Are random bag searches on the T back? The Crimson reports that the MBTA has embarked upon its first random bag searches at the Harvard Square T stop last Thursday. Security didn't rummage through any bags, but "the handles and zippers are swabbed with a special test strip which is then fed through an explosives detection machine." Lt. Salvatore Venturelli also told the Crimson that the T is using a "random mathematical permutation" to make......

When Bostonist heard that J.P. Licks’ October flavors include not just predictable seasonal favorites like pumpkin and caramel apple, but also a whole series of Thai-food-inspired ice creams, we had to give them a try. The Thai iced tea had a nice consistency—perhaps from the addition of condensed milk—but it had a milder tea flavor than we hoped for. If you hadn’t told us it was Thai iced tea, we might have mistaken it for......

A phalanx of U-Haul vans driven by college students has descended upon the city. Eventually, one of these vans will get stuck under an overpass on Storrow Drive. That's when you know fall is here. So Bostonist's writers have compiled a list of tips so both students and year-round residents can learn to coexist. 1. If you plan on attending the Sox game on Labor Day weekend, brace yourself. Some nitwit set up the schedule......

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't officially start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... Over at Sampaist, spring has more than sprung: it's sweltering! But, as everyone knows, museums are an ideal......

Adam Gopnik and Mireille Guiliano will be reading on Wednesday night at 6 pm at First Church in Cambridge, Congregational, at 11 Garden St.. The reading is $3, and tickets can be purchased at Harvard Book Store or by calling 617.661.1515. At 7:30, the reading will be followed by a reception at UpStairs on the Square. Tickets for the reading and reception are $80 and can be purchased at the Harvard Book Store website......

The days are definitely shorter. Daylight escapes us all while toiling away at work. We leave under the blanket of dusk to head home. Less daylight hours almost always seem to have a negative effect on the motivation to go out on the town. Luckily the powers of the internets make it easier to figure out the closest dimly lit place to go grab a brew in your neighborhood. Last year the beermapping project......

Beer is good. Cheese is good. There is a real problem with combining a really great beer with really good cheese: we're not going to eat less cheese or drink less beer. In fact, it's likely that consumption of both will increase. Harpoon Brewery and Cabot Creamery have teamed up and created a new cheese. What goes better with Harpoon IPA than when eating some co-branded Cabot Harpoon IPA Cheddar? The cheddar is soaked in......

The $3.5 million dollar question on the ballot this November is if supermarkets will be allowed to sell wine in their stores. Currently weird restrictions remain for grocery stores selling wines. Chains are only allowed to sell wine in no more than three their stores. For instance, Trader Joe's is only allowed to sell wine in their Brookline, Cambridge, and Boston locations. It forces Back Bay 'Joe consumers to take a ride on the Green......

Celebrate Ben Franklin's 300th birthday with the Bikini Bandits and Phillyist! (NSFW). Speaking of Mr. Franklin, send in a picture of Ben (or Ed Rendell) with a red tongue and win a free t-shirt. And they might have the next YearlyKos in Philly. You know who's going to be upset about those Bikini Bandits? The Houston school system. Houstonist also reports on some redevelopment shenanigans over a landmark theater. LAist's sex advice column on......

For those tomato fans out there that were appalled at the mealy, overpriced produce at the chain supermarkets this past winter, you can relax. The farmers' markets are now in full swing in the city and you can buy all the fresh produce, herbs, and baked goods your little cooking heart desires. Bostonist was able to hit up the Copley Square Farmers' Market last Friday, where eight stands had set up, selling everything from basil......

Today is the fifth day of May, or Cinco de Mayo to all our Spanish-speaking friends out there. Now in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is a national holiday celebrating a victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862; for Americans, it is a holiday to celebrate Mexican heritage no matter what you are with lots of tequila, guacamole and sobreros. Like all the non-Irish who partake in St. Patrick's Day, many non-Mexicans......

The Boston Globe featured an article today about the phenom known as "Missed Connections" on craigslist's boston edition. Now, Bostonist has been known to check the Missed Connections section daily, for hopes that someone noticed us on the T (not really) and because they are ridiculously funny most of the time. According to this article, Missed Connections has actually made a match. In September 2003, Jared Bibler laid eyes on Elisa Stead at the Kenmore......

When someone hears the word, "tsunami" today, one instantly thinks of the natural disaster that hit the Indian Ocean, devestating the entire region. Unfortunately, a sushi restaurant in Brookline has been named "Tsunami", complete with a tidal wave on their sign, for some time. Located in Coolidge Corner, this smaller, little frills Japanese place was visited recently by Bostonist, who usually turns to the "big guns" of Brookline sushi, like Fugakyu and Jae's for their......