brighton beach russian food markets
just experienced the little odessa scene down in brighton beach, brooklyn ny.... one of my old haunts in the 60's..... wow. love those russian markets. pickled everything, watermelon, tomatoes, mushrooms as well as cabbage, beets.... meats, cheeses, prepared foods. so interesting. great shopping. had a nice lunch in the cafe -- vareneky & pelmeni.... (russian pierogi and little meat dumplings)...
what fun.... anyone been there? can you recommend a nice place for lunch????? what did you order?
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12 Comments:
While I can't recommend anything there, I will say that my 10 year old son is really good friends with a boy whose mother is from Russia. He raves about all the little nibbles they snack on when he's at his friend's house. I would love to get some of her recipes, but she speaks very little English, and I would have to get her son to translate. Jacob raves about her Russian soup. I'm thrilled and envious that he's getting to experience homemade food from another culture that I have yet to really try. Hmmm, I wonder if he could ask for a take home sample of that Russian soup?
And pooch, now you just made me want to rent the Brighton Beach flick with Matthew Broderick.
dhorst at 7:17PM on 01/01/09
I ate calves tongues the last time I was there out of a a hot food section of those markets. I love the idea of going into a restaurant with prepared foods and ordering things that you have no clue what they are....
Kbear919 at 1:49AM on 01/02/09
@dhorst! i just saw it a few nights ago on cable. it was such a good story..... nice that your son is getting some exposure to another culture.... he'll probably grow up to be a serious eater! i'm sure the mom would be happy to let you taste the soup and share the recipe.... happy new year up in syracuse.
@kbear - yes, the prepared foods looked so good. there were blintzes and knishes and killer looking savory pastries.... i was so full from our lunch and had so much food from the holiday. and what really cracked me up were the lines! people waiting in line, just like in russia.
pooch at 9:37AM on 01/02/09
Most of us Russians would recommend Glechik (3159 Coney Island Ave, a little north of Brighton Beach) for a sit-down meal. In terms of quality of food and variety, I personally really enjoy Brighton Baazar's hot bar (1007 Brighton Beach Ave, east of Coney Island Av). Great place to pick up some serious eats for a picnic on the boardwalk. Not in this weather though...
drybak at 12:46PM on 01/02/09
@drybak - thank you for your recommendation. i will definitely make another trip.... my mom is ukrainian so most of it was very similar... i loved the old world feel of the place... great shopping. nice to see that it is all alive and doing well in brighton beach.... i wonder if they still have the polar bear club in brighton?
pooch at 12:51PM on 01/02/09
they do still have the polar bear club in brighton. a couple of my friends partake in the polar bear insanity every new years day. i personally think they're insane (especially in yesterday's 10 degree wind chill), but at least they have company. i, personally, will take my new years brunch, thank you very much.
Shelby at 5:15PM on 01/02/09
re: polar bear club - i'm amazed they still have it going.... it was one of the first things i wondered about when i got to brighton. also the lime rickey's that used to be served in an old luncheonette on a corner where we caught the train.... anyone remember those? and mrs. stahl's knishes.
3 for $1. they were so darn good, warm right out of the oven, cherry cheese stands out in my memory. now i'm getting sentimental.
pooch at 6:26PM on 01/02/09
Far from Brighton Beach, but I'm in a section of Philly which is home to a large Russian community. We've got a great little supermarket down the street with a prepared foods bar, a pickled everything bar, smoked fishes and caviar. I absolutely love this place. Most everything is in Russian, but, my philosphy is bring it home and if you don't like, don't buy it again. The cheese selection is amazing. Selections you would find in some South Philly establishments for 4, 5x the price.This is my little party throwing secret!
donnie at 6:45PM on 01/02/09
Pooch - the luncheonette you were talking about was the one on the corner of Brighton Beach Avenue and Coney Island Avenue? It was a big newstand kind of place - it's name was Forty Thieves. One of the few places you used to be able to get an old-fashioned egg cream. A few blocks down was the Ocean Breeze (?) bakery where they made the absolute best sponge cake too!
JeffsInTheKitchen at 1:35PM on 01/05/09
I second the Brighton Bazaar. It has a huge hot foods bar...enough to make a lunch out of. Its all the way at the top of the street with the elevated subway tracks. A little further up is a theater and an adjoining cafe and I always eat lunch there when I go to Brighton Beach...their potatoes and beef stroganoff are soooo good.
korovka at 3:03PM on 01/05/09
@jeffsinthekitchen - you know that name sounds familiar. all i remember it was the last place we spent our last dime before we ascended up the subway stairs ... back to bushwick!!!! took us an hour and a half. those lime rickey's were such a refreshing end to the day at the beach....
thanks.
pooch at 11:01PM on 01/05/09
I was the kid making the Egg Creams at the 40 thieves. I worked there for a few years in the very early 70s, just as Brighton was starting to change from Easter European immigrants who came there early in the century, to Russian immigrants who started moving there in droves in the 70s and 80s. During the day my boss, Leon, was a big tall crazy Russian who used to yell the name of his girlfriend ("Rifka") at the top of his lungs and scare the living daylights out of me. We would stand side by side on the corner and take money for the Daily News, cigarettes, and magazines. Then I'd have to duck inside and make the occasional egg cream for passers by.
brooklyndodger at 2:29AM on 05/11/09