The Strong Buzz

Pony’s in Red Hook is serving classic cocktails and a menu of Eastern European snacks. Friends, I’ve inundated you with Fall Preview posts this week, but I’ve got just one more for good measure. File this post under “it’s five o’clock somewhere.” It’s my list of the city’s best new bars. I’ve got industry veterans, cocktail gurus, and first timers alike bringing crushable craft cocktails, day-to-night drinks, more Spaghetts, and gorgeous spaces to gather.

Photo by Huma Kabakci on Unsplash In the spirit of turning the page on summer, all of us in the business of restaurant media are compiling our annual Fall Preview lists. Here on the Strong Buzz, I’ll be spending all week looking at fall, with dedicated posts for Manhattan (today), Brooklyn, Queens & Beyond (tomorrow), and another one just for bars (Thursday).

Today’s edition of the Weekend Buzz includes 100 free burgers (yes, the one pictured above), a new American tavern focused on craft beer, an Italian feast, and your ticket to watching the World Cup with freezer-batched martinis.

Almost a year ago now, I broke the news that the Hotel Bossert, at 98 Montague Street at Hicks Street for 117 years now, was acquired by real estate developer SomeraRoad with a plan was to reopen the building as luxury residences with an anchor restaurant tenant to be determined.

The note on the glass was posted today. Neighbors walked by, stopping, gasping. Some cried. Caputo’s, a Carroll Gardens institution known for its bread and Italian cookies, has served its last loaf.

Friends, I’m heading to Philadelphia this weekend for the Chef Assembly. I’m very excited for the panels and the people and that city in general – such great food and art, and wonderful thrift stores too. Maybe I’ll see some of you there? Hope so. Before we get to your weekend plans, I wanted to make sure you read this by Gloria Dawson, whose blog, In the Weeds, is full of big insights and small stories about the independent restaurant industry.

For the first Don’t Forget, I visit Kinjo in Dumbo. Friends. There’s been a bit of talk lately about how food media is harming the restaurant industry – in our pursuit of covering openings, the next hot trend or the new chef du jour, we have left stalwart, steady neighborhood restaurants to wilt, wither, and die.

All the good things at Vato, which opens tonight in Park Slope. Happy Thursday my friends! I’ve got a fun opening and some news to share before we get to today’s Weekend Buzz. First, if you’ve been to Corima and had their sourdough tortillas and thought, well, I could eat these for the rest of my days, then you’ll probably do a happy dance at this news.

Photo by Sebastian Coman Photography on Unsplash Restaurants are of two worlds – the dining room – front of house – is the civilized realm of the guest. Whether hushed and elegant, or dark and buzzy, it is a world that’s carefully articulated and choreographed to put on a restaurant’s best face. The kitchen is another story altogether.

I’m happy to share a bit of nice news for your Monday morning: RedFarm is back! Now, I’m not sure if you remember Ed Schoenfeld, the gregarious and charming restaurant world legend and preeminent Chinese food expert who was known for his red Sally Jessie Rafael glasses and his insanely delicious Chinese-American restaurant, RedFarm. The restaurant opened in 2011 at 529 Hudson Street, on the parlor floor of an 1828 brownstone, above a basement laundromat.