🤫 We’re spilling Boston’s foodie secrets ...

☘️🏀 Want FREE Celtics tickets? Jack’s Abby, the team’s official craft beer, gave us two pairs of THIRD ROW seats for B-Side Members — a $450+ value per ticket! We’re dropping the first pair for the C’s Nov. 23 game vs. the Magic at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Open to MA residents 21+. Start a 30-day free trial to enter!

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

You know Boston’s 50 best restaurants. But do you know … their secrets? Well, Boston magazine does, and they’re spilling the deets, from the best times to nab an impossible table, to off-menu items, and more.

Here’s what to know:

🪑 It IS possible to get a seat at Sarma. Turns out, you don’t need to sit on a 1,500-person waitlist to get a table at the best restaurant around Boston (we wish we were joking). According to chef/owner Cassie Piuma, 8:30 p.m. is the “magic time” to snag a walk-in bar seat. But if that seating is past your bedtime, Sarma’s bar manager also told us that Sunday evenings after 7:30 p.m. are a good shout.

🍜 Pagu’s famous biang biang noodles are on the secret menu. Chef/owner Tracy Chang told Boston that when these spicy, hand-pulled noodles were on the regular menu during COVID, they were in such high demand they would’ve have to make noodles 24/7 to keep up. While they’re no longer on the main menu, you can thankfully still order them — just ask! Bonus secret: If you want to make them yourself, they offer noodle-making classes.

🍔 Brassica Kitchen + Cafe sells a fancy Big Mac. This is a *real* IYKYK situation. For the past 20 years, co-chef/co-owner Jeremy Kean has been trying to recreate the Big Mac from scratch, using gorgeous, high-quality ingredients, including wagyu beef. There are around 10 available off-menu every night, usually claimed by in-the-know regulars, so get there early if you want one.

🍷 Urban Hearth will open *any* bottle for you. It’s true: You don’t need to be shackled to its by-the-glass selection, according to chef/owner Erin Miller. So long as you’re willing to commit to two glasses, they’ll open “just about any bottle on our extended list.” Bonus secret: If you want a particularly cozy corner, ask for table 6 or 7 when you make a res. 

🍸 Mahaniyom loves shots! Shots! Shots! Case in point, if you come into the Thai restaurant for a celebration, they’ll probably bring you a round of shots. Co-owner Chompon “Boong” Boonnak says tequila is his fav. But if you really wanna rave, check out the bathroom.

🤫 Want more restaurant tea? You can peruse ALL of the secrets here. Everyone say: Thank you Boston mag!

🎓 International students are ditching local schools. Just … not the ones we thought. Per the data, less *selective* schools like UMass Boston are seeing the biggest drops in international students amid President Trump’s immigration crackdowns. While Harvard, Boston College, and Northeastern’s numbers barely budged, UMass Boston, Amherst, and Dartmouth all saw 200+ fewer international students this year compared to 2024. And since those students pay more than twice as much as in-staters, that’s a big problem for the schools’ bottom lines — leading them to tweak their recruiting tactics. 

🚌 South Station is looking a little … different. For one thing, it just debuted its long-awaited bus terminal revamp, which (besides looking pretty nice) increases capacity by over 50%, adding 12 more docks for buses and a new, larger waiting area. Plus, down the line, we can expect more retail and dining options, and elevators and stairs that’ll directly link the bus terminal and train platforms. Here’s a peek inside! And while we’re here … remember the station’s planned fare gates à la North Station? They’ll be arriving in December.

❄️ Boston’s dreary winters are getting a rebrand. Enter: The Frostival, the city’s new series of winter-y events and activities from late November through February meant to boost winter tourism and spice up Boston’s dreariest season. The lineup includes a combo of events we already know and love (think: Snowport, Holiday Pops), alongside a few newbies like weekly drone shows over the Common from Nov. 29 to Dec. 30 (which actually look pretty cool), a ferris wheel on the Greenway, and a festival featuring female winemakers. Check out all the events here!

🥐 Bakeries and bars and burgers, oh my! A new week = a new roundup of local foodie news. On the menu this time: Michette Bakery, Somerville’s artisanal French bakery with gorgina bread, pastries, and sandos, is opening a Cambridge outpost; Aatma Curry House, which serves “Indian-ish” cuisine, just opened a permanent spot inside Brighton’s Widowmaker Brewing; and Re:Bar, a bar concept in Everett that’ll offer nostalgic games like axe-throwing, nerf, and darts, is set to open this week.

🎄 Say hey to Boston’s official holiday tree. The 45-foot Nova Scotian baddie will make her Boston Common debut (via police escort!) on Nov. 18 at 11 a.m. Seriously, she might as well have her own body guard.

🧠 Show off your big, beautiful brain. We’re declaring Nov. 18 “Trivia Tuesday”: Test your knowledge at Southie’s Castle Island Brewing, Brighton’s Widowmaker, OR the Seaport’s Lucky’s Lounge (where you can get $3 smash burgers!).

🍝 Eat your weight in pasta. We’re not kidding: Every Wednesday, including Nov. 19, Southie’s Capo offers bottomless pasta for $32 a pop. Make a res here!

⚡ Expecto … the best theater deal in town. Enter: $49 tickets to see “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” on Nov. 19. And yes, that price includes a DRINK! Become a B-Side Member to unlock this perk.

🖼️ Spend a night at the museum … for $5! The MFA’s $5 third Thursdays are SO back on Nov. 20. This time, you can expect live music, watercolor-making, and Nick Shea’s iconic pop-up portraits. 

🎬 Pregame some holiday chaos. On Nov. 20 The Coolidge will have a special screening of classic holiday comedy “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” followed by a 21+ afterparty with themed food and drinks!

🧙 Get a little … Wicked. “Wicked: For Good” drops on Nov. 21, but you can get the party started on Nov. 20 with “Wicked”-themed trivia at The Huntington. Winners get FREE tickets to a Huntington show, merch, and a Trident gift card.

🦃 Grab the best Thanksgiving goodies. Boston Public Market is back with its annual Thanksgiving shopping market from Nov. 21 to 23 with all the food, homewares, and cutie host gifts you need!

Cardi B and Stefon Diggs have a LOT to celebrate. She just dropped a new album, the Pats are on top of the AFC East, and now … their baby boy has entered the world! 

Cardi dropped the news over the weekend in the most Cardi way possible: Lip-syncing to her own music in full glam, apparently just a week after giving birth. “I brought … A new baby into my world, and one more reason to be the best version of me,” she wrote in the caption. His name is still under wraps.

Cardi first announced her pregnancy with Diggs back in September, and since then, Mass. has welcomed her with open arms: The Pats WAGS invited her to their tailgate, she watched a game from Robert Kraft’s suite, and she even posted an IG with the caption “PAT NATION.”

— Written by Gia Orsino, Emily Schario and Claire Nicholas

👶 Thanks for reading! We’re not saying Cardi is the reason the Pats are doing so well … but we’re also not NOT saying that.

🎁 The results are in: 38% of readers said they’ve started browsing for holiday gifts. One reader said: “Gift giving is my love language so I'm lowkey going broke.”

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