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.
Brennan & Carr (3432 Nostrand Avenue) seem to really love their Facebook page, using it to connect with fans and pump up the rivalry with Roll-N-Roaster. Now, they’re musing on a second location. They asked, “If another B&C was to open up, where would an ideal location be?”
Here’s a screenshot of the status update:
Seems like they’re looking to expand and open a new location outside Sheepshead Bay. A lot of commenters begged for an opening on Long Island or Staten Island, where the residents of Sheepshead past have moved to. A number of them are also saying Florida. As for us, we want to see it across the street from Roll-N-Roaster. That’d really throw some beef on the simmering feud.
But wait, don’t get too excited. We called Brennan & Carr and an employee there told us they have no plans for such an expansion. Despite the extreme popularity of their Facebook page, and the professional feel of it, they told us they have no affiliation with the page and don’t know who runs it. But can’t a boy dream?
If Brennan & Carr opens a second location, where do you think it should be? Should it be nearby, or far away? How about a small location at Coney Island? Maybe a swanky new pad in Park Slope? The city? Out of state even? Let your voice be heard!
Bay Shish Kebab at 2255 Emmons Avenue has papered its windows and closed its doors. But Turkish food lovers, don’t despair. A clerk at the neighboring bagel shop tells us they’re renovating and should be back open in less than a month. Calls to the restaurant were met with the loving screech of a fax machine.
We’ll let you know if we find out more about Bay Shish Turkish Cuisine, especially the mystery behind its two names.
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.
Chinar Restaurant, the Russian banquet-style eatery at 3110 Avenue U, has closed shop and will be opening up on Coney Island Avenue next week, the owner told Sheepshead Bites.
According to the owner, their Avenue U location (at Gerritsen Avenue) was just too small. Over the past several years, demand for catered events rose and they provided food and service for a number of parties outside the restaurant. But engagement parties and weddings just couldn’t be done in-house, and with two years left on the lease they began searching for a new home.
Slated to open next week, the new Chinar at 2775 Coney Island Avenue (at Gerald Court) provides a lot more space. With the new location, Chinar will be able to host large private parties including weddings and bar mitzvahs, as well as continue walk-in service. Their phone number remains the same.
How can I talk about wings without a yummy picture to look at? (Photo courtesy of disneymike via Flickr)
Well, as far as Brooklyn goes, the answer is “No.”
Wheelers (1707 Sheepshead Bay Road) lost last weekend’s “Throw Your Wing Into The Ring” Chicken Wing Competition at Red Star Bar in Greenpoint. But then, that’s not so disappointing – our boys were competing against a bunch of North Brooklyn sheisters who think living in abandoned factories with polluted groundwater is cool. The competition had the hometown advantage, and our brave warriors were no doubt mired in an atmosphere of douchebaggery.
Super Wings in Crown Heights was the choice of the three judges, while Sugarcane in Park Slope was the people’s choice for best wings.
We couldn’t reach Wheelers’ managers for a comment, but we’re hoping they plan to compete in next year’s competition as Red Star Bar has announced it’ll be annual. So look forward to some tweaking to the recipe, and hopefully a future title.
But back to the question in the headline: are Wheelers’ wings the best… in Sheepshead Bay? I’ve never had wings at any of the places in the neighborhood, so I can’t judge. But surely Wheelers need not be our only competitor. What about Roll-N-Roaster? Or Chicken Masters? Perhaps we can also get a place like Sweika to compete and concoct a version of Buffalo wings with an Eastern European twist.
If we can convince more businesses to take part in next year’s wing competition, who do you think should join in?
Sorry Local Broker. Sorry BrooklynQ. Sorry Arthur. I cheated on all of you.
Without a peep to any of you, I slunk off to Totonno’s Pizzeria Napolitano (1524 Neptune Avenue) Friday afternoon – Totonno’s first day open since their fire last March. I went with my brother. Neither of us had been there before.
Local bar and grill Wheelers (1707 Sheepshead Bay Road), famous for their No Sushi sign, has entered the “Throw Your Wing Into The Ring” Chicken Wing Competition. Apparently the hipster scum up in North Brooklyn think they make the best wings around. Boy are they in for a fight!
Wheelers is going to be the only South Brooklyn establishment represented in the competition, so we’re calling on everyone from Starrett City to Bensonhurst to rally behind our chosen warrior.
And ladies, your hubby is going to wine and dine you and a variety of other things he doesn’t want to do on Sunday. So give him the perfect pre-Valentine’s Day date. Bring your muchacho to the competition to sample all the chicken wings Brooklyn has to offer and cheer on our neighborhood representative!
Let’s show them who the real chickens are! (Uh, we mean the North “Brooklynites” who moved here ’cause they were scared of “real life” in Omaha or wherever…)
When: Saturday, Februarty 13 at 3 p.m.
Where: Red Star Bar, 37 Greenpoint Avenue (between Franklin and West Streets)
Cost: FREE!
Not only is Brooklyn home to the world’s best pizza and bagels, it’s also home to two legendary institutions of roast beef. These prodigious restaurants happen to both be in Sheepshead Bay. I don’t even need to name them, but for the sake of the record, I’m talking about Roll-N-Roaster and Brennan & Carr.
“There is a new show on the Travel Channel called Food Wars. Who thinks that Brennan & Carr would beat Roll’N'Roaster in a best roast beef in New York competition?” they wrote.
Woah! Them’s fightin’ words! So what do you think Sheepshead Bay? Who’s got the beef?
First of all, Halikarnas (3075 Emmons Avenue) is open for business again. Second, its closing – and subsequent re-closing – appears to be the result of classic labyrinthine bureaucracy and confusion that has cost a local business tens of thousands of dollars.
