Food and Drink

The weekend is upon us. Have you made plans yet? Start here:

Pride on the River: LGBTQ Pride isn't just for June! "RuPaul's Drag Race" stars Jiggly Caliente and Ra'Jah O'Hara are headlining the daylong celebration Saturday, starting with a drag brunch, before the riverside festival, diversity boat parade and fireworks extravaganza.

Guy Fieri has nothing on our queen of Flavortown.

That sweet, sugary crown goes to Julia Melucci, beverage innovation manager at Monin's flavor syrup plant in Clearwater.

Football is back and we've got you covered if you intend on heading to the stadium this season.

• Here's what you need to know to be game-day ready.

Florida's largest craft breweries rebounded big one year after the pandemic crippled the industry.

The state of beer: Florida Beer Co. of Cape Canaveral, which bought Ybor City Brewing Company in 2005 and is the state's second largest craft brewer, saw a 39% increase in sales in 2021 from the prior year, according to an exclusive Axios analysis of data from the Brewers Association.

The first time Cameron Macleish went grocery shopping in a dumpster, it felt like opening a treasure chest.

• "I was like, 'Wow, I get to eat like a king for free,'" Macleish told Axios. "But then it was also shocking. It was perfectly good food that was thrown out on its expiration date or close to it."

Israeli tech startups want to carry Tampa Bay restaurants into the future.

Driving the news: Two businesses pitched server-assisting robots to restaurateurs and business influencers at a Florida-Israel Business Accelerator dinner Tuesday night.

Angry Chair, the small Seminole Heights brewing company with limited stout releases that draws beer nerds from across the country, has moved into a huge new location a mile and a half south from its former spot.

Details: The old location on North Florida Avenue and Fern Street was less than 3,000 square feet total. The move to 4101 N. Florida Ave., formerly occupied by Florida Avenue Ales and Brew Bus, adds some 11,000 square feet to Angry Chair's operation.

I thought participating as an eater in the The Morean Arts Center's Great St. Pete Cupcake Contest this weekend would be a piece of cake.

• But eating a dozen minicupcakes in one day is way harder than it sounds. I pretty much ate nothing but cupcakes all day Saturday to make my People's Choice selection between noon and 7pm and I couldn't get through them all.