Coney Island Area

[wingding]

The Cyclone begins to run on Memorial day...and Phillipe's,the candy store at the subway station,closed permanently a few years ago.I'm old enough to remember Coney Island from the late 1950s',and am sorry to say that it's a bare,depressing shell of what it was.And a little more bare every year....

[elyse]

The Cyclone begins to run on Memorial day...and Phillipe's,the candy store at the subway station,closed permanently a few years ago.I'm old enough to remember Coney Island from the late 1950s',and am sorry to say that it's a bare,depressing shell of what it was.And a little more bare every year....

Sadness.

[Stephanie]

If you're feeling really brave, go to Nathan's and get the chow mein on a bun. Or the frog's legs.

[ahr]

There's an ancient candy store under the el, if you're interested in that sort of thing.  I can't give you any information, but any beat walking cop will be able to tell you about it.

The el terminal has been demolished, the candy store along with it; the former, at least, is nominally under reconstruction. Visit Nathan's (there's also a branch up on the boardwalk, which, unverified rumor holds, prepares the the dogs differently from the mother ship) and do the length of Brighton Beach Avenue. Past Brighton Beach in Sheepshead Bay is a strip of seafood and kebab restaurants along the shore on Emmons Avenue; avoid Lundy's. There are more Turkish/Greek/Israeli/Russian places along Coney Island Avenue, which intersects Brighton Beach Avenue at Mrs. Stahl's. I haven't been to Totonno's for a few years, but the last time wasn't great.

Consider stopping at Major Meats, at 1515 Mermaid Avenue across from Carolina, for a chat with Jimmy, a charming font of information about the history of the neighborhood. He also happens to sell well-trimmed, well-marbled USDA Prime rib steaks for ten bucks a pound in his time warp of an old shop. Ask him about the local fish smokehouse that also sells retail. (I've never tried it myself.) If you arrive on a Spring Saturday morning, you might be able to hook up with the fellow who conducts a Coney walking tour.

Of course, there's always DiFara's.

Good luck.

Edit: I see that Wingding already mentioned the demise of Phillip's. After spending a few hours with Jimmy, however I'm no longer quite so pessimistic about the area's prospects; for example, the Mets just built a brand-new ballpark on Surf Avenue for their minor-league farm team.

Edited April 10, 2003 by ahr (log)

[ngatti]

Hey guys, were we in the same Nathan's?

I was there two months ago. I was looking for the chow mein on a bun. The Pork tenderloin with onions and relish. The clams and oysters that Wilfrid described and a terrific fried SS crab sammy (well maybe not in february).

Where were these things hidden. These are the memories that I have of Nathan's before there was more than the Coney location. All I found were the same fast food plastic signs with prices and photos which describe the same boring Nathan's food that you can get in every mall from Paramus to Podunk.

Please Enlighten me.

edit: elyse said

Plus, I wasn't under the impression that Holly was looking for a unique hotdog. More THE Nathan's experience which you certainly can not get at X, Y, or Z mall no matter where you go.

The experience was horrible. A large gutted barn with tables. A single fast food counter with registers, absolutely no different from any mall location. No specialty drink counters, no specialty sammy counters. Just a cavernous seating area with a service counter.

I wanted to cry at what it had become. Anyone who remembers it from the 50s, 60s, or even the 70s will know what I'm talking about. The buns aren't handled right and taste of dried out cardboard.

Even the old 8th street and 6th Ave location in NYC was 1000% better than the current Coney location.

Nick

Edited April 10, 2003 by ngatti (log)

[Pan]

I stick by my recommendation for Katzs, then moving on to Turkish Doner Kebob, Russ & Daughters Smoked Salmon and Herring, and Yonah Shimmels knishes for a nightcap!!  (All on Houston Street between Chrystie & Essex)

Sheesh! How much can you eat in one day?

[Wilfrid]

I haven't been there since last summer. Nick, are you saying they don't serve clams any more?

Plus, does anyone know the Old Thyme Bar in that area? I had it recommended to me as a quirky old place, but I never got around to visiting.

Edited April 10, 2003 by Wilfrid (log)

[ngatti]

Maybe it's a summer thing. I was pretty disappointed with what i found there. Maybe Wolf is right.

Nick

[ahr]

Wilfrid, you must be a Jim Knipfel fan. Ruby's, which is the place I think you mean, is up on the Boardwalk in the block behind Nathan's. I've never been in, but it looks suitably divey.

[Steve Silkin]

The Nathans in Coney Island was good because they used to use these great ancient broilers that cooked that seared the frank and kept it nice and juicy. The geniuses at the corporation replaced them in the early nineties with typical fast food equipment. Today, sadly it has the same frank as every other Nathans. It is however lovely ans special to get a few Nathans franks and eat them while sitting on the boardwal watching the sea.

