixings)

🍗 Soleil, Downtown. Office workers, rejoice! This Southern-inspired, soul food spot in Nubian Square just opened a new stall at the Boston Public Market. Head chef and Boston-native Cheryl Straughter specializes in made-from-scratch, homestyle cooking using local ingredients.

From their menu:

• Jerk chicken and collard greens

• Cajun tofu

• Nashville hot chicken sandwiches

🌮 Borrachito Taqueria & Spirits, Seaport. Located in The Superette, this new Mexican taqueria with a bustling cocktail bar is serving classics like tacos, burritos, and ceviche, with a twist. The dining room offers a 1950s Southwestern roadside diner vibe, plus the bar is accessed speakeasy-style through a deceptive walk-in freezer door.

From their menu:

• Birria and bone marrow tacos

• Crackling pork belly carnitas

• Taki’s flauta

COMING SOON

🎶 Grace by Nia, Seaport. This collab between restaurateur powerhouse Nia Grace, of Daryll’s Corner Bar & Kitchen, and Big Night will bring a three-in-one music venue, restaurant, and speakeasy to Seaport Boulevard. “This is more than just a story of another restaurant opening,” Grace said. “Our goal is to bring diversity to the Seaport.” The opening is expected sometime mid-May.

From the menu:

• Jambalaya

• Carrot-cake chicken and waffles

• Bourbon peach spareribs

🍔 Stubby’s, Seaport. This beloved family-owned joint from Nantucket hits the mainland on May 18. They’ll be serving up classic American and Jamaican comfort food favorites for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks, seven days a week.

From the menu:

• Hungry Man breakfast sandwich

• Classic cheeseburger

• Fish and chips

DOWN THE ROAD

🔥 Crush Pizza, Quincy. The Quincy staple closed its downtown location in 2020 but is coming back to Boston in a new Eastie location. This wood-fired pizzeria cooks its pies in 90 seconds in Italian-imported ovens.

🍻 Mighty Squirrel Brewing Co., Downtown. This Waltham-based brewery known for its Cloudy Candy IPA is expanding downtown into a 13,000-square-foot space in Bower at Fenway Center. Plus, they’re planning to have a kitchen run by a food partner. If you want a taste sooner, their summer beer garden is now open at Arsenal Yards.

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

😷 Most Mass. hospitals will drop or modify their masking requirements. This change goes into effect May 12, the day after federal and state public health emergencies are set to expire. Health advocates and lawmakers are urging state officials to not budge on the masking rules, as they worry it’ll put older and immunocompromised people at risk for severe complications if infected. And masking isn’t the only thing changing. The end of the public health emergency also means fewer COVID tracking requirements, making it trickier to measure the real-time impact of the virus.

💸 Boston gets a boost to support those experiencing homelessness. The Wu admin said a $16.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will be split up across multiple organizations and could help 370 people get back on their feet. $6.2 million of the grant will go to Eliot Community Services to house 105 people from Mass. and Cass, where the city did a tent sweep earlier this week. Another $5.3 million will go to the Boston Housing Authority to create 137 new housing vouchers.

🐶 Boston just got a little more dog-friendly. The city’s beer gardens and outdoor patios can now apply for a special “Dog Friendly Spaces” variance, which will allow customers to bring their pups to al fresco dining spots. This move is in response to feedback from residents who’ve expressed interest in having their pets tag along when visiting outdoor businesses. The dog-friendly spaces just have to be entirely outdoors and can’t have any food preparation on site. Plus, all pups must remain on a leash. Assuming their apps are approved, businesses can start welcoming dogs as soon as June 1.

🚂 All aboard the Eras Tour Express! If you’re planning on taking public transit to the Taylor Swift concert, you can officially purchase your Commuter Rail tickets today. Tickets may be purchased in the mTicket app and a limited number will be sold in-person at North Station, South Station, and Back Bay. Roundtrip tickets are $20 and you must buy them for a specific date, show, and station of origin. Regular Commuter Rail passes are not accepted on special event concert trains and concert train tickets must be purchased ahead of time. Sales will end when the max capacity is reached, so get on it!

QUICK QUESTION!

🤔 How do you feel about hospitals ditching their masking requirements?

THINGS TO DO

WEEKEND PLANS

🌸 Celebrate spring Harvard Square Mayfair, the 38th annual event with three stages for live music, dance performances, food, beer, and artisans.

🏀 Spend your Saturday at Matt Judon’s Celebrity Basketball Game. Proceeds go to purchasing Patriots tickets for underprivileged kids in the Boston area.

🎨 Look at stunning local art at Somerville Open Studios.

🏇 Giddyup to Derby Day at Tall Ship. And don’t forget to dress up.

🛍️ Shop women-owned businesses at the Boston Women’s Market Incubator Shop at the Charles River Speedway.

👀 Looking for things to do outside on this beautiful weather weekend? Check out the video below for recs.

ONE LAST THING

Day in the life of a weiner dog

POV: You’re a weiner dog in Boston.

TikToker Matty Rossi made a day-in-the-life video on TikTok of his Dachshund pup named Kirkland (in honor of Costco hot dogs, of course). Kirkland’s big day, narrated in a filtered voice, included trying to cross the street while cars were still coming (relatable), going to the vet, and watching the Bruins playoff game.

It’s not breaking news. But it’s silly and sweet, and hopefully, an adorable start to your weekend.

🐶 Thanks for reading! I’ll take two Kirklands, please.

🚇 The results are in! Respondents from yesterday’s poll said they’d be more likely to visit downtown if there were more things to do and if the T were more reliable. So if you’re reading this, Corean Reynolds, the people have spoken!

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