Sheepshead Bay, etc...

So who remember's Lundy's at Sheepsead Bay?
Or the other great Sneepshead Bay treats, Italian Ices, fish just-off-the-boat? The bridge across to Manhattan Beach???
NYC's own New England seacoast!!1

Lundy's was a special place in the good-old-days !!!!! Actually it was the largest restaurant in the USA. The waiters were all black gentlemen in black suits,white shirts and black bow ties. Like a tux. Steamed clams, lobster, etc were great and not too expensive. I looked forward to every trip.

One interesting feature of Lundy's was the outside clam and oyster bar. Walk along the street on 2 sides of the building and you would find the sides opened up to expose the seafood sitting in tons of chopped ice. And each booth had a man to open a 1/2 dozen or a dozen littlenecks or cherrystones for you. They opened then so quickly and I never saw a cut hand or finger. And, of course, the beer guy was right there to help you quench your thirst. That was real Roadfood.

You didn't even need a car. Take the subway or a trolley. Then walk across the boulevard and buy a 5 # bluefish or a flounder from the boats that had just docked. Even in Broolyn we had class and great fish !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what great memories.......clams clams and more clams...yum

Lundy’s Restaurant --
It was big, very big! It covered a whole city block. At its zenith it could seat 2800 diners.
The clam bar stretched for almost 60’, and always had at least two and as many as ten people shucking clams and oysters. You could order six or twelve. They were opened right in front of you and you topped them with cocktail sauce, of your own creation. It was made from chili sauce, horseradish and hot pepper sauce. If you wanted a cold beer you could walk to a wet bar that was in an adjoining room and buy a large draft beer. In the 50’s and 60’s they had only one brand on tap – Brooklyn’s own Piels. I know that some might think less of Piels Beer but at Lundy’s it was always cold, always fresh and always satisfying.
Their fish was very fresh – quite good broiled or fried. They seemed to do the best job with their broiling. My mother’s favorite was broiled filet of sole. Each piece was about 2” thick. We found out years later that they stacked the sole using an egg batter to stick it together.
The chowders, clam and fish were different and outstanding. The fish chowder was one of a kind – oily, stringy, and a bit spicy. Very distinctive! Other fish chowder recipes are mild and very nice, but not oily/stringy/spicy. The clam chowder had a pale red color that might have come from minced carrots. It was very different and quite fantastic.
They didn’t offer a white clam chowder. They served clam bisque. It was thick, creamy and loaded with clams.
Lundy’s was always there and then it was gone. Its abandoned hulk stood unoccupied for years like a derelict ship that had run aground or an unused roller coaster decaying in the elements.
When it was re-opened, 10+ years ago, it was much smaller, quite well appointed and not at all as good.

Pappas Restaurant was a block west of Lundy’s. Their fish was almost as good and they served a very good complimentary tossed salad.

McGinnis’s was a block or two away from Lundy’s in the other direction. They had very good hot dogs, fair clams and great fried fish. They also had another location in NYC. It was called McGinnis of Shespshead Bay!

The Lewis House was down near the east end of Emmonds Av., almost across from the Verona Boat Club. It had a large circular bar, stained glass windows, great roast beef and lots of boat captains and fisherman.

In the 40’s and 50’s you could take a ferryboat from Sheepshead Bay to Breezy Point – a family beach resort. The boat left one of the docks and made port at Kennedy’s Bar. There passengers disembarked and took a bus or walked to the Point. That’s right, the bar was a part of the dock. Passengers got off the boat and walked through the bar to the street.

In the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s it was a different world and a kinder one.

Bill

Hey, you remembr Kennedy's? I think it is still there !?
Also the Sugar Bowl (for those of us too young for "cocktails!"

Our family had a cabana at the BPSC (Breezy Pt Surf Club) and also we had friends who owned bungalows or rented bungalows for the summer. I remember that some of the kids had dads who worked in "the city" and took the ferry after work and slept in Breezy Pt with their families during the summer. (They usually lived in Brooklyn during the year). Image that (for NYC): working on Wall St. or Midtown and taking a swim in the Atlantic after work!!
I also remember as far as Breezy Pt is concerned, tho seafood was great, a "liquid dinner" was more the order of the day.....

I remember the Sugar Bowl!
My aunt had a bungalow At Rockaway Point. During the summer of 1953 I hauled my 6’ 140 lb. frame into the Sugar Bowl and purchase my first illegal drink. (At that time they had beer on tap!) Wearing nothing but a bathing suit, I plunked down 15¢. They took a long look at me and gave me a beer. It was cold and tasted great!
We were @ Breezy Point from ’43 to ’45.

Bill

Wow, that goes way back! I was there from 1963-69 ish. Do you remember the "Mardi Gras"? All the floats? I think it was on Labor Day weekend. Even tho it was pretty much Irish Catholic HeavenonEarth, my mom used to love to play bocce there. I wonder what's happening there now. I know most of the bungalows are now fulltime/year round places worth 1 mill or more.

Back in the late 40's and early 50's, we always went to Lundy's on Sunday.
I loved it! I also have fond memories of going fishing on one of the large fishing boats out of Sheepshead Bay and bringing back flounder that my mother would filet and fry.
She did them in motzah meal and we would eat them cold. "Yummo"!

NYNM,
I don’t remember a Mardi Gras at Breezy Point or Rockaway Point but I do remember an extensive one at Coney Island every Mid-September.
I do remember a few bocce courts at Breezy. I don’t recall seeing any at Rockaway.
Wow, to think of those bungalows worth all that money!

Bill

Nice memories, folks. Though I've hardly ever been in that part of the world (though only an hour or so away), your recollections jogged images of other places and precious golden moments in my own life.
The Bear

quote:

Originally posted by ScreenBear

Nice memories, folks. Though I've hardly ever been in that part of the world (though only an hour or so away), your recollections jogged images of other places and precious golden moments in my own life.
The Bear

Bear: Where did this remind you of? I'm interested to hear about other summer colonies/seafood memories.Would be fun to visit someday.