In the black sea of Uzbek and Ukrainian eateries on Brighton Beach Ave, one can easily forget the avenue two blocks up, Neptune. Like 10th ave in Hell’s Kitchen, 7th avenue in Sunset Park, these are the forgotten practical blocks. As a visitor you tend to gravitate towards the hubs. But when you live in the hood, this is where you fix your chipped tooth, visit your favorite tarot card reader, or get that pastrami sub from the deli guy that knows exactly how you like it.
These blocks often give birth to destination places that cant strictly survive on the people living nearby. Whether its the elderly in Brighton Beach or the poor students in East Village, these are often not the demographics that can sustain such businesses alone. The young professionals and actors that dominate Hell’s Kitchen for example call the entire city their neighborhood and rarely stay put. Such are the challenges for places like Nano, Taboon, Hearth and Tone Cafe on Neptune Ave.
Tone Cafe is one of a plethora of Georgian eateries popping up all over the city in the past 5-10 years. And just about all serve the formidable Adjaruli Khachapuri, a boat shaped bread filled with salty farmers cheese and egg. The eggier and bigger the boat, the more Instagrammable the dish. In Williamsburg a Cheese boat theme restaurant opened not too long ago called, you guessed it, Cheeseboat. But what’s hip and cool in Williamsburg, in Brighton Beach its called Wednesday.
The Cheese boat in Tone is not only a feast for the eyes but a succulent combination of salty, rich, crispy, and gooey. If you are a bread and cheese lover, you need to add this to the bucket list. Right after Machu Pichu. The Khinkali, the mammoth Georgian dumplings is another popular dish here. But I’m finding them too doughy for my taste these days and would pass in favor of …
The Kharcho – A tart tomato based soup with rice, walnuts, lamb or beef, and spices. You may not look at Borscht the same way again. Its something you can find all over Brighton, but Tone’s version is cleaner tasting and pairs very well with winter. Another popular starter is the red bean Lobio, cooked with herbs and spices, and usually served with walnuts, and pomegranate. Georgian food in a “nutshell”: walnuts, pomegranate, red beans, a lot of meat and bread
If you are not quite up to the gigantic cheeseboats task, you also got the other Khatchapuris like the Imeruli, which literally translates to “Khatchapuri for whimps” or something like that. Its a simpler cheese filled soft bread. Or try the Chanakhi, lamb cubes slowly cooked in clay pot with eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes and spices. Pomegranade can also be found inside their terrific sausages (Kupati) I discovered on a recent visit (about 3 hours ago). The Kupatis are thick and juicy and can rival with some of the best German franks. A similar but differently spiced meat is the Kababi which comes wrapped in thin Lavash bread.
Tone Cafe is a little out of the way for most of my readers, but Brighton Beach, one of the most unique areas in NYC, and miles more interesting than neighboring Coney Island should not be overlooked. Remember kids, we travel to see different, and this is definitely different. Same applies to the kind of service you’ll encounter at places like Tone Cafe. You may see a 10% service charge instead of a smile. You may need to wait 30 minutes for your food for no good reason. You may need to Google how to refill your own water. And chances are that you’ll hear this “Hi my name is Randy, I will be your waiter today. Do you have any allergies today?” is zilch. Because that part of town has no Randys!
Apologies for the blurry photo. I start to shake in front of deliciousness. My posts will be smaller and to the point beginning… well it began actually. Too much going on in my life at the moment, so I dont have as much time to blog these days. But this is actually a good, refreshing change that will allow me to write about more places. More places, more usefulness, less mambo jumbo, same grammar.
As the great Manhattan rent squeeze continues, Brooklyn’s dining scene is getting more and more interesting. Years ago, you would never hear of notable places opening in neighborhoods like Prospect Heights, Bed-Stuy, Stuyvesant Heights. or any neighborhood with Stuy in it. Brooklyn is getting the same media coverage as Manhattan these days. Couple that with the ethnic food wonderland in the less gentrified areas of Brooklyn. Here are five very diverse spots I’ve been enjoying lately. A small sample showcasing what Brooklyn is all about these days.
In order to understand the name, one first needs to understand the location. One block over to the south is Hasidic Williamsburg, the most ultra-Jewish neighborhood in a borough loaded with Jewish neighborhoods (around 5). Once inside Hasidic Williamsburg you are not mistaken where you are. This is the one place in Brooklyn I’m not comfortable touring with visitors and I declined such requests in the past. Traif simply means “non-kosher”, a term not really used much even with Jews. Practically next door is sister restaurant Xixa, the Mexican version of small plate Traif. Xixa is pronounced Shiksa which means gentile girl, especially one that attracted a Jewish boy.
It’s Michelin Star season. When gracious winners throw parties to celebrate, while the losers and pretty much everyone else in the industry celebrate its awkwardness. Its the behemoth that everyone enjoys hating. In NYC two, and three stars are distributed with care while single stars are distributed like Halloween candy. My mother turns out has one. Some lose their hard earned stars within a year or two only to find themselves suddenly a lot more affordable (Bib Gourmet) while sporting the exact same menu that earned them the star. Should you look at Michelin for your French, Sushi and the default “New American” menu needs? Maybe. Should you look for it for Italian, Thai, Russian or [Name any other cuisine] needs? Nyet!
The first thing I have to tell you about Llama Inn in Williamsbutg is how gorgeous it is. Out of all the Peruvian I’ve been to in NYC, this is possibly the best looking. Albeit oddly situated in a not so attractive location by the highway. In fact I’m pretty sure the last time I came here this building was a gas station surrounded by other gas stations. The space is stylish even for the hotel filled chic Williamsburg standards. Designed by Joseph Foglia Designs, one can see how much time and effort went into this project.
The evolution of the 
Eating With Ziggy 