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!
When is a concept, not really a concept. Or doesnt feel like one. If you walk inside Kish Kash in West Village without knowing anything about it, it may feel like just another casual restaurant serving food that my be even too familiar. But once you read about it you can see that this is not your ordinary kitchen. Its the only place in NYC that makes couscous the way it was made 300 years ago. Couscous made with a lot of love that accumulated over the years by chef Einat Admony (Balaboosta, Taim).
Gochu Ramyun – There are so many Ramen variations in the city that its hard to understand the difference between Korean Ramyun and Japanese Ramen. This pork broth carried some serious depth, and is essentially like the best Tonkotsu you will ever eat.
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.
EV Bites is a monthly(ish) feature, showcasing 5 places in or around East Village you should know about. I will occasionally extend the border to Nolita and LES, and maybe even mention a name more than once. The East Village neighborhood, in case you’ve been living under a rock, or Staten Island is an incubator for top industry talent, and a goldmine of world cuisine.
You may have been wondering why I havent updated the Hell’s Kitchen Guide in a while. Maybe I dont hang out there nearly as much anymore. Or watch too much Daredevil? One is true. I still hang out there often, especially before or after the Hell’s Kitchen tour. But I do watch Daredevil. I even saw the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen himself in action, slurping on Ivan Ramen noodles in Gotham West Market. No joke. I asked his buddy Luke Cage what they were up to and he said they were filming The Defenders. Jessica Jones was eating elsewhere, obviously not a fan of the just updated 
I rarely stand on lines for food. It took me four years to try the Cronut. I happened to pass by Dominique Ansel one early morning and there it was. A Cronut staring at me in the face, with no lines. So I picked it off the ground, brushed it off, and took a few bites. It was adequate! In the city that never sleeps, where the food options can be exhausting, lines are usually for FOMO (fear of missing out) sufferers. Perhaps if you are in the city for a short time, and you have your mind set on something, I get it. But for the rest of us, its like going to the Statue of Liberty. We have a lifetime of opportunities and endless possibilities.
What should you eat in a small fishing village where the specialty is Turbot? You guessed it… Steak! Its actually quite delicious in this part of Spain. Same goes for the green Shishito-like peppers they call here Gernika, which can be seen on just about every menu. But the story is similar to the one 
Eating With Ziggy 