As always, we passed under soaring bridges including the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. We cruised past many of the iconic NYC buildings including the United Nations, the Chrysler Building and many of the architecturally interesting high rises.
As we passed the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the wind and waves picked up and we were glad it was just a short journey to Sheepshead Bay Yacht Club in Brooklyn. We arrived at our mooring at 12:55.
This yacht club is not in an attractive part of town and we usually just walk Archie to a nearby, kind of cruddy beach. This time, however, we arrived early enough that after our lunch of grilled tuna melt sandwiches, we decided to explore and go further afield. The yacht club has a launch which makes it easy to get back and forth to shore and the launch is usually filled with colorful and friendly local characters.
From the yacht club walked all the way to nearby Manhattan Beach crossing an attractive pedestrian bridge to get there.
The streets in this part of town were lined with large houses on smallish lots, many of them rather ornate. It was a very nice and obviously affluent area with many of the side streets ending at the waterfront.
We then walked over to nearby Brighton Beach where the homes were a bit more modest but still very nice. The beach here was wide and deep with a big boardwalk that many folks were clearly enjoying. We sat on a bench watching the action and enjoying this new scene.
Afterwards we walked into the commercial district of Brighton Beach which is filled with restaurants and shops that cater to the local residents, most of whom appear to be Russian and Ukrainian.
We had done some research regarding good restaurants and found one that was listed as one of NYC’s top 25 so we thought we would check it out. But first we wanted to stroll busy Brighton Beach Avenue where we discovered the fabulous Tashkent Super Market. We took turns going inside because we had Archie with us. I have never seen a more appealing market with its rows of perfectly arranged fruits and vegetables, fabulous baked goods and the largest array of prepared foods each, of which looked irresistible!
Even so, we moved on to check out the restaurant we had read about. It turned out to be a tiny, but cute, hole in the wall with about a dozen tables inside and a sad little table on the sidewalk. When we asked for an inside table they told us that we couldn’t sit inside because of Archie (who was wearing his diabetic alert service vest). This has never happened to us. We put up a mild argument, citing the law and Jonny spoke with the owner. But the owner was Muslim and wasn’t comfortable having a dog in his restaurant so we accepted his perspective and left (the outside table was not an attractive option for us). Instead, we went back to the Tashkent market and bought an array of take-out goodies to bring back to Zendo and eat on board. After the long walk to Brighten Beach, we took an Uber back to the yacht club.
Back on board Zendo we indulged in only half of the items we bought. They included baba ganoush, a dish that was somewhat like a cheese and spinach lasagna but quite different and delicious, a traditional Russian(?) beef stew with pomegranates and peppers and a wonderful salad with cheese, avocados and nuts. What a treat! We enjoyed all of them, each unique in their preparation and flavor.
All in all, it was a great day exploring new neighborhoods in our amazingly diverse country!
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