Italian Restaurant Masseria Will Serve Frozen Cocktails at Suburbia Wednesday

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Chef Nick Stefanelli's Italian restaurant Masseria is still several weeks away from opening near Union Market. In the meantime, his bar staff is taking over Suburbia's booze-serving 1960s Airstream trailer for the next three Wednesdays, beginning June 17, and mixing up some frozen cocktails and punch. There will also be a DJ on hand.

Masseria head bartender Julien-Pierre Bourgon is playing around with drinks that will eventually land on the restaurant's menu. Look out for a Sicilian twist on a Mai Tai with tequila, pistachio orgeat, orange curaçao, and a splash of sherry as well as a sgroppino, which is like a lemon sorbet with vodka topped off with Prosecco. A third alcoholic slushie will include yogurt, gin, honey, mint, fennel, and strawberries. There will also be a punch, a draft cocktail, and beer from 3 Stars Brewing Company. The cocktails will run around $9 each.

When Masseria does opens, it will have a 1,500-square-foot patio with couches, tables, and an indoor-outdoor bar. The southern Italian-focused food menu will be prix-fixe with three-, five-, and eight-course options. Diners will be able to build their own tasting menus with any dishes they want from a selection of appetizers, fish, meat, and pasta: "If you want to sit down and do your traditional three-course menu—appetizer, entree, dessert—you can do that," Stefanelli says. "If you want to sit down and eat five courses of pasta, you can do that."

Photo by Jessica Sidman