Really wish I found this thread before booking my DEN-BOS-YYZ trip today. This won't be one I repeat. Had an 8:30 pm departure to YYZ that was delayed until at least 10:30 pm.
I smartly (and unknowingly) stayed on the UA side of Term B and grabbed a bite & a beer at a Legal there. Literally everything started shutting down by 7:30 in the main part of the terminal and AC spooked me a bit by texting that we were nearing boarding at 8 pm, so I left the secure area to head to the B1-B3 gates.
There were zero people in line to re-clear security at the AC gates. The gate area resembled a holding pen you see when clearing security for Int'l flights from a 3rd world country-- further made worse because it was full of PAX for 4-5 seriously delayed flights. The AC text lied-- we are still delayed until 10:30 at a minimum.
Inside there are two small restrooms (1 M & 1 W) and a snack bar. The snack bar is basically a couple of water/soda coolers, a couple of coffee thermos pumps (no idea how old the coffee is in them), some bagged chips, and a nacho warmer. That's it. It is about 95 F in the room.
i confirmed w/ the AC desk that the plane won't depart earlier. I decided to leave the secure area for some sanity. They advised me a safe time to come back through security was 9:45, so that's what I'll do. TSA gave me a rash of crap for leaving, but they were likely pissed they had to work a bit more. The Ozone Bar is still open, so that's where I am hanging enjoying a beer or two and some snacks until then.
My advice- don't go to the penalty box until you absolutely have to for AC flights from BOS.