WORK • Tuesday Routine
ANDREA STRONG • food writer • The Strong Buzz
Neighborhood you work and live in: Carroll Gardens
It’s Tuesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Oh what a scene! My workplace is really tough to get to. I walk from my bedroom downstairs to my kitchen where my desk is, so I’m pretty tuckered out by the time I arrive at work, and my boss — my very loud tuxedo cat, Murray — is usually dressing me down for sleeping until 7a and not having his food ready. My other bosses, my two kids, are usually up by 7:30. I make them breakfast and put together their lunches for school — usually some Trader Joe’s tikka masala in a thermos, or a sandwich that uses anything I’ve got lying around, or a bagel from Shelsky’s. By 8, we get ourselves together and walk to the subway.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I’m a freelance journalist covering the world of dining in NYC, writing for Eater, Fast Company, and Bloomberg mostly these days, in addition to my food blog, The Strong Buzz, which publishes on Substack three days a week, focusing on breaking news, restaurant industry openings, and events of note. Two of my recent stories have been on a new Deli-American pop-up that just got a permanent home and the beauty of the tiny restaurant. After doing this for so long (almost 25 years), I have a great community of friends in the business.
I’ve also just started working on a novel centered on a chef and a food writer in New York City — write what you know! — so that’s been taking up a lot of time. I am a member of the Writer’s Studio at the Center for Fiction in Downtown Brooklyn, so I’m there a lot trying to finish the first draft.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
On Tuesday evenings my kids are with their dad so that’s always my night out. Last week I ate at Ikigai, a stunning kaiseki restaurant in Fort Greene from 11 Madison and Masa alum chef Rafal Maslankiewicz, which was extraordinary. Just such beautiful, thoughtful, wildly inspiring courses from start to finish. Tonight I’m heading to Limusina, the first Mexican restaurant from the Quality Branded team and tomorrow night is Lei, Annie Shi’s new wine bar, with friends.
In terms of what’s next on my restaurant list, I’m really excited to try The 86, the new steakhouse from Eugene Remm next week; Dolores, the Mexico City-inspired bar and cantina from husband-wife team behind Winona’s in Bed-Stuy; and Lucky Charlie in Bushwick, the latest restaurant from revered chef Nino Coniglio (Williamsburg Pizza, Coniglio’s). With the weather as gorgeous as it’s been, I’ve also been loving Concrete Shoals, a sweet little bar on a floating dock at Pier 5 in Brooklyn Bridge Park from Sean Feeney.
How about a little leisure or culture this week?
When my kids are with me, I try to plan something fun in the city. We love theater, and this weekend we saw Dylan Mulvaney’s one-woman show The Least Problematic Woman in the World, at the Lucille Lortel Theater in the West Village. It was hilarious and poignant and wonderful. We also saw Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Saturday Church last week, very different shows, but both were terrific.
What NYC store or service do you love to recommend?
I love bookstores, and I love wine, and last year an author I love, Maura Cheeks, opened a bookstore and wine bar called Liz’s Book Bar in Carroll Gardens. It’s divine. You can tuck in at the bar with a coffee and your computer to write, or get cozy with a book and a glass of wine on the couch. It’s full of wonderful books and stories and people coming together over words. It makes me so happy.
Where are you donating your time or money?
Service Collective — it’s a super easy way to volunteer alone or with kids of all ages. We volunteered through the Collective to cook a Thanksgiving dinner at a local church, and we did another day of service through them at CHIPS, the local food pantry.