[Stephanie]

Hey guys, were we in the same Nathan's? 

I was there two months ago.  I was looking for the chow mein on a bun.  The Pork tenderloin with onions and relish.  The clams and oysters that Wilfrid described and a terrific fried SS crab sammy (well maybe not in february). 

Where were these things hidden.  These are the memories that I have of Nathan's before there was more than the Coney location.  All I found were the same fast food plastic signs with prices and photos which describe the same boring Nathan's food that you can get in every mall from Paramus to Podunk.

Well, the chow mein was definitely there last August. You have to really search all the menus up on the wall--I don't know what heading it's under. Of course, maybe they took it off the menu after all.

[elyse]

I was there a couple of years ago, and they had no plastic signs/pictures. I saw the good OLD hand painted signs. Unless I was in a coma.... Or unless it's all changed. There are a couple of restaurants in Coney Island.

Edited April 11, 2003 by elyse (log)

[Suzanne F]

Not every item is available at every station. Maybe that's why you didn't even see some stuff posted. A lot are hot-dog-only. A few are clams-and-seafood (includes frog legs). But alas yes, all lines have those slotted plastic fast-food signs. (Last time there: fall, 2002.)

[ngatti]

Not every item is available at every station.  Maybe that's why you didn't even see some stuff posted.  A lot are hot-dog-only.  A few are clams-and-seafood (includes frog legs).  But alas yes, all lines have those slotted plastic fast-food signs.  (Last time there: fall, 2002.)

Thanks Suzanne, I was beginning to think I was hallucinating. There seemed to be a single ordering counter with the plastic signs as you describe. People lined up ala MacDonald's (or Nathan's) and waited to place their orders just like in the malls. I didn't notice much in the way of stations.

Where the counters used to be was given over to a large cavernous dining hall. I didn't see (I'll concede notice) any food being sold other than what was at the cash register counters and that was what was pictured on the signs.

Maybe they bring the good stuff out in the summer. Elyse, it may have changed over since your visit. It had been years since my last visit and I made a special trip with my wife and son to one of my old neighborhoods.

It was very depressing and disappointing to see the change.

Last visit Feb, 2003.

Nick

[ahr]

I happened past Nathan’s today. Though the outdoor windows have been reformatted, the clams and other seafood (frogs’ legs!) remain available in the indoor area to the left, as do the chow mein sandwiches -- at the indoor burger counter. Sadly, however, I didn’t see the dipped roast beef or “barbecue” pork sandwiches anywhere, or, now that I think about it, the deli sandwiches. A Kenny Rogers chicken franchise and cheese steaks have been added indoors, and outdoor seating has replaced the old corn/custard franchises way over to the right.

Nick, where was the “cavernous dining hall?” There used to be a small, cramped dining room around the back on the right by the bathrooms, but otherwise I don’t know what area might meet that description. Could the indoor counters just have been closed for the winter? Even so, I wouldn’t call that area cavernous.

Edited April 14, 2003 by ahr (log)

[ngatti]

Nick, where was the “cavernous dining hall?”  There used to be a small, cramped dining room around the back on the right by the bathrooms, but otherwise I don’t know what area might meet that description.  Could the indoor counters just have been closed for the winter?  Even so, I wouldn’t call that area cavernous.

That could very well be. It was early February when I visited.

Well it was cavernous compared to what I remember it as. but certainly not as large as say, the old Lundy's. Remember the counters use to come right to the sidewalks on Surf Ave. That entire area behind those counters was given over to dining space. There were no open counters in that area. Just seating.

edit: I'll have to go back

Nick

Edited April 14, 2003 by ngatti (log)

[ahr]

The old Lundy's? Nick, I've met you and you're just not that old. Shall we start a Lundy's reminiscence thread?

[ngatti]

You should see the painting in my attic. The doo hides a lot of sins.

edit. I only ate in the old Lundy's once. My dad loved it.

Nick

Edited April 15, 2003 by ngatti (log)

[jhlurie]

I happened past Nathan’s today.  Though the outdoor windows have been reformatted, the clams and other seafood (frogs’ legs!) remain available in the indoor area to the left, as do the chow mein sandwiches -- at the indoor burger counter.  Sadly, however, I didn’t see the dipped roast beef or “barbecue” pork sandwiches anywhere, or, now that I think about it, the deli sandwiches.  A Kenny Rogers chicken franchise and cheese steaks have been added indoors, and outdoor seating has replaced the old corn/custard franchises way over to the right.

This is the EXACT same thing that happened to the Yonkers location.

Fuck Kenny Rogers and the chicken he rode in on.