Take in the Little Dipper, Pizza and Whiskey, and Cupcake Decorating.

Your Weekend Buzz is here.

Friends,

I’ve been meaning to check in with you all; it’s been over a year since I moved The Strong Buzz to the substack platform and I hope you’ve been enjoying reading! I’ve been writing this newsletter since 2003; that’s over 20 years as far as my math skills tell me, which is completely crazy. I launched way before Wix and Square and Wordpress were even around, built the site from code. I started this newsletter before Eater, before the food blogs, when the dinosaurs roamed the earth.

If you’ve been a reader from the beginning, I hope you’re still enjoying it. And if you’re new to the gang, welcome! I try to make these posts interesting and relevant, and to offer you something you don’t get anywhere else, my own observations, what inspires me, who’s making the world better with the power of food. It’s all here.

This month alone, I broke news about Salt & Straw, called out the aged fish trend sweeping the city, and dug into the reasons Carroll Gardens has become such a Mecca for restaurants. If you’re loving the free content, maybe you’ll want to become a paid subscriber? You’ll be supporting my work, and you’ll have access to special events, and the Weekend Buzz, which comes out every Thursday and helps ensure your weekends are impeccably planned with a lineup of fun and fabulous places to eat, drink, and be merry.

I hope you’ll give it a think and perhaps make the upgrade! It would mean a lot to me (and to my landlord).

Thursday: 500 Free Slices of Pizza

The folks from Serafina are launching a new pizza concept today — Pizza Fun House (63 W 8th St, on the corner of 6th Ave). To mark the grand opening, the team will be giving away 500 free slices of pizza from 1pm until supplies run out. 

This new, casual restaurant looks back in time to co-founders Fabio Granato and Vittorio Assaf’s core American pop-culture memories from their childhood growing up in Italy. The space is brightly colored with a geometric Googie-style interior and a menu of New York style-slices and pies, along with a menu of old-school favorites: Eggplant Parm, Chicken Parm, and Meatball Parm, Meat Lasagna, Penne Vodka, Sausage + Peppers Heroes and Chicken Rolls. There will also be Garlic Knots (which will make my kids very happy). Banana Splits, and, of course, Canolis and mik shakes are on the menu as well as beer and wine. Go get yourself a slice!

Friday: Gaze up at the Little Dipper.