Saturday, April 16, 2011

A Meandering Post

Last Wednesday the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I headed out to Coney Island to attend a reception at the Aquarium to celebrate the opening of a new exhibit. Man, talk about a dreary day to visit.

Still Not Summer


Several establishments, including Cha Cha's and Ruby's have been given another year to live, but I guess they are only open on the weekends until later in the year.

Closed For Business





I think Coney Island, or at least the Cyclone roller-coaster is supposed to open today, but the place still looks pretty run-down and seedy.

Not Ready For Prime Time


Before the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I went to the reception we popped into Footprints Cafe for a bite to eat. We would have settled for a hot dog at Ruby's if it had been open. Instead we had the Calypso Shrimp and Goat Curry. Both very good. Footprints Cafe is still one of my favorite Caribbean restaurants in the city.

The other day I took a stroll down to the new Brooklyn Bridge Park that is supposed to extend all the way from the Brooklyn Bridge to Atlantic Avenue. You may remember that part of the park near Atlantic Avenue opened last summer. It doesn't look like much progress has been made since then.

What A Waste Of Prime Real Estate




Of course part of the delay has to do with the portion of the park that will be supported by private enterprises located within the park. Now I am all for this. In fact I think that New York City could make a fortune by allowing a private golf course and housing in Central Park.

I had to laugh about the latest screw-up. This was released with great fanfare not too long ago:

Brooklyn Bridge Park (BBP) today released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a food concessionaire on Pier 6 to lease, fit out, operate and maintain a high quality full-service restaurant. The restaurant concession includes a 2,000 sq. ft. indoor restaurant, an adjacent outdoor terrace and a rooftop seating area.

Now the restaurant was actually supposed to open this fall.  Of course they only got one response so they canned that idea and are, instead, going to have a hot dog stand and a couple of other small vendors selling soft drinks and ice cream.  Food carts, in other words.  Not quite the same as a "high quality full-service restaurant" with "an adjacent outdoor terrace and a rooftop seating area."  But then that seems to be the way this whole park development thing is going.  Lot's of big ideas and grandiose plans, and then nothing actually happens.  I still don't think they have any public restrooms in the portion of the park by Atlantic Avenue that is open.

As I walked along Atlantic Avenue I also spotted a few new bars that have opened up recently, none of which I have been to yet.

Roebling Inn


I am just going to assume that you all know that John A. Roebling designed the Brooklyn Bridge but, unfortunately, died before it was completed.

Colonie




Soyta (I Think)


I like to pop into The Atlantic Chip Shop for a British beverage once in awhile, and to watch the occasional football (soccer to us) game.

The Atlantic Chip Shop


It looks like they are going to be televising the upcoming Royal Wedding, but I probably won't be dropping in to watch that.

No Thanks


Spent part of this morning watching Ribs Paradise on the Travel Channel so the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I got our drool going and are planning on heading to Waterfront Ale House this afternoon to get a rack of their award winning ribs to split. And, maybe, have a beer or two as well.