Footprints Near The Sand

Let me tell you, this is one dynamite Caribbean restaurant. I have now eaten there three times in the last several weeks. When you realize that this place is out in Coney Island, not really very convenient to where I live, that is saying something. It is located at 1521 Surf Avenue about two blocks back from the boardwalk and the beach.

Footprints Near The Sand

One time I stopped here after a Brooklyn Cyclone game, the other day it was between an outdoor Rockabilly Festival and a Burlesque/Sideshow taking place in Cha Cha's (more on that another time) and then Monday with my brother-in-law Jim after dropping the Mysterious Chinese Woman and the Mysterious Mother-In-Law off at the Aquarium.

They have a very nice bar and the bartenders are flashy in that Tom Cruise kind of way when they want to be and build a pretty decent cocktail. I don't think they juggle the bottles though.

Bar Man And His Manhattan

The picture above was from Saturday and I got my Makers Mark Manhattan just like it was supposed to be. For some reason on Monday I initially got my Makers Mark just straight in a brandy snifter. This is what happened the first time I came in here as well. For some reason when I order my drink straight-up they must think I mean just straight Makers Mark. Oh well, no real harm done, I explained what I wanted and Alfredo, the bartender, made things right.

Bar Man And Bartender Alfredo

For some reason Alfredo thought he should be holding a drink too so he poured himself a shot of Makers Mark. He said he doesn't drink though so after posing he just added it to my Manhattan. Hey, you won't hear me complain.

The first time I came here I shared the Cod Cakes with the Mysterious Chinese woman and they were delicious. On Saturday we ordered the Escovietch Fish Fingers as an appetizer but by the time we were finished we were too full to order anything else. On Monday Jim and I shared an order of the Fish Fingers and an order of Calypso Shrimp, also an appetizer.

Fish Fingers, Who Knew They Even Had Hands

These are just fantastic. The fish is really tender and nice and crispy on the outside. It is served with a dynamite condiment made mostly of onions, carrots, and habanaro peppers in vinegar. You might want to be careful because it is hot. When I was in Belize many years ago just about every restaurant had a bowl of this sitting on the tables. And the first time I tried it I didn't realize how hot it was. I quickly learned though. I haven't seen it in any restaurant since so this was a real treat. Escovietch refers to the spicy condiment and they also have an Escovietch King Fish on the menu that I will have to try one day.

The Calypso Shrimp was also nice and spicy, but not too hot. Just a really good taste. The kind of taste I shoot for when I attempt to make dishes like this.

Calypso Shrimp

Once again, though, after splitting two appetizers between us neither of us were really hungry enough to order a main course. And that is really a shame because they have so many interesting things on the menu. I like spicy ox tail stew a lot and I bet Mama Marie's Oxtails stewed in Butter Beans would be terrific. There Old Fashioned Marinated Jerk Chicken sounds wonderful as well. Hell, I want it all. Next time I am going to bring a hardy appetite. Alfredo showed me the kitchen and proudly proclaimed that everything was made with only fresh ingredients. From what I have tasted so far I have no reason to doubt him.

Good Stuff On The Menu

Upstairs is another smaller dining area with a separate bar and a bit of a lounge. It was not very crowded on Monday, but we were there at a kind of dead hour, about 4:00 P.M. or so. When I stopped here after the Cyclone's game it was probably a bit after 11:00 P.M. and the place was packed.

The Upstairs Bar

The Small Lounge

There is also a small outdoor seating area but the view isn't particularly scenic. Still, it would probably be nice on a cool summer or fall evening.

You Could Keep An Eye On Your Car, Though

In the downstairs area is a small stage, really more of a platform, tucked into a corner and a sign advertising Latin Night on Thursdays where you can get two Coronas for the price of one. Alfredo said they had music a few nights a week, mostly reggae.

Even though this place is long subway ride away from where I live, I will definitely by taking that train in the not-too-distant future. It is only about a block from the Coney Island subway stop though, so it isn't too bad. Coney Island can be a bit desolate at night once the rides and everything close down. Even Ruby's Bar And Grill closes up for the winter sometime in November. And, with all the talk about developing the area you never know from one year to another just what will be here and for how long. I hope Footprints will remain unaffected.

Just an addendum. I downloaded Google's new browser, Chrome this morning. For some reason while using it I wasn't able to upload my pictures to Photobucket. I switched back to Firefox and didn't have any problem I will have to check this out again, it seems like that would be a real drawback if indeed is is due to some incompatibility issue. And, when you try to use Hotmail with Chrome you get a message suggesting you upgrade your browser to either Explorer, Firefox, or Apple Safari. Hotmail does seem to work okay though.

Also, I wasn't able to use the compose feature of Blogger with Chrome. I couldn't click on the pictures and re-size them. Again, I had to switch back to Firefox to do this.