🍷🤯 This new bar doesn’t serve alcohol

🥪 What’s for lunch this week? A chicken parm or meatball sub, salad, cookie, and a drink, all for $20 at MIDA Fenway. You can grab it between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays. You’re welcome. <3

🥳 Happy birthday to B-Side Members Michaela Estes and Miriam! Sounds like a birthday lunch to us!

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Fire up the Resy app, Boston. It’s time for another round of this month’s hottest restaurant openings. Per usual, Boston magazine and Boston.com have the roadmaps.

Here’s what’s cookin’:

🍷 Beyond Proof, Jamaica Plain. Boston’s first zero proof cocktail bar and restaurant has touched down in JP. Inspired by her own sobriety and Gen Z’s shift away from drinking, owner Krista Kranyak reimagined her former restaurant, Ten Tables, into a trendy cocktail bar dressed head to toe in Millennial pink. On the menu: Mediterranean mezze and small plates, plus a lineup of $13 booze-free craft cocktails, other NA wines, beers, and liquor. 

Things to try:

🪩 Uptown Social, South End/Roxbury. Southern soul food is coming to the South End. Formerly Bob the Chef’s, then Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen, this storied venue was once described as “the Cheers of Black Boston.” Uptown Social aims to keep the music, community, and comfort food of Bob and Daryl’s, with a new elevated twist. Think: Chicken nuggets with caviar, fancy fish and grits, and live music brunch. Here’s a peek inside.

Things to try:

🦓 The Zebra Room, Downtown Crossing. The Zebra Room isn’t your average steakhouse. From the design to the menu, this new sibling to Mariel, Coquette, and My Girl subverts traditional steakhouse vibes (though FWIW, the prices don’t). The gorgeous, moody space covered in plush red fabric is hidden behind a bookshelf in Yvonne’s, speakeasy-style, with just 10 tables. As for the menu, expect steakhouse fare with a modern touch (think: onion beignets, a negroni with strawberry amaro). 

Things to try:

🥟 Novo Marketplace, Allston. Boston’s newest food hall has arrived in Allston Village with over a dozen affordably-priced Asian eats and sips. The modern, 20,000-square-foot space can seat 200 and fit up to 16 vendors, with plenty of space to hang out and sit. So far, the lineup is full of splashy international chains like China’s Molly Tea and ZhengXin Chicken Steak, or Toronto’s Fluffy Fluffy Dessert Cafe.

Things to try:

🤤 Hungry for more? Check out Boston’s mag’s full roundup here, and Boston.com’s here.

🏡🌄 It starts as a weekend getaway. Then it’s “we should come back in the summer.” Then it’s Zillow at 11:47 p.m. New Hampshire has a way of doing that. Between the scenery, slower mornings, and space to breathe, it’s easy to see the appeal. Add in no income or sales tax, solid job opportunities, and a lifestyle that actually feels sustainable, and suddenly it’s not just a trip — it’s a new chapter. Plan your next weekend like it might accidentally change your life.

😭 It was a ROUGH weekend at TD Garden. The Bruins and Celtics had their seasons ended on back-to-back nights by the Buffalo Sabres and Philly 76ers, respectively. On Friday, the Bruins’ series ended 4-2, closing the book on a better-than-expected run. But that’s nothing compared to Saturday, when the No. 2 Celtics blew a 3-1 series lead for the first time in franchise history to the No. 7 Sixers. Down just one point in the fourth, they missed nine three-pointers to end their Cinderella season. *Buys Fleet tickets*

⛽ Gas prices are going up, up, up. Local gas prices surged again last week, with Mass.’ average price hitting $4.34 on Sunday. That’s up from $4.03 just a week ago, $3.88 a month ago, and — brace yourself — $2.98 a year ago. It’s even worse here in Suffolk County, where the average is $4.47. The jump comes as the Iran War drags on, driven by rising oil prices, high demand, and the switch from cheaper winter-blend gas to the summer-blend, per AAA. The silver lining(?): At least we’re not in California.

