🍹 Sip me baby one more time

Happy Friday, Boston!

😋 Reminder: Sunday is the last day of Dine Out Boston. But if you can’t pick between the 170+ restaurant deals, here are three we think are well worth the money.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Medical history in the making

• Pre-COVID traffic is back

• A local Swiftie connection

Up first…

FOOD & DRINK

It’s 5 o’clock somewhere

Happy almost National Cocktail Day (it’s technically Sunday)! We’re not entirely sure who comes up with these “holidays,” but we’ll take any excuse to grab a drink with a pal. 

To properly celebrate, we gathered a list of some of the newest, most innovative, and best bang-for-your-buck cocktails and mocktails around town:

🌸 If you want to get into the spring spirit … The new Pressed Cafe at The Pru has a super green cocktail that’s basically a spiked green juice, combining Titos with kale, spinach, celery, and green apple (their cocktail menu is surprisingly cheap, too); Back Bay speakeasy Hecate is leaning into the season with their equinox cocktail, made with mezcal, green coffee, carob, chili, and cinnamon; and XOXO Sushi Bar in Chestnut Hill is going full-on green with a matcha julep.

😵‍💫 If you like the weird stuff … Good Company in Charlestown gets pretty funky with their carrot cocktail made with carrot cognac, carrot soda, and egg white, along with a Birria cocktail (yes, like the stew) with fermented chili brine. The Lexington in Cambridge is also known for its unique flavor combos, including their “Tia Escondida,” made with mezcal, pineapple, espresso, and miso, and their “Materials and Methods” made with whiskey, marzipan, mango, and chocolate.

🍰 If you like your drinks to taste like dessert … Did you know Gracie’s Ice Cream in Kendall Square has a cocktail bar inside? It’s called Earnest Drinks, and obviously serves boozy frappes like the Kendall creemee (think: a Vermont creemee with a spirit of your choosing) and the pandan whiskey. Brookline’s BYOB cocktail bar, Barlette, has a new fancy root beer float, featuring JP Licks vanilla ice cream, walnut bitters, IBC root beer, with the optional addition of bourbon, rye, or brandy. And Bricco in the North End is officially bottling its famous espresso martini recipe to be sold in stores. 

💸 If you’re on a budget … Highland Kitchen’s $12 cocktail menu features locally-inspired sips like the Dorchester (vodka, orange liquor, pink lemonade, and cucumber) and the Somerville Sunburn (lots of rum, coconut, and pineapple); jm Curley downtown also has a $13 cocktail menu, including a slew of springy newbies; and for just $10, you can get a Margarita or Negroni slushy from RedBones Barbeque in Somerville. 

🍹 Prefer something booze-free? Start with our spirit free telephone tag where local bartenders shared their favorite N/A bevs around town. But if you do find yourself out and about, Café Sauvage in Back Bay has loads of zero-proof options under $10. And for a more DIY-option, Dray Drinks, the nonalcoholic bottle shop in the South End, just got a bunch of new European-inspired spirit-free brews and spritzes.

QUICK QUESTION

💰 What’s the most you’d pay for a solid cocktail?

TOGETHER WITH FLEXCAR

Sparking a movement through movements

💃🏿✊🏽 Ready to witness a real dance revolution? Experience the energy of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as performers lead you through a story of resilience, empowerment, and the rich cultural heritage of Black American life. Featuring classic numbers like “Revelations” on top of new modern and contemporary works, this annual show presented by the Celebrity Series of Boston is a spring tradition you won’t want to miss. Grab your tickets now and experience the power of dance at the Boch Center Wang Theatre May 2-5. 

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🐷 Something incredible just happened at Mass. Gen. For the first time in history, surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital successfully transferred a kidney from a genetically engineered pig into a living person last Saturday. This is a huge milestone for the field of xenotransplantation (transferring organs or tissues between species), and until recently, most medical pros didn’t imagine it would happen in our lifetime. The patient will be monitored over the next few weeks to see how the operation holds up, but for now, all seems to be well.

🚗 Pre-pandemic traffic has re-entered the chat. Riddle us this: If everyone’s working from home now, why does rush hour traffic feel worse than ever? According to an INRIX analysis, on many main routes like I-93, the Mass. Pike, and Storrow and Memorial Drive, rush-hour traffic is just as bad, if not worse, as it was in 2019, despite way less downtown office occupancy. Why? There’s no one answer, but, likely, the MBTA’s recent miserable record, plus fewer days in-office might be convincing commuters to take a gamble with traffic when they do head in.

🛍️ Imagine: Eating dinner while suspended over the Mass. Pike. No, it’s not your recurring nightmare, it’s a soon-to-be retail and restaurant space in the Back Bay. The soaring development at the west end of Newbury Street (now called Lyrik Back Bay) debuted plans for a slew of retail and restaurant tenants on its public plaza above the Mass. Pike (here’s what it’ll look like). By the summer, Boston’s first outpost for the electric vehicle brand Rivian should be open, along with a George Howell Coffee, Pink Carrot, and a tea house in the fall. 

⛷️ At least one good thing is coming from this weekend’s weather. Skiers, rejoice! Although Boston isn’t expected to see much snow this weekend, our friends in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, are expected to get anywhere from six inches to a foot of snow on Saturday. So, if you can make it up north, this weekend has the potential to become a surprisingly solid last mountain hoorah to an otherwise dismal ski season. But, like all forecasts, things can change, so keep up with the latest here.

THINGS TO DO

Weekend plans

🎮 Put on your best cosplay. PAX East, Boston’s ultimate festival for tabletop, arcade, and video game lovers if officially underway. Saturday day-passes are sold out, but there’s still spots for Friday and Sunday!

🌷Bring home something tropical. Franklin Park Zoo is helping us manifest warmer weather with their orchid display and sale on Saturday.

🍯 Celebrate the sweetest season. The Charles River Speedway is helping us celebrate maple sugaring season with Maplefest this Saturday, with maple-y specials by the Speedway’s tasty tenants. 

🍺 Raise a glass while playing with grass. Bring home your very own DIY terrarium from Quincy’s Break Rock Brewing this Saturday at their terrarium and taps workshop.

😂 Prep for a weekend of laughter. It’s time to buy tickets for next week’s Boston Comedy Festival (which kicks off Monday!) for a marathon of local and national comedic talent at City Winery. 

— Written by Claire Nicholas

🎉 Want more things to do recommendations? Refer five friends to unlock four bonus items. For those who already have, enjoy below.

ONE LAST THING

A local Swiftie connection?

Okay, we know you don’t necessarily need another reason to think about Taylor Swift right now. But, in case you want to anyway: She’s apparently distantly related to Amherst poet Emily Dickenson. 

An ancestry test by the genealogy website Ancestry earlier this month showed that Swift and Dickenson (who’s said to be one of Swift’s big inspirations) have a relative in common: A 17th century English immigrant who was “Swift’s 9th great-grandfather and Dickinson’s 6th great-grandfather,” and who helped settle Windsor, Connecticut, according to the Globe. Who knew!

If nothing else, consider this a plug for the Emily Dickinson museum in Amherst, which used the news to encourage people to visit.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

⭐ Thanks for reading! The more I think about this, the less surprising it seems.

💜Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Celebrity Series of Boston, for supporting local journalism and empowering social change through the arts. 

🕺 The results are in: Round one of B-Side Madness is officially over, and the winner is … Scholars! With 60% of the vote. And somehow, at the time of writing, Loretta’s and Club Cafe are currently in a perfect tie, so you’ll have to tune in on Monday to find out who officially won out. 

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