the weekend buzz

“Five Dollar Happy Hour at Nonna, Highbrow BBQ at Solar One, Back from the Beach Pig Roast at Klee”

Friday: Five Dollar Summer Happy Hour at Nonna, 520 Columbus Ave @ 85th Street

Five bucks doesn’t usually get you much—maybe a latte if you’re lucky, or a small cup of soup, but at Nonna, the Upper West side neighborhood Italian joint, a couple of fives is all you need for drinks and dinner. Their new Summer Happy Hour features $5 cocktails and $5 appetizers at the bar (Monday thru Friday from 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays from Noon-5 pm). The menu of five-dollar apps includes Pizza Finta, Fried Calamari, Baked Eggplant, Arancini, Fried Zucchini, Nonna’s Famous Meatballs, and Caesar Salad with Molten Crouton. So, if you’re in need of a little something to drink and eat after work on Friday, there’s a stool with your name on it.

Saturday: Highbrow BBQ with Top Chef’s CJ Jacobson and The Strong Buzz

Some of you may remember that I was a judge on Top Chef Season Three Miami. I was the “secret” restaurant blogger who critiqued the contestants during the brutal Restaurant Wars challenge. It was a great time (for me at least). Well, this weekend I’m being reunited with one of the contestants I judged, CJ Jacobson, at the New York Magazine’s Highbrow BBQ and Cookoff Challenge—an all day music, beer, and food-fest held Saturday August 23rd from 1pm-5pm at Solar One (East River Waterfront at 23rd Street; Rain Date Sunday, August 24th).

At New York Magazine’s first-ever Backyard BBQ event, CJ is going to be grilling all day (vegetarian and carnivore-friendly fare) to the sounds of Islands, with free beer, fireside comedy, an acoustic show, more bad art to complete your collection, and the return of Indie Rock Karaoke. With your $25 ticket, you also get a 46-issue subscription to New York Magazine. What’s more, you can enter the BBQ cook-off challenge where you’ll have the chance to have your food critiqued by a team of judges (me and CJ and others to be determined) and win $1000 in cash.

So grab a few friends, and a picnic blanket and come on out to this all-day barbecue party. To enter the cook-off and to buy tickets please visit the New York Magazine website.

Saturday: Brunch at Parlor Steakhouse, 1600 Third Avenue (at 90th St.),
212-423-5888

If you live on the Upper East Side, you’re probably craving a new spot for brunch. This weekend why not check out the new brunch menu at Parlor Steakhouse where the chef turning out dishes that go far beyond the steakhouse genre. There’s Brioche French Toast with caramelized peaches and whipped mascarpone ($12), Asparagus and Fried Eggs with Goat Cheese, Shallots, Saffron Aioli ($11), a "BLT" Frittata with smoked bacon, spinach, tomato, and aged cheddar, and the Parlor Cheeseburger topped with fried onions with a heap of fries ($14).

Sunday: Back-from-the-Beach Pig Roast at Klee, 200 Ninth Ave. (btw. 22nd & 23rd Streets), 212-633-8033.

While you may wait till the last minute to come back from the beach on Sunday nights, you may want to depart a little early this Sunday, and make it in time for Klee Brasserie’s Back-From-The-Beach Pig-Roasts, a three-course prix fixe dinner ($35 a person) with complimentary Austrian Gösser Summer beer. The menu starts out with a melon and cress salad with pignoli dressing, and moves onto slow-roasted pasture-raised Berkshire pork with dandelion greens, BBQ potatoes and sides like sautéed garden beans with roasted garlic, popcorn dumplings with paprika, cream-less creamed corn with almond milk, and for dessert, there’s a Greenmarket berry-meringue pie.

The Pig Roast at Klee is served during dinner hours, from 5:30 pm – 11:00 p.m. Reservations are accepted from 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm, but are not required. It's fine to walk in.

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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