Village Voice readers couldn't figure out what this was or where it came from. It's Turkish octopus casserole from Marmaris. - Photo courtesy of Village Voice
We live here, so we know all about Sheepshead Bay’s hidden culinary gems. There are the little bodegas with back-room burritos, the strangely decorated bars on quiet side streets with staggeringly cheap lunches, and the waterfront eateries that manage to go below radar. There are food carts that survive despite rhyme or reason (a hot dog cart by Doody’s? Really?), and dim sum dining where we don’t know what we’re ordering. There’s fried chicken where a sweatshop used to be, and a bagel place that’s been there so long no one knows what came before.
These are our treasures, and they’re known only to us locals.
That was, at least, until Village Voice’s Robert Sietsema began plundering our neighborhood a few weeks ago. Several of the venerable food critic’s recent pieces have eyed the nabe’s gastronomical glories. And all of them sing our praises.
Keep reading to see what Sietsema wrote about Sheepshead Bay recently, and our take on his reviews.
We got down with Coney Island Taste back in November, munching on the restaurant’s Peruvian goodies and dishing it out to all of you. To this day, we continue to get messages from readers thanking us for bringing it to their attention, and at least one reader told me her office now orders from them several times a week.
Well, now Mr. Fancy Pants, Robert Sietsema (also one of my favorite food critics in the city), has made his way down here and checked it out in our wake. His verdict? Que rico!
As the patient proprietor took our complicated order, we realized that—despite its dodgy disguise as a forgettable deli—the place was a very serious Peruvian restaurant. The menu was extensive, and as we ticked off dishes, the guy never once said, “We’re out of that,” which is the trademark of overextended cafés.
We’re glad you agree, Sietsema. Next time, give me a call when you’re down here; I’d love to show off a few other hidden gems.
Tallarines verdes con bistec apanado - Just one of the traditional Peruvian dishes at C.I. Taste
For those who don’t know me, I spent the better part of the past year living in Peru. For those who have never seen me, I gained a lot of weight living in Peru. There’s a simple reason for that: Peruvian food is among the best in the world. And my increasingly chunky behind became very discerning about what qualifies as good Peruvian food. Coney Island Taste (2580 Coney Island Avenue) is good Peruvian food.
Don’t let the name fool you. Or the appearance. Coney Island Taste’s humble establishment plasters its windows with photos of greasy sandwiches, burgers, and breakfasts, harking back to its beginnings two years ago when it started slinging such simple fare. And when they began selling true Peruvian cuisine a year ago, the small line on the awning advertising Peruvian-American dishes got lost in the mix.
That’s a shame, because owners Fabiola and Jesus Roa are serving up the best Latin food this side of South Slope. Originally from Piura, a Peruvian city along the northern coast known for its seafood dishes, the Roas have been living in the Sheepshead Bay/Brighton Beach area for more than 12 years and saw a niche that needed to be filled.
“I saw this was an area that doesn’t have many Spanish restaurants, but this is a mixed area,” said Fabiola Roa. And so far the Peruvian dishes have been a hit with clients from all walks. “I have Russian customers, Indian, American, Latino.”
“Russians love the seafood dishes” like arroz con mariscos (a Peruvian seafood paella) and parihuela (seafood soup), she added. Continue Reading »
