🤫 The best bites you’ve NEVER heard of

It’s Wednesday, Boston.

🍦 Your fave coffee spot is cosplaying as an ice cream stand: Greystone’s summer Chippies and Sips nights are BACK! Head to the South End Tuesday through Thursday this summer for an after-hours special menu of ice cream sammies and lemonade! 

🏓🍻 There’s pickleball, and there's The B-Side pickleball party. We’re teaming up with Volo Sports on July 19 at 2 p.m. at Club Volo’s stunning outdoor courts. $15 gets you two hours of dinking and volleying, access to the on-site bar, and lawn games! If you’re a B-Side member, you get $5 off, a free drink, and B-Side swag! 

👀 What’s on tap today:

• The first Celtics domino has fallen

• Tuesday was HOT and dangerous

• Drake Maye’s first ring

Up first…

BEST OF BOSTON

Boston’s BEST foodie recs? Read this.

We pride ourselves on being your Boston besties with alllll the best local recs. But our friends at Boston magazine are pretty darn good themselves, and they just dropped this year’s “Best of Boston” list. 

Here are some of our faves from this year’s foodie picks (that you haven’t seen in the newsletter):

🍦Best ice cream: Third Time Ice Cream. This Somerville-area pop-up is making a splash for its high-quality scoops and unconventional flavors (currently available at Deep Cuts and Tilde). Think: Freckled red chili tea with cacao, ancho chili, vanilla, and cinnamon.

🍸 Best espresso martini: Bricco. This spot has long been flexing its (gorgeous) espresso martinis as Boston’s best, but now it’s official. After all, there’s a reason the shop sells 100,000 a year. Boston magazine even got the *exclusive* recipe.

🏘️ Best neighborhood A-listers: JP’s Brassica Kitchen + Cafe and Allston’s Szechuan Mountain House were crowned the best of their respective hoods. IMO, Brassica’s savory, flavor-packed brunch is THE best in the city, while Szechuan Mountain House’s sweat-inducing flavors make it this Globe food writer’s fave place to eat off-duty.

🍪 Best new bakery-cafe: Imagine. Iggy’s Bread is already iconic, so it’s no surprise the team’s (extremely chic) expansion to flaky croissants, pastries, and coffee is also a slam dunk. Plus, they moonlight as a sexy wine bar on the weekend.

🍩 Best doughnuts: Lionheart Confections. We didn’t know we needed a scallion pancake doughnut until we saw this … but now, we’re never going back. This pop-up’s stunning, unique doughnuts are available at Cafe Reynard most Sundays. 

🌮 Best Mexican: Abuela’s Table. Nostalgic comfort food with big, authentic flavor is on the menu at this JP spot. From cheesy birria tacos, to sweet chocoflan, to some of the best mole around, you can’t miss.

🥯 Best bagel: Goldilox Bagel. Turns out, if you want the best bagel in Boston … you gotta head to Medford. But if an Orange Line-to-bus schlep is what it takes to try these olive oil salt and pepper bagels … we’re IN.

🍳 Best brunch: Hunter’s Kitchen and Bar. Repeat after us: Reasonably priced Boston brunch does NOT need to be mid. This Southern-inspired Southie spot has it all: Chicken and waffles, FAT pastries, and reasonable prices.

🤩 Best new restaurant: Kaia. This new South End Greek spot has been raking in the accolades since its opening … but dare we say, the eye-popping prices might be worth the absolutely pristine seafood. 

🏆 Want more? Comb through ALL the Best of Boston picks — from food, arts, style, and more — here.

QUICK QUESTION!

🥵 Before you read on: What’s Boston’s record for all-time highest temperature? 

TOGETHER WITH DISCOVER CHARLOTTETOWN

Nantucket WISHES it were this charming 

🦞 🌊 What if we told you there’s a Canadian destination that does lobster rolls, lighthouses, beaches, and seaside charm even better than New England? Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island is the underrated coastal gem that’s just a quick flight from Boston or a scenic drive through Maine and New Brunswick (passport in hand, obviously). You’ll be wandering vibrant neighborhoods, hitting up patios, uncovering late-night spots, and soaking in that perfectly chill coastal vibe of the town. Plus, with Canada’s exchange rate, your wallet will thank you. Start planning your summer trip today! 

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🏀 Pour one out for the 2024 Celtics. In sad (but not unexpected) news, the C’s reportedly traded Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis to the Portland Trail Blazers and Atlanta Hawks, respectively. The team spent major $$$ to hold onto the ‘24 championship squad in the hopes of running it back (ugh). And with a fat luxury tax staring them down, they had no choice but to break up the band. The C’s got two new players in return, but with months left in free agency, the changes are likely far from over.

🔥 Boston was HOT and dangerous on Tuesday. Literally. With temps peaking at 102 degrees by around 5:30 p.m., it was the fourth hottest day in Boston’s history and hottest June temp ever (glaringly obvious to anyone who stepped outside). That’s HOT, but a few degrees short of the city’s all-time record of 104 (set in 1911, mind you). The high temps pushed Bostonians to hit the splash pads, movie theaters, and basically, anywhere with AC, while local emergency rooms saw an uptick in heat related illnesses.

😬 Maybe don’t throw that $300 Sézane order on a Buy Now, Pay Later loan. At least, if you can’t pay it back on time … Credit score company FICO plans on factoring those BNPL loans into its scoring formula this fall. Quick recap: BNPL loans let customers break up purchases into four payments (think: Klarna and Affirm). They’re also super popular among young shoppers, and until now, didn’t impact one’s credit score. Translation: Missed a payment? Don’t be shocked if your score takes a hit. Always on top of it? You could see a boost!

🎨 The Greenway just got an artsy makeover (and she’s rocking it). Add another feather to Boston’s public art scene cap, ‘cause the Greenway announced the return of its ARTbeat series. The stars of the show are five stunning (and v thought-provoking) artworks scattered throughout the Greenway. See: This gigundo rainbow explosion mural and these swings that look like hoop earrings. Even better: You can also expect over 50 free public programs now through the fall, from live music, to pet therapy, to outdoor movie nights. Check out the full schedule here!

ONE LAST THING

Drake Maye’s first ring

Patriots QB Drake Maye snagged himself a ring this weekend. And we’re not talking about a championship ring.

Maye married his middle school sweetheart Ann Michael Hudson on Sunday after a near-decade long relationship, which, if you do the math, means they’ve been dating since they were literally 12 years old. Twelve!

The duo posted a very sweet IG carousel together to honor the day with the caption “What a night! Cheers to forever, I love you!” Awwwwwww.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

💍 Thanks for reading! Or, as @drakemayelover commented … “Congratulations goat 🙏 next ring in February.” 

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Discover Charlottetown, for supporting local journalism and helping us add one more charming spot to our summer bucket list.

🍎 The results are in: 72% of B-Siders agree that cell phones should be banned in the classroom. One reader said: “Let's bring back passing letters folded into cute origami hearts please!”

🥳 🎟️ Don't forget to grab your tickets to Best Day Ever, our Aug. 2 food, music, and shopping par-tay at Artists for Humanity!

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