We started the day on the beach at Coney Island. We didn't quite make it out to the water, but the boys had a great time playing in the sand.
As soon as they had a sufficient amount of sand in their hair, we were joined by our friends, Cliff and Margo, and their two boys, Isaac and Alexander. First we swung by the New York Aquarium, where Caleb did his best to evade any form of parental control. (That got old really fast.)
When the boys' stomachs told them they'd seen enough fish, we walked along the boardwalk toward Brighton Beach (also known both as "Little Russia/Little Odessa by the Sea") in search of a lunch of authentic Russian food. And boy, did we ever find some!
Cliff, who speaks Russian and has been to that part of the world numerous times, was our guide for this portion of the day. We decided on a little cafe called Skovorodka on Brighton Beach Avenue. He helped us order several dishes that everyone at the table shared. We ate (and by "ate," I mean "completely stuffed ourselves with"):
- Avocado salad -- avocado, halved grape tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, and I believe balsamic vinaigrette. It tasted divine (anything with avocado does, really), and it looked easy enough to replicate, which I definitely plan to do.
- Varenyky -- like a pierogi. The plate we ordered had a potato filling.
- Pelmeni -- a kind of dumpling, with a meat filling.
- Pork Shish Kebabs -- pretty self-explanatory. They were served with a side of really tasty fried potatoes.
- Cheese-filled flat bread -- this was mostly ordered for the kids, who we were pretty sure wouldn't be interested in anything else. The filling was similar to a quiche, which of course made it really good.
- And we drank compote -- stewed fruit water (how could I have forgotten this? Thanks for reminding me, Margo!)
So our Memorial Day was not filled with the traditional "all-American" fun typically reserved for this holiday, but it was "all-Brooklyn," and it was most definitely fun.
6 comments:
It's always nice to have someone around who knows what they're doing when you venture into a new experience, like eating Russian food. Always seems to make things a little more successful.
So cool. I can see, hear, taste and smell Brooklyn with this post. Thanks for the quick flashback :)
You forgot to add that we drank compote! which is stewed fruit water. Yum. The boys liked it :)
Mmmm sounds good
That sounds like a pretty awesome day to me. I had a Russian mini-missionary in Vienna and we ate the most amazing food with our Russian friends. Mmm. My favorites were these hamburger-filled dumplings that you bit the end off, then drank the meat juices before eating the rest of it. Mmmm.
Have you read, It's Like This, Cat? This post reminded me of the day trips the main character takes. You have me wanting to get over there sooner than next February!
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