🚘 Would you rather: Move your car or pay $100? Apparently, most Cambridge residents are picking the latter. ICYMI: Back in 2023, the city stopped towing cars on street sweeping days in favor of jacking up ticket prices from $30 to $100. The only problem? Apparently, Cantabrigians have money to spare, because since the no-tow policy went into effect, the city’s issued tickets jumped from 8,707 in 2022 to 20,059 in 2025, despite city officials pulling out all the stops to remind residents about street sweeping (see: literal megaphones). 

⚾ We finally have a reason to be excited about the Red Sox: Fenway just dropped its lineup of 20 cultural and identity celebration games for the 2026 season, alongside its slate of theme nights. It all kicked off this weekend with an AAPI Heritage Celebration, and it’ll close out on Sept. 24 with a Hispanic Heritage Celebration. In between, we’ll see everything from Pride Night on June 16 to a Women’s Celebration on Aug. 5. And of course, every night comes with some special merch (our fav: the disability pride jersey).

🎥 Hang with Princess Mononoke. This week, the Coolidge is showing a slate of Studio Ghibli’s greatest hits, from Spirited Away to Howl’s Moving Castle. 

☕ Start your day with a $3 latte. PSA: Phinista Cafe’s Porter Square location is pouring $3 Vietnamese and Saigonese lattes from 8 to 10 a.m. on weekdays!

🌳 Listen to the trees. Rooted In Memory, the new immersive light and sound installation highlighting our relationships with trees, will be lighting up the Esplanade from 8 to 10 p.m. through May 6.

🛍️ Stroll through the South End. Shop, sip, and dine your way through the neighborhood’s Spring Stroll on May 6. 75+ local businesses will be waiting with special menus, deals, and more. Here’s a map!

🎨 Get artsy in the Fenway. JoyWalk, the neighborhood’s annual public art crawl, is back on May 7 from 4 to 8 p.m. Translation: Free entry to the MFA, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and more. Here are the deets!

🎬 Catch a movie about moms. “Lady Bird.” “Little Women.” “Hairspray.” “Mamma Mia!” In honor of Mother’s Day, The Brattle is showing a slate of movies about moms starting May 7.

📸 Refresh your crusty LinkedIn pic. Get a new headshot AND network with other young professionals at the Foundry on May 7 courtesy of YNPN Boston.

🌈 Celebrate Pride with a purpose. Stride for Action’s annual 5k walk and fun run on May 31 will raise money and awareness for LGBTQ+ healthcare access, but registration is open NOW.

Hot Sauce Festival is returning to The Cambridge Foundry on Saturday, May 9 for the third year of celebrating flavor and heat. Sample globally inspired hot sauces from community small businesses, watch pepper farmers and chefs break down what makes a great sauce, and witness brave souls tackle the League of Fire challenge. The Spice Lounge is serving fiery cocktails, you can choose the 12 p.m. or 4 p.m. time slot. B-Side Members get $5 off tickets. Sign up here.

There was a time when a trip from Boston to New York cost just $15. No, we’re not talking about 1950. We’re talking about 2012. Enter: The Fung Wah bus. 

The infamous bus, which was in business between 1996 and 2015, shuttled folks between Boston and New York in around fours at dirt cheap prices. But the convenience came at a price. Namely: Constant fires, breakdowns in Connecticut, and occasionally, getting stranded at an IHOP or Arby’s on I-95. Unsurprisingly, it was shut down for safety violations.

Dorchester’s own Ayo Edebiri recently joked about the bus on a Late Night appearance, and basically every Millennial and Boomer Bostonian jumped at the chance to share some nostalgia, sharing WILD tales from their Fung Wah days.

Check out the hilarious clip here.

— Written by Gia Orsino

🚌 Thanks for reading! $15 and a 5% chance of a spontaneous fire? We’ll take those odds!

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Visit NH, for supporting local journalism and making “just a weekend trip” into something that could last forever. 

💍 The results are in: 52% of B-Siders give a hard NO to public proposals. One reader said: “I told my partner that if there was a public proposal, I'd straight up say no.” Understandable.

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