😅 You should skip this new restaurant

🚨 Freebie alert! We’ve got two GA tickets to Broken Records’ Summer Solstice Beer Fest on June 22 for the first person to reply to this email! Tickets include tons of free beer samples and complimentary bites, plus entry into a raffle for prizes. Good luck!

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Welcome to June’s edition of B-Side Certified. We asked which restaurant you wanted our two cents on from last month’s new restaurant round up, and Toca Chida at Assembly Row, a Mexican spot with a global twist, was your top pick. 

Here’s what we thought: 

✨ Expectations were high walking into the undoubtedly vibey dining room. The walls were splashed with purple lighting, macrame and greenery hung from the ceiling, and millennial pink chairs lined the bar overlooking a playful Modelo mural. Its massive windows were opened to the street on a gorgeous evening, creating an alfresco feel. 

👍 Let’s start with the good: The mocktails were fabulous. The “No-Jito,” a booze-free take on the classic lime and mint cocktail, was arguably the best order of the night: refreshing, zingy, and not too sweet. We didn’t miss the rum. 

🍹 On the other hand, the real margaritas were a miss. The seasonal flight included three samplings of watermelon basil, spiced blood orange, and charred pineapple flavors. And while we weren’t in the market for a buzz, the taste of tequila was MIA. Perhaps the bigger disappointments were the drink mixes, which tasted reminiscent of store-bought juice. We’d be more forgiving if the flight cost $15, but for $22, we expected more.

🥑 Nothing was flat-out bad … but nothing was flat-out good. The tableside guac seemed like an easy winner, but ours lacked salt, was weirdly warm, and felt criminal at $14 for a small bowl. And while the Oaxacan “poutine” with chorizo was a fun dish at first, the fries quickly became gluey and goopy after sitting in queso, leaving much to be desired.

🙏 But some dishes had promise. The Baja-style and pork belly tacos would have been a hit were it not for the distractingly tough corn tortillas. And while the hamachi crudo with red aguachile was fresh and elevated, for an area loaded with lovely seafood restaurants, you can get a fresher, tastier dish for a similar price point elsewhere. 

💰 It’s a lot of money for a mid meal. Let’s just say, you can get a lot of great dinners around Boston under $136 (our total spend with tax and tip). If you’re in the market for excellent Mexican food, try the Birria tacos at Taqueria Jalisco in Eastie instead. 

👎 The verdict? We wouldn’t recommend you go out of your way for a visit. But if you desperately need a bite after a day of shopping at Assembly Row, it will certainly do the job. Unfortunately, Toca Chida is not B-Side Certified.

☀️ 🛍️ Your summer glow-up is just a T stop away. Seaport’s experiential retail pop-up, The Current, is back with a new sunkissed look now through September 2. Reimagined for the summer, as The Current Cabanas, this waterfront shopping experience features nine brands, each with their own colorful cabana for you to explore. Check out brands you recognize from your FYP like Revolve Consignment, Culture Pop, Sugarfina, Great Goods x Goody Great, Love & Flour, Megababe, The Inside, The Point, and Zereno, but experience them IRL at this sunny pop-up paradise.

🏀 We’re one game away from a Finals sweep. It may have been too close for comfort at times (see: our 21-point lead shrinking to just one in a matter of minutes), but the Celtics regained control when it mattered most, beating the Mavericks 106-99 and taking a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals. The Mavs’ were on fire in the fourth quarter, but thankfully their run stalled after their star player, Luka Doncic, fouled out of the game. The C’s now have the chance to complete the sweep and one of the most dominant playoff runs in NBA history when they play Game 4 on Friday night. CELTICS IN FOUR, BABY!

⏳ An end date is in sight for some shelter stays. Gov. Healey’s office announced that the first families who will be kicked out of Mass.’ emergency shelter system (per her nine-month limit on shelter stays) will be receiving 90-day exit notices in early July, meaning they could be leaving as soon as Sept. 29. Each month, 150 families (of approximately 4,000 people who are over their stay limit) will receive the notices based on when they entered, but there will be extensions for some special cases, and families who are denied extensions can appeal their cases to the state.

🗳️ Local elections could look totally different. On Wednesday, City Council president Ruthzee Louijeune filed a home rule petition to implement ranked choice voting in city elections. The practice, which was rejected statewide by voters in 2020, would allow voters to rank their candidate choices, so that if your fave doesn’t make the cut, your vote would still count toward your second choice, and it won’t inadvertently benefit candidates you don’t like. But don’t get too excited: The petition has to be officially approved by the Council, Mayor Wu, the state legislature, and maybe even Boston voters before it’s implemented.

🛍️ (One of) Boston’s favorite markets has gone brick-and-mortar. Enter: The Brighton Emporium, a new shop in Allston by the folks behind the Brighton Bazaar. Open from Thursday to Sunday, the shop has a similar vibe to the Bazaar, with a rotating cast of 40 vendors selling art, vinyl, vintage, and tons more that you might expect to find at their traditional markets. And don’t worry, the Bazaar isn’t going anywhere. Our two cents: We checked it out, and it’s definitely worth your while.

Enter to win a Levitate Your Summer Prize Pack worth $2,500+. We’ve partnered with our friends at Levitate to give you a chance to win a pair of 3-day VIP Tickets to Levitate Music Festival (7/5-7/7) featuring Sublime, Lake Street Dive, Mt. Joy and more. Additionally, the prize package includes a $800 shopping spree for two across Levitate Brand apparel, and tickets to sold-out Levitate Backyard shows this summer! To enter, just refer a friend and have them accept your invite by the end of the day on June 14, 2024. If you’ve already referred a friend to B-Side (and they’ve accepted), you're eligible! Full details below*

18+. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

If you’ve ever stopped by the New England Aquarium, you know Myrtle. Myrtle is the giant green sea turtle in the building’s four-story ocean tank, and as of Wednesday, she’s been at the aquarium for a whopping 54 years, according to WBUR. 

Myrtle, described here as a curious, playful, bossy turtle who “knows exactly who she is,” has made her mark on the city over the decades by swimming around the tank, educating folks about the endangerment of her species, and even helping researchers learn more about aging sea turtles. 

So happy anniversary, Myrtle. We wish you back scratches, brussels sprouts, and naps galore.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🐢 Thanks for reading! Standing at the edge of the tank and watching Myrtle eat is canon. 

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, The Current by Boston Seaport, for supporting local businesses and community journalism. 

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