Reader nolastname was wandering about yesterday morning, and watched as the beautiful weather kicked off with an awesome sunrise. She saw this crane at work in the Marine Park Salt Marsh. Snazzy…
Archive for the 'Arts & Culture' Category
Miss Brooklyn Keelie Sheridan in Sheepshead Bay
Last week, we told you about Miss Brooklyn (and Manhattan Beach resident), Keelie Sheridan, shopping at the Nostrand Avenue Salvation Army store. That was after Brokelyn interviewed the contestant winner about her frugal ways.
This week, just a short while before she crowns this year’s winner, Keelie sat down with us to tell us about her life, as well to answer the burning question we all had after her ‘Miss Brokelyn’ interview: Is it really possible to be a struggling college student, gorgeous beauty pageant winner, broke actress, and live in Manhattan Beach? We already know the answer is ‘yes’ — but it was so much fun doing the investigation.
Courtesy of More Glib Than Profound
A talented writer running a personal blog named More Glib Than Profound posted a chronicling of his childhood memories of F.W.I.L. Lundy’s Bros. Restaurant. Living in Sheepshead Bay all my life, I’ve heard so many stories of the massive restaurant that, as legend has it, sold 15,000 meals on Mother’s Day. But Lundy’s was before my time, and the portrait painted in my mind was thinly done. More Glib, however, made me feel like I was there, to the point that in the middle of it I jumped out of my chair on Monday night and strode over to Randazzo’s (the closest equivalent, which he also writes about) to partake in beer and clams at the bar.
What he writes of the restaurant’s history is a little off. But in terms of atmosphere, if you’re too young to remember Lundy’s as it was in the 1960s, read More Glib’s account. Here’s an excerpt:
Lundy’s had NO hostess service. That meant it wasYOUR job to scour the place for a vacant table. During summer weekends or holidays at prime dinner hours, you were left on your own to compete with other families to scout-out this two-level football field-like dining room. It should also be noted that Lundy’s had other smaller, intimate nooks and crannies in the labyrinth of rooms along Ocean Avenue.
In emergencies, we traveled in pairs to hunt down unoccupied tables. If there weren’t any, one of us would stake a claim on a table while the existing party was finishing. Then the other would run to alert the rest of our clan.
I’m so happy for the return of beautiful weather. In Sheepshead Bay, that invariably means walks on any of the four local beaches, and watching a sunset to the west. It means strolls along the marina, or having a cold beer on a cafe with sidewalk seating. It means Littlenecks at Randazzos, feeding the swans, the smell of BBQs, the murmurs of nearby block parties.
Michael Comeau of Bay Ridge (currently living in Sunset Park) snagged this great shot the other day that I think capture the warmth of relaxing evenings to come. Kudos to him.
What are you looking forward to about warm weather in Sheepshead Bay?
I stopped by the Winsor McCay “Hell House” (1811 Voorhies) yesterday to snap photos of the damage left by Friday’s fire. I spotted this stained glass window that I never noticed before. I couldn’t get a good shot of it without trespassing, so I let it be and moved on.
Lisanne, however, is an adventurous soul who braved the wilds of the neighbor’s yard, and got this great shot. Not only is the glass cool – and probably original – but the aesthetics of the photo itself are really spectacular. The green moss contrasts the purple hue of the glass, and then there’s orange and blue – I mean, this photo just came out way better than mine. Props to Lisanne.
Before the neighborhood had Applebee’s, before we had T.G.I. Fridays, and before Coldstone Creamery, there was Beefsteak Charlie’s.
Over on Facebook, we’ve been reminiscing about the nearly-forgotten metropolitan chain since I brought it up yesterday. For those too young or too new to the area to remember, Beefsteak Charlie’s was a steakhouse across the street from Waldbaum’s on the corner of Shore Parkway and Ocean Avenue. Back then, you could get unlimited salad, unlimited shrimp, bottomless pitchers of beer, and endless platters of ribs for way under $20.00.
For me, it was the go-to restaurant of choice. My three brothers and I ate off the kids menu and gobbled down shrimp from the salad bar. It’s probably the first place I ever had a shrimp, a rib, or a sip of beer.
It shut down in the mid- to late-90s, one of the last of 60+ locations. There are still two locations in Manhattan and one on Long Island, but it’s unknown if they have any relationship to the chain that sprung out of the Manhattan restaurant first opened in 1910.
Here’s to you, Beefsteak…
In the middle of Thursday’s snow storm, the clouds gave way to a beautiful blue sky. Reader nolastname snapped this photo and sent it our way. It’s very peaceful, and hope it gives everyone a moment to pause and think this evening.
Unlike the rest of us cowardly souls who parked ourselves on the couch during last week’s blizzard, Max Sitnikov braved the cold outdoors. The 22-year-old photographer and filmmaker was rewarded with a stunning set of photos that captures the beauty of the snowfall in our coastal community before it turned to brown muck.
Sitnikov received his degree in film from Pratt Institute just last year, but he’s been making videos for eight years. He’s currently working on the release of Brighton 2, a comedic action thriller focusing on the subject of Eastern European gang crime in New York City and mostly shot in our neck of the woods. An earlier film of Sitnikov’s, a remake of SNL’s Lazy Sunday music video, garnered nearly 4 million views on YouTube.
Originally born in Belarus, Sitnikov emigrated to Sheepshead Bay in 1996. He attended P.S. 209 and James Madison High School. For more info, check out his IMDB profile.
Courtesy of nolastname
