the weekend buzz

“Brunch at Bobo, Blue Angel Opens, Stinky's Cheese Fest, and Paumanok's Wine Dinner at Fresno”

Saturday Afternoon: Brunch at Bobo, 181 W. 10th Street, 212-488-2626

Chef Jared Stafford-Hill (formerly of Hearth) is now serving brunch at this snug and exquisitely decorated brownstone home-as-restaurant owned by Carlos Suarez. A table in the flower-filled garden is the perfect setting for a leisurely morning meal. Stafford-Hill's menu features rustic and rich morning eats like gently scrambled (but not gently priced) eggs with duck ham and foie gras butter ($25), chilled pea soup with lobster and radish, dry-aged beef, with ramps, spring onion and fried egg ($30), crisp pork belly with shell beans, sausage and spring garlic ($25), poached asparagus and egg with parmesan ($19).

The brunch menu is amped up by several takes on the Bloody Mary ($13 each)—the Bobo Mary features aquavit, cucumber juice and a house blend of spices, the Bloody Maria is made from tequila, lime, smoked chipotle, cilantro, and pickles, and the Bloody Lobster has vodka, lime, house spices, lobster stock, and celery salt and is garnished with a whole lobster claw. While you’re drinking and eating, you can kick back with friends and enjoy the house record player and board games (Clue, Monopoly, Connect Four, Scrabble), too! Brunch is served Saturdays and Sundays from Noon to 3pm.

Saturday Evening: Blue Angel Opens, 638 Grand Street, 718-388-2210

In Germany, eco-friendly products are Blue, not Green. In fact, they’re given a Blue Angel certification, which is also the name of this new Williamsburg wine shop with a strong focus on organic wines.

Blue Angel's Chief Wine Buyer is Kym Apotas, who most recently served as a wine buyer for three years at Astor Wines and Spirits. At Blue Angel, Kym has built the store's organic-focused wine repertoire, featuring smaller distributors and producers. In keeping with the theme of the shop, Blue Angel was constructed using recycled and eco-friendly materials. The store has a great back yard that will later open for tastings, pairings and private events.

To celebrate the Saturday opening, Blue Angel's top distributors will be in attendance from 6-9pm on Saturday night to pour (free) samples. If you like something you’ve tasted, you can buy a few bottles to take home

Sunday: Stinky's Smith Street Fun Day and “Stink-Fest ‘08”

All day on Sunday the folks at Stinky Brooklyn (Michele and Patrick) are throwing a block party with live music (The Dirty Sock Funtime Band plays at noon), and the nail-biting cheese eating event of the year—the Stinky Bklyn Cheese Eating Contest of ‘08. Can Oliver Butler (who ate over 6 oz of creamy Cantal in an astonishing 1 minute) defend his title and keep his Big Cheese Title Belt? 30 other competitors will be on hand to try to rob him of his glory. This is sure to be a battle on par with the epic Woods/Mediate standoff at the US Open.

In addition to the music, Smith Street will be turned into a Restaurant for a day. Chestnut Restaurant, Smith & Vine, Stinky Bklyn, & The JakeWalk are putting together three seating areas with over 60 seats and a menu including the signature cocktail, “The JakeWalk”, fried cheese curds, fish tacos, wines by the glass, Raclette, and much, much more. The Smith Street Fun Day takes place on Smith Street between Douglas and Degraw.

Sunday Night: Paumanok Wine Dinner at Fresno, East Hampton, 8 Fresno Place, (631) 324-8700

If you’re out in the Hamptons for the weekend, spend Sunday night out East and enjoy a 5-course Paumanok Wine Dinner ($75 per person including wines) at Fresno, Michael Nolan and David Lowenberg’s welcoming (and decidedly un-Hamptons) restaurant. The dinner starts off at 6:30 with assorted tapas with the Paumanok Festival Charonnay (2007) and moves onto a Montauk fluke crudo with radish salad, chiles and lime with the Chenin Blanc (2007), a Berkshire Farms pork terrine with pistachios and grain mustard, with the sauvignon blanc (2007) and braised beef short ribs with peach and apple gremolata and the 2005 Cab Franc. For dessert you’ll start with a Mecox Dairy cheese tasting and move onto Fresno’s homemade ”jelly” donuts with local honey and fruit puree served with Paumanok’s Late Harvest Reisling (2007).

And that’s your Strong (weekend) Buzz for this week! Don’t forget to check in with the Strong Buzz every day for cutting edge news, reviews, events and more!

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