🤫 The secret to your fave restaurant’s success

It’s Wednesday, Boston.

🧩 Calling all Wordle junkies: The Globe just dropped its new and improved games page, and between the puzzles, word games, and even a mini crossword, you might forget it’s not the NYT games page (minus the seven letter Wordle). You can play them all here.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Running out of luck

• NIMBY-ism on the rise

• R.I.P. Ivory Pearl

Up first…

RESTAURANTS

It’s all about the vibes

It’s the last week of Dine Out Boston. But if the 170+ options of where to eat are giving you analysis paralysis, here’s what to consider — beyond the menu — when choosing where to dine.

✨ A restaurant’s vibe is as important as its menu. “From the moment you touch the handle of the front door … everything sends a subliminal message, I think, about who you are,” said Kathy Sidell, owner of Saltie Girl in Back Bay, which incidentally, just underwent a massive renovation. And capturing said vibe often boils down to two seemingly simple elements: Lighting and sound. 

🐻 Finding the right lighting is a bit like Goldilocks eating porridge. It’s not uncommon to see restaurants lit on the dimmer side as “we associate dark with warmth and welcomeness,” Sidell said. Owners are often looking to create a cozy, cave-like feel. But too dark, and diners might have to whip out their phone flashlight. For chef-owner Douglass Williams of MIDA, a contemporary Italian restaurant, lighting is intentional. “If you can’t see the food, then they probably don’t want you to see the food,” he said. 

💡 But lighting isn’t just about making the food and space look good. Chris Jamison, CEO of the COJE Management Group (think restaurants like Yvonne’s and Mariel) says they invest a ton in making sure guests look good, too. Things like sidelights and candlelight make people’s faces look lovely, he said. Overhead fluorescents or direct downlighting on someone’s head? Not so much. 

🎶 Restaurants’ playlists are no accident either. For example: MIDA’s is an eclectic mix that builds from modern country during opening hours (think: Zac Bryan), to Mazzy Star and Fleetwood Mac, before finishing with Latin and Mexican jazz and Afro beats. For Williams, it’s all about creating an approachable vibe “without it sounding like it comes from the doctor’s office.” COJE restaurants take it one step further with an in-house music director who curates a unique playlist for each venue. 

🔊 But don’t let things get too loud. The biggest struggle for Jamison is maintaining a volume in line with how bustling the crowd is. “No one wants to eat in a restaurant too loud,” Jamison said. And that goes for the back of the house staff, too. “I have a real thing for bartenders slinging bottles,” Sidell said. “We shouldn’t be in the business of making noise.”

💃 The next restaurant trend? Out: Minimalism. In: Maximalism. At least, that’s Jamison’s hope. He wants trends like muted colors, cold hardwood floors, and Scandinavian-esqe styles to hit the road, hoping the industry moves “back into the more soulful, comfortable, warm places people want to eat [in].” In his opinion, Grill 23 & Bar in Back Bay has mastered this perfectly. 

QUICK QUESTION

💡 What’s worse: A restaurant that’s too dark? Or too loud?

TOGETHER WITH OMNI BOSTON HOTEL AT THE SEAPORT 

Cure your winter blues with rhythm and blues 

🎷✨ Looking to jazz up your weekends (literally)? Dive into the soulful sounds of the Jazz Lounge Music Series at Kestra Restaurant, nestled in the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport. With live performances every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, from 7 to 10 p.m., this music-infused event is open to everyone, whether you’re newcomer or seasoned jazz aficionado. If you want to turn your night out into a weekend-long staycation, make sure to also book a room at the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport now through March 31 and save 20% on your stay. 

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🍀 Boston’s St. Paddy’s Day parade’s luck might be running out. Ed Flynn, Southie’s city councilor, slammed public behavior during Sunday’s parade in a Facebook post on Monday, demanding a zero tolerance policy for public drinking, violence, and destruction of property in the future out of respect for Southie and its residents. Apparently, Flynn is meeting with parade officials to figure out how the issues could be addressed. And, to be fair, the vibes this year were pretty unhinged (see: a bunch of people pulling a literal street sign out of the ground). 

🏠 NIMBY sentiment is spreading through Mass. As the migrant shelter crisis in Mass. has grown, the tone of townie opposition has taken an ugly turn. Though city and state officials alike have criticized the major financial and logistical burdens the shelter crisis has put on the state, according to the Globe, on a local scale, (particularly in town meetings), the response has steered away from all practicality and taken on a hyper-political, and in some cases, flat out racist tone. 

💼 Mass. wants to help low-income residents break into high demand jobs. Gov. Maura Healey just dropped a 641-page state workforce plan, called the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act, which aims to attract, develop, and lead new talent (i.e., underrepresented and underserved groups) in the state’s workforce, plus better support those already working. Some key pieces of the plan include $3,000 to $5,000 stipends to cover state job training programs, and the creation of an official coalition to support Healey’s skills-based hiring initiatives. 

🦪 Pour one out for Ivory Pearl. The swanky Brookline seafood spot, from the same folks behind Blossom Bar and Baldwin Bar, is closing for business at the end of the month after almost four years. In their goodbye post, the restaurant (which ranked in Boston Magazine’s top 50 spots in the city just last year) cited the rising costs of the industry and the need for adaptation. For our part, we’ll be sad to see their truly amazing (if slightly pricey) margs go. 

MEDIA SPONSORSHIP

Embrace your authenticity

The B-Side is thrilled to be a sponsor of the 2024 WISE Summit. WISE, or Women’s Interdisciplinary Society of Entrepreneurship, is a student-led group at Northeastern University that aims to empower women and under-represented genders on their unique paths to entrepreneurship. This year’s WISE Summit, “Embracing Authenticity,” will be an extravaganza of speakers, workshops, keynotes, lightning talks, and a panel. This year’s summit will take place on March 23 at 8 a.m., and you can get your ticket for just $25 with code BWISE — but hurry, because only the first 25 members will get this discount! See you there!

ONE LAST THING

Gov. Healey’s Playlist

When you think relationship advice, Gov. Healey might not be the first name that comes to mind. 

But when you hear her and her longtime partner Joanna Lydgate talk about how music plays a role in their relationship in this week’s Love Letters episode, it makes a lot of sense. 

In the interview, they chat about everything from the songs and albums they grew up with to the song that got Healey through her first campaign, and more. But the best part? The couple talks through a playlist of 13 songs that have defined their relationship, and have helped to ground them in a year that, in many ways, turned their life upside down. 

If you’re looking for an entryway into Love Letters, or want a great one-off episode for your next commute, this episode (or this one with iconic Boston sports writer Dan Shaughnessy) is a great place to start. You can listen here.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🎶 Thanks for reading! One of their (local!) recs that we can 100% get behind? Tiny Things by Tiny Habits.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport, for supporting local journalism and making the Seaport’s arts and luxury scene even more vibrant. 

🌳 The results are in: 40% of readers voted for the Esplanade as their fave green space in Boston, and thanks to the write in responses for all the underground outdoorsy recs … including this one: “The 2nd floor patio seating at Dorchester Brewing.” 

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