Boston, MA

How does Boston feel about the dinner party resurgence?

Published

2 years ago

April 25, 2024

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How does Boston feel about the dinner party resurgence?

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Dinner parties at residences and supper club events are back, fueled by pandemic lockdowns that kept people out of restaurants and away from connecting with others. How do you feel about it?

Dinner parties at home, at event spaces, and sometimes at restaurants — like the one seen here at Grill 23 — are back in Boston. How do you feel about the resurgence? Brian Feulner/Boston Globe

With the worst of the pandemic behind us, one thing is clear in the dining world right now: More than ever, people want to connect over good food, and not just at restaurants.

It seems the dinner party is back, reborn a couple of years ago in order to bring people together in a comfortable space.

This isn’t your parents’ dinner party. Dinnerware is sometimes mix-matched or chipped, they take place in cramped apartments without dining rooms, and maybe it playfully calls for a theme around a particular food, like soup or tinned fish.

Some people in Boston and other cities have made a business out of it. Supper clubs are not a new concept and are slightly different from dinner parties — though these words are sometimes used interchangeably depending on the organizer. Both dinner parties and supper clubs can be as casual as a potluck-style setting, or maybe the host is in control of a more elaborate menu. Sometimes supper clubs are helmed by professional chefs, cooking up prix fixe menus in a rented space.

Also depending on the event and the host, they’re an opportunity to meet strangers.

The Harvard Crimson reported from the scene of a supper club in December called Dinner with Friends in Boston, in which its host typically charges $30 for the seven or eight guests to attend the intimate dinner.

There’s also the Aperitivo Society, which does a mix of assisting people hosting dinner parties at their homes and holding private supper club events at restaurants. The latter is often organized in a way where guests who do not know each other come together.

Then there are chefs like Kendall DaCosta, who hosts a monthly supper club called Out of Many One People, a way to cook creatively without a brick-and-mortar space.

If paying for someone else to do the work isn’t what you’re looking for, there are plenty of tips out there right now for how to throw your own dinner party, from simple to elaborate. There are even stores and TikTok accounts all about helping people get the aesthetic of a dinner party just to their liking.

We want to know: Are you into this dinner party or supper club craze? Answer our poll below, and tell us your thoughts in the form.

Have you been going to dinner parties or supper clubs lately?

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Boston, MA

What a World Cup ‘fan zone’ is and what Boston fans can expect in 2026

Published

5 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

What a World Cup ‘fan zone’ is and what Boston fans can expect in 2026

The FIFA World Cup is coming to Massachusetts, and when it comes to having a place for people to hang out together, there will be a free fan zone where everyone can celebrate the big event.

Seven World Cup matches will take place at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA this summer, and the first one is right around the corner, to be played on June 13, with Scotland taking on Haiti.

Fan Zones are a public space to watch the game for people who don’t have tickets to the actual game. Held in public places, they broadcast the mach on giant screens to offer an immersive experience to watch the game, according to FIFA>

“At the heart of FIFA Fan Festival Boston, (a) Cultural Showcase will ignite the stage with a vibrant celebration of the spirit, creativity, and cultural heartbeat of Boston and communities across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” FIFA said.

Where will the fan zone be located when the World Cup games start in just 11 days?

Where is the World Cup fan zone going to be in Massachusetts?

The official FIFA Fan Festival for the 2026 World Cup in Boston will be located at Boston City Hall Plaza at 1 City Hall Sq. Boston, MA.

“The festival will run daily from June 12 through June 27, offering live match broadcasts, cultural showcases, food vendors, and entertainment,” according to FIFA.

The fan zone will open between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and will stay open until after dark, between 8:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. according to reports.

Activities at the fan zone

Here are some of the offerings at the fan zone in Boston, according to the FIFA website:

Live broadcasts: Giant outdoor screens that broadcast tournament matches in high-definition.
Entertainment & music: Live concerts, DJ sets, and performances celebrating global culture.
Interactive activations: Skills challenges, mini-pitches, inflatable games, and sponsor booths.
Food & merch: International food stalls, local beverage offerings, and official tournament merchandise.

How to go to the fan zone

While the game is free, you do need to register in advance.

“You can select which days and matches you plan to attend through the FIFA World Cup Boston 2026 website or the Meet Boston events page. Up to six people can register on a single application,” the World Cup Boston website says.

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Boston, MA

Who Will Form the Boston Bruins’ Future Core?

Published

15 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Who Will Form the Boston Bruins’ Future Core?

The Boston Bruins increasingly relied on a new wave of young players in the 2025-26 season. Their speed and energy became an intrinsic part of the team’s structure, complementing a more experienced core. Boston entered the offseason on May 2 after a 4-1 loss to Buffalo in Game 6 of the first round. Despite this, […] The post Who Will Form the Boston Bruins’ Future Core? appeared first on The Lead.

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Boston, MA

Updating Red Sox’s Playoff Chances: Numbers Never Lie | NESN

Published

1 day ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Updating Red Sox’s Playoff Chances: Numbers Never Lie | NESN

So you’re saying there’s a chance? Despite an abysmal start to the 2026 season, the Boston Red Sox remain in the mix for a playoff spot. At least according to FanGraphs, who gives the club a 27.1% chance of reaching the postseason.

Boston’s likely path to October means winning the wild card. FanGraphs gives the Red Sox a 26.1% chance of winning an American League wild card. The team currently sits threes games back of the third and final wild card, despite a record of 25-33.

Don’t look for a division title this year in Beantown. FanGraphs gives the Red Sox a 1% chance of winning the AL East. Which makes sense, since the team currently sits in last place, 11.5 games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.

But SI’s Tom Verducci and Will Laws thinks Boston has a much tougher chance of making the playoffs. In their deep dive of the postseason, the pair came up with what they call the “Line of Doom.” According to their research, a team that starts “no better than 23–31 and your season is almost over only one-third of the way through the schedule.” Here’s why.

“In the wild card era (since 1995), only one team made the postseason starting with less than 22 wins in the first 54 games, the 2005 Astros (20–34). Of the 231 teams to start 23–31 or worse, only seven made the playoffs—once every 33 times,” Verducci and Laws note.

“Since the postseason field expanded in 2022, 31 teams began 23–31 or worse. Only one, the 2024 Mets (22–32), made the playoffs. That leaves such slow starters with a 1 in 31 chance—virtually the same as the larger sample size,” the pair add.

“The fact is one-third of the season does a good job separating pretenders from contenders. And as the calendar flips to June, understand that the playoff spots won’t change very much. In the four seasons with 12 playoff spots up for grabs, teams in playoff position when May ended kept a playoff spot 73% of the time—35 of 48 teams,” Verducci and Laws conclude.

So what does this have to do with the Red Sox, you ask? It’s Boston’s record after 54 games: 23-31. The “Line of Doom.”

More MLB: Red Sox Legend Backs ‘Worried’ John Henry

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