Growing up, I spent summers in Coney Island, a beachfront neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. My grandparents had a comfortable two-bedroom apartment in a high-rise next to the subway and across from the fire department on West Eighth Street, close enough to the shore to smell the salt air. On the weekends, the Q, F, and D trains deposited beachgoers, aquarium visitors, and amusement park junkies at the foot of their building. My brother and I would sit on their 10th-floor terrace and watch the Cyclone, a rickety wooden roller coaster, “click-click” up the ascent and then descend in a great racket. The roar of that coaster and the screams of its riders were the soundtrack to those summers.
On the Road
Breaking Bread in Brooklyn
We went to Coney Island to learn about this chewy bread filled with cheese and cracked egg.
By Published Nov. 5, 2019.
Where We Went
Brighton Beach, NY
Brighton Beach is known for its high population of Russian-speaking immigrants.
As we got older, my mother would take us on boardwalk expeditions. We would start in Coney Island and walk the mile or so down to Brighton Beach. We'd stop to watch guys get into heated matches at the handball courts, listen to the honk of the walrus carrying on inside the aquarium, and just take in some of the best people watching to be found anywhere. When we reached the end of the boardwalk, we'd walk back home through the streets and neighborhoods, smelling the smells, browsing the buffet selections, and stopping for lunch at any number of eastern European groceries, restaurants, and bakeries.
These days, I tend to hurry off the boardwalk and head straight to the restaurants. I might stop at Toné Cafe for the adjaruli khachapuri, the chewy Georgian bread filled with cheese and a cracked egg; or hit up Georgian House for shkmeruli, a garlicky dish of chicken cooked in milk; or dine on grilled lamb shashlik (kebabs) at Cafe Kashkar. Just like when I was young, days spent walking and eating and taking in the sights in that densely populated corner of Brooklyn are still my best days.
A group takes a selfie across the street from Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs on Coney Island, New York City.
Detail of the Wonder Wheel, a ferris wheel on Coney Island, New York City.
A man sits on a bench near the aquarium on Coney Island, New York City.
Amusement park attendees react on a saucer ride on Coney Island, New York City.
If You Go
Restaurant: Toné Cafe
Address: 265 Neptune Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11235
Recipe
Adjaruli Khachapuri
Crusty bread filled with gooey cheese? Sounds like a party to us.Get the Recipe