😉🧜 Wanna play mermaids?

🌭 Anddddd it’s also National Hot Dog Day! Race ya to the Sil today for $1 glizzies? (Or for free if you’ve got a rat tattoo.) Ready… set… GO!

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

BREAKING: It’s HOT. Given the sticky icky temps and our recent *ahem* … dirty water problems (more on that later), we spent the last month trying to find the best pools around Boston, for every price point and vibe: 

These are the three we’d go back to in a heartbeat:

💻 The best hooky work-from-home spot on a nice day: The Verb Hotel. Views of Fenway Park? Check. Access to one of Boston’s best burgers? Check. Towels, water, and fabulous cold brew? Check, check, check. This adorable, music-themed boutique hotel in Fenway is home to a cozy outdoor pool with day passes for as low as $35 on ResortPass. 

👍 Pros: 

👎 Cons:

🤑 The best pool day, no $$$ (or planning) required: Veterans Memorial Pool. It’s probably true that the best public pool is whatever’s closest to you. But if we had to pick, it’s this one. She’s huge, she’s clean, and she’s right on the Charles, which kinda gives beachy vibes (if you squint hard enough). 

👍 Pros: 

👎 Cons:

Note: We also visited the Reilly Memorial Pool in Brighton and agree: just go there if you’re nearby. It mostly lost points for a stinky changing room/needing a facelift, but it got the job done.

💅 The best summer splurge: The Colonnade Hotel. We regret to inform you that this $55 pass to this 12th-floor rooftop pool is kinda worth it (at least just once). It’s open to the public Sunday through Thursday on a first-come, first-served basis (make sure to check the times here), and includes complimentary towels, water, and loungers.

👍 Pros: 

👎 Cons:

👀 Visual learner? Here’s a taste of our pool-testing journey!

🦕🪾 Before there was Boston, there was … well, a few billion years of other stuff. The Museum of Science's new Life Chronicles exhibition takes you from Earth's earliest life to the age of dinosaurs and beyond through an immersive expedition with hands-on experiences and larger-than-life discoveries. You’re not going to want to miss this. Learn more and plan your visit. 

🫠 This is THE hottest meteorological summer on record. Boston averages ~12 days of 90-degree temps every year, and we’ve already hit that mark. But don’t think about going for a swim just yet — 40+ beaches in the area are closed due to high bacteria levels, which are caused by heavy rainfall, cyanobacteria, algae, or sewage (ew). Here’s the state’s water quality dashboard for more info. Thankfully, after today’s heat and haze, the humidity should die down Thursday, and Friday will steer clear of the 90s. But you might need an umbrella this weekend …

🚗 Shocker: Massholes aren’t making our roads safe. In fact, Boston was ranked the No. 1 riskiest city for drivers in the U.S. … for the second year in a row. Boston drivers are ~189% more likely to get in a car crash than the national average (~one every three to four years), according to Allstate. (BTW, the safest city’s drivers have a *15-year* gap.) But we were in good Masshole company on the list: Worcester and Springfield took fourth and fifth place, respectively. Yikes!

🍽️ We’re DTF with DTF. Translation: Din Tai Fung is coming to Boston!!! The bougie Taiwanese restaurant chain is apparently opening a new location in Back Bay. If you’ve never been, their wontons and spicy cucumber salad are GOATED, but their soup dumplings are its stars, especially the dessert ones filled with dark chocolate and topped with sea salt foam *chef’s kiss*. On another high note, South Shore staple Marylou’s coffee is now available every weekend this summer at Publico in Southie, ft. three iconic flavors: Twix, PB, and chocolate coconut.

🍷 Bad news: Aperitivo’s North End shop is closing for good … The good news: It’s having a *massive* sale for the rest of the month on all of its home goods, cookware, and decor (think: floral ceramic plates and adorbs needlepoint pillows). Note: They’re closed now through the weekend, so add this shopping spree to your cal for next week. If you miss the sale, you’ll still be able to shop the merch online. And the Aperitivo Society supper club? It’ll still be around, but expect it to look very different.

B-Side Members can save more than $100 across our events this month, plus more deals!

🏋️ July 16: FORMAT Strength class, $30. Join us at FORMAT's South Boston studio for 50 minutes of low-impact strength movements followed by rooftop freebies from Night Shift, Culture Pop, Hammersley’s Pantry, Crumb Bake Co., and more. Tickets are $15 with code BSIDE. Book here! 

🛥️ July 18: Spectacle Summer Nights B-Side Night, $40. Grab a ticket to our iconic summer outing Spectacle Summer Nights, an after-hours island takeover with live music, beach s'mores, ranger-led hikes, and skyline views. Members save $15! Book here.

🦪 July 28: B-Side Supper Club at Island Creek, $40. Join us for our July Supper Club, a four-course meal at Island Creek Raw Bar in Seaport. Expect tuna tostadas, caviar corndogs, fish and shrimp tacos, and fresh oysters for just $40 all-in (or +$10 for a drink pairing). Book here.

👀 Want to feature your upcoming event above? Click here.

🎸☀️Patiopalooza is taking over Aeronaut's patio July 11, 18, and 25 with local music, craft beer, and special food offerings from Mimi's Chuka Diner and Somerville Chocolate. There’s no cover charge to attend, just show up early to grab a good spot! If you’re a B-Side Member, you’ll receive a special ticket to skip to the front of the line. Mark all three Saturdays on your calendar. Details here!

“I can put you in ~first classsss~” — probably Scotland about this traffic cone. ICYMI: Glasgow’s head of commerce signed and sent this orange diva all the way to Boston as a symbol of the cities’ friendship. Here’s the backstory:

Scottish influencer Andrew Dobbie had major FOMO when all the Scots were partying in Boston. So he took a cone, wrote “BOSTON” on it in big letters, and put it on Glasgow’s Duke of Wellington statue. And it racked up *millions* of views. 

That set the stage for Glasgow’s Chamber of Commerce to steal donate a specially-designed “No Boston No Party” traffic cone ft. iconic motifs of both cities, and put it on a first-class flight to Boston.

Gov. Maura Healey and Mayor Michelle Wu just celebrated the cone’s arrival at Logan Tuesday afternoon and signed it themselves. Now, the cone will go on its own Boston tour to fundraise for mental health organizations in Scotland and Mass. 

It’s the bit that keeps on giving. <3

— Written by Kelly Chan and Emily Schario

😭 Thanks for reading! Even the cone couldn’t raw-dog the flight. 

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Museum of Science, for supporting local journalism and making "going back in time" a legitimate weekend plan.

🍽️ The results are in: 26% of readers want us to try Wonder, the ghost kitchen with menus from 20+ restaurants. One B-Sider wrote: “I want to know if the food quality suffers at all.” Well, thanks for that …

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