🚃 The ultimate MBTA food crawl

Happy Friday, Boston!

👏 You’ve got a busy weekend ahead of you:

1. Saturday is the last day to register to vote if you want to participate in Mass.’ presidential primary. 

2. Sunday is National Clam Chowder Day. So as a reward for participating in our democracy, grab a nice bowl of chowdah at one of these local spots.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Red Liners, brace for impact

• Dunkin’s new energy drinks

• Bravo > Bruins

Up first…

MBTA FOOD CRAWL

The very hungry GLX

We love food and functioning public transit. So given the Green Line Extension is one of the few parts of the Green Line that isn’t seeing shutdowns (for now), we figured it was the perfect place to kick off our MBTA food crawl series.

Here’s what’s worth a Charlie Card swipe:

EAST SOMERVILLE T STOP (OR UNION SQUARE)

🍳 Grab an English muffin sammie from Vinal Bakery. Vinal sells anywhere from 800 to 900 English muffins on a busy Saturday. But what makes them so special? “Ours are enriched, so they have some sort of fat in them,” said owner Sarah Murphy. “They’re richer, bigger, and can hold up to different types of sandwiches,”

👀 Our rec? We tried the Miss Maple sandwich with egg, cheddar, and maple butter, and the McVinal with egg, cheddar, homemade turkey sausage, and spicy mayo (both on a French toast English muffin), which struck the ideal breakfast flavor balance of sweet and savory. 

🙋‍♀️ Murphy’s go-to? The American classic on an oat sesame English muffin, an iced cardamom caramel latte with oat milk, and whatever the special baked good is (currently: the chocolate espresso cake).

MAGOUN SQUARE T STOP

🥟 Grab momos for lunch at Tasty Mo:Mo. In case you’re unfamiliar, momos are a dumpling popular in Tibetan and Nepali cuisine. After seeing a local momo gap nearly a decade ago, owner and Nepal native Sophie Thakali, decided to quit her desk job and open up Tasty. “My joints hurt already because I’ve been doing this for 11 years,” she said, referring to the detailed folding work momos require.

👀 Our rec? We tried the steamed pork and fried chicken momos (Thakali’s faves) which were the perfect cozy bite during this time of year. The steamed momos texturally reminded us of Chinese dumplings, while the fried momos offered a welcome crunch. For Thakali, the dipping sauces are what really make a good momo, but fair warning: the darker sauce is HOT. 

UNION SQUARE T STOP

🍦 Cap off the day with a fluff cone from Gracie’s. Named after owner Aaron Cohen’s daughter, this ice cream shop is best known for its wacky flavors with tons of mix-ins. See: Carlymel Rae Jepsen, Nilla Bella Berry, and Black Raspberry Reeses Oreo, to name a few. “We like our ice cream to be loaded, every bite to be loaded,” Cohen said.

👀 Our rec? When you’re in the city where fluff was created, you have to get the fluff cone, which is exactly what it sounds like: a cone dipped in fluff, torched, and served with your favorite scoop (we did chocolate marshmallow for a s’mores effect). 

🙋‍♂️ Cohen’s go-to? Black raspberry chip. To him, it’s a flavor synonymous with the brand and New England. 

📱 Eat with your eyes? Here’s a look at EVERYTHING we ate along the way.

QUICK QUESTION

🚃 What MBTA food crawl do you want to see next?

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

📲 Did anyone’s cellular just … stop working yesterday? If so, you’re in good company. Over 70,000 people across the country mysteriously lost cellular Thursday morning through the early afternoon. The outage affected many different carriers, but AT&T seems to have it the worst. As of right now, officials don’t seem to know exactly what the deal is, but one expert guessed that due to the nature of the outages, human error is the likely culprit. Meanwhile, the outage also flooded the state’s 911 line with calls from Massholes just checking to see if it was still working (it was). 

🚇 Red Liners, brace for impact. We hope you enjoyed your week of full T service, because this weekend, shutdowns are back. First up, shuttle buses will replace service between Harvard and Broadway Feb. 24 and 25, and next weekend (March 2 and 3), service between Park Street and JFK/UMass will get the same treatment. But as much as shutdowns bum us out, we’ll take a planned shutdown that’ll hopefully end with better service over a literal fire disrupting our morning commute any day. 

⚽ Franklin Park’s stadium glow up is running into a hiccup. Residents and a local environmental nonprofit are suing the City of Boston over a massive renovation to transform Franklin Park’s White Stadium into the home of Boston’s soon-to-be new professional women’s soccer team. They believe that while the renovation is necessary, the city’s quick approval process, especially for a plan that involves major changes to the neighborhood and the field’s usage, overlooks the needs of the often disenfranchised community that uses it, including BPS students. 

⚡ Dunkin’s hopping on the charged lemonade bandwagon. That’s right, Dunks just released two new “Sparkd’” fizzy energy drinks, and while they’re not exactly on Panera’s charged lemonade’s level, they definitely pack a punch. The drinks each have 144 mg of caffeine in a medium size, which is equivalent to 2.25 shots of espresso, or about 1.5 cups of coffee. So enjoy, but maybe just one at a time — we don’t want you to end up in a lawsuit.

THINGS TO DO

Weekend plans

🥘 Dig into a bowl of ‘zole. Head to the South Boston Lithuanian Citizens’ Association for the annual bowl of ‘zole festival on Saturday, a celebration of traditional Mexican stew, tequila, and mezcal.

🧘 Hit up the ultimate fit & sip mashup event. On Saturday afternoon, join Trillium Brewing and B/SPOKE for a B/SPOKE-led yoga class with Trillium pretzels and beer to follow. 

🌸 Learn how perfumes are concocted. Artisan perfumer Miriam Shechet will help you deconstruct a perfume to smell each of its elements before creating your own white floral blend on Saturday.

♟️ DIY like never before. Harpoon Brewery is hosting a pottery class on Saturday afternoon where you’ll get to make your own board game completely out of clay, with time for painting, too! 

🕺 Don’t dance on your own. By popular demand, The Sinclair is finally hosting Adventure[s] for their famous Robyn-themed pop music night: The Robyn Party on Saturday. 

— Written by Claire Nicholas

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

ONE LAST THING

Step aside, sports bars

Do you prefer Bravo over the Bruins? “Selling Sunset” to the Celtics? You’re not alone, and Boston’s bars and restaurants are starting to catch on. 

According to the Globe, bars and restaurants around Boston are doing big business hosting watch parties for Bravo shows like “Vanderpump Rules,” where fans can gather in-person to get rowdy together while watching the latest episodes and enjoying some themed treats (like, in one case, the “worm with a mustache” cocktail, IYKYK). 

The promotions have been especially fruitful in the winter months, when it’s usually harder to get diners out of the house to brave the cold and dark. For our part, we’re not too surprised. If there's anything that’ll get millennials out of the house, it’s Scandoval.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

📺 Thanks for reading! This might be a hot take, but sometimes … you just can’t watch another hockey game.

🕺 The results are in: 38% of B-Siders aren’t having it with Boston’s nightlife scene, and mostly choose to stay in instead. One reader said: “All I want is a dive bar that’s not too crowded where I can dance, is that too much to ask?!”

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