😅🎄 Skip this holiday pop-up

It’s Monday, Boston.

🎶 You’ve heard of Spotify wrapped … But what about Boston wrapped? It won’t tell you your top song of the year, but it will tell you exactly how many hours you spent stuck on a shuttle bus or how many minutes you spent explaining the Great Molasses Flood. 

👀 What’s on tap today:

• A Boston city councilor was arrested

• Pot cafés could be coming to Mass.

• Dunkin’ scented … deodorant?

Up first…

12 DAYS OF B-SIDE

This holiday pop-up is a Christmas miss

On the third day of B-Side the newsletter gave to me, a pop-up bar review, a slay local gift guide, and a Boston holiday tree. 🎶

We’re back with another edition of B-Side Certified, and per your request, we hit up Bucket Listers’ new holiday pop-up at Harpoon Brewery, the Holly Jolly Bar. Here’s what we thought: 

FIRST IMPRESSION

🎁 The decor definitely gave holly jolly. Holiday vibes were high in the taproom, with stacks of presents, festive table decor, hanging ornaments, and tons of holiday lights. The space was buzzy even on a Tuesday.

🚶 Though getting there was a schlep … We’re usually not ones to complain about a good walk, but in this case, it did impact our experience. Unless you live in Southie, the Seaport, or have a car, limited MBTA service makes Harpoon kind of a pain to get to at night. We walked 1.5 miles from downtown and ended up dropping $30 for an Uber home. Ugh.

FOOD AND DRINK

🥨 The festive food specials had some highlights. Let’s start with the good: Most of the bites were around $8 a pop with ample portions. The cannoli chips were the most delightful of them all, with sugary, soft, cannoli-shell chips and a just-sweet-enough creamy dip. The cinnamon sugar pretzel was just OK (mostly a vessel for an indulgent caramel dipping sauce). And, our final bite — the arancini — was giving cafeteria mozz sticks and marinara.

🍺 The drink specials unfortunately missed the mark. Which was extra disappointing given it’s the Holly Jolly Bar. We appreciated that each ticket included a drink. But the Prancer’s pomegranate margarita tasted more like a weak, fruity beer than a marg, which we think is due to the fact that the cocktail specials swap traditional liquor for Harpoon’s malt base. But even our drink without the malt base — the winter sangria — was watery and a bit sour. We should’ve just had a beer.

VALUE & EXPERIENCE

💰 It’s a lot of money for the drinks to be a let-down. With tip, we spent $72 for two tickets (that included drinks) and three plates. We got early-bird $18 tickets, but most time slots are $25. That’s not awful, but we were essentially paying for vibes and holiday specials, neither of which we felt justified the price tag, even more so if we include our Uber in the total. If you’re in the market for a holiday pop-up minus a cover, Loco’s Santa’s Cantina might fit the bill.

👎 The verdict? If you’re going to Harpoon anyway and don’t mind dropping $25, it’ll certainly be festive. But unfortunately, the Holly Jolly Bar is not B-Side Certified.

TOGETHER WITH THE LINCOLN HOTEL

Channel your Main(e) character energy 

🎁 🎄 Want live out your own Hallmark movie fantasy? Spend the holidays at The Lincoln Hotel, where every detail — from the twinkling lights to the festive decor — feels straight off the screen. Whether you’re avoiding family or bringing them along for a holiday getaway, you’ll find everything you need to celebrate the season in Michelin Key-winning style. Score merry deals and start a new holiday tradition by booking your stay today. 

B-SIDE AWARDS

Welcome back to the first-ever B-Side awards!

A.k.a. our new mini year-end awards show that aims to recognize the best, worst, silliest, floppiest, and wildest things we covered in the newsletter. 

We’ll be asking you to vote for the best of the best in each category through Dec. 19 (we’ll reveal all the winners on Dec. 20). So without further ado, our next category is:

Most unhinged “One Last Thing” story.

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

⚖️ Wait, was a Boston city councilor arrested? Yup, on Friday morning, Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson was, in fact, arrested on federal public corruption charges. Translation: She allegedly created a kickback scheme involving a family member she’d hired to her staff. It’s pretty wild. On Friday afternoon, she appeared in federal court, pleaded “not guilty,” and was released under a few conditions. Mayor Michelle Wu and several other city councilors have called for her resignation. A status hearing is set for Jan. 29.

🏥 Mass. General Brigham residents are taking to the streets. A year and a half since initially voting to unionize with no contract in sight, MGB resident physicians and fellows gathered for a rally last week for higher salaries and better benefits. Although a resident’s salary is nothing to sneeze at — several who talked to Boston.com reported making over $80,000 a year — they said that, when accounting for their student loans, brutal hours, and Boston’s cost of living, the pay is simply too low to make ends meet, and bargaining with MGB has reached a stalemate.

🚇 Our slow-zone era might not be over for good. The T is this close to being completely slow-zone-free. But last week, two new slow zones popped up on the Red Line, thanks to a broken track and a pull apart, which the agency blamed on Boston’s sudden cold weather. The slow zones were removed, but some transit consultants found that explanation a little suss, claiming the temps weren’t extreme enough to account for the damage, especially considering the lack of these issues in other cold-climate cities. 

🥦 Tired: Cat cafés. Wired: Pot cafés. Last week, Mass.’ Cannabis Control Commission unveiled a plan to roll out long-awaited licenses for the “social consumption” of marijuana (think: cannabis restaurants, yoga classes, cafés). The plan includes three new license types that could be granted to new or existing businesses that’ll let customers consume pot on the premises. The commission still has a long road ahead, including more discussion about regulations and getting the legislature’s OK, but they’re optimistic that licenses will be available in the next year or so. 

THINGS TO DO

Weekday checklist

🎭 Grab cheap tix to a holiday classic. Shoutout to two Boston philanthropists cause they’re giving theatre lovers a chance to see “A Christmas Carol” at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre for just $25 during the first five performances.

🥘 Spice up your lunch break. The Drop Clock Club is hosting a group lunch at Kaju Tofu House (once named Boston’s best Korean restaurant) featuring dumplings, spicy BBQ chicken, and new pals.

🧱 Feel like a kid again. Boston’s LEGO Discovery Center is hosting an ugly sweater adult night on Wednesday filled with a holiday-themed building competition, LEGO prizes, and more.

🕎 Get a head start on Hanukkah. The MFA is doing just that on Thursday with a special Hanukkah event starring art-making, live music, and more. Bonus: Enjoy $5 minimum, pay-what-you-wish general admission starting at 5 p.m.

🍫 Level up your typical wine and cheese pairing … with an N/A bev and chocolate pairing. Dray Drinks, Boston’s nonalcoholic bottle shop, is hosting one on Thursday, where you’ll sample six carefully curated chocolate and N/A bev pairings.

🤠 Swing your partner round and round. Head to Sweet Cheeks Q this Thursday for a night of line dancing and tasty BBQ. Your ticket gets you line-dancing lessons with JPLineDance and a BBQ buffet.

🐶 See if your pooch made the nice list. Santa’s stopping by the Red Dog Pet Resort for an evening of pet photos on Thursday.

💏 Mingle with Boston singles: holiday edition. Craft Food Halls in Allston is hosting a classic singles night event on Friday with a holiday twist. A potential match will get a note card with a naughty-or-nice-themed fun fact of yours and try to find you throughout the night.

ONE LAST THING

The sweetest-smelling pits

Sure, you could eat a Dunkin’ doughnut every day, but why stop there? Why not smell like one too? Enter: Native’s new, limited edition line of Dunkin’ doughnut-scented shampoos, conditioners, body washes, lotions, and yes, deodorants.

The new collab is the latest in a line of food and drink scented launches for Native, including Girl Scout Cookies and Jarritos. Scents include strawberry frosted, vanilla sprinkle, blueberry cobbler, and, perhaps most excitingly, Boston Kreme. 

If at this point, you’re wondering whether anyone would actually … want … to smell like a doughnut, the Boston Kreme scent is described as a “craveable combo of buttery sugar, cream, and vanilla notes,” which sounds alright to us.

Prices range from $10 to $14. You can grab one on Native’s website. 

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🍩 Thanks for reading! We love a good scented lotion as much as the next guy, but Boston Kreme deodorant is a little wild. 

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, the Lincoln Hotel, for supporting local journalism and offering New Englanders a holiday getaway worth remembering. 

🎁 The results are in: 68% of polled B-Siders are certified good people, saying they’d rather only give gifts this season than only receive them. One reader said: “Is this personal growth, finally? 🤔”

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