Coney Island Food Roundup

Many of you may be heading out to Coney Island this weekend to Siren Fest for your outdoor indie rock fix. So to help you with your food choices, here’s a roundup of places to eat and drink from when I went out there with Jody and Christa this past weekend. I noticed there was a Pio Pio Riko. I think it’s related to the Peruvian restaurants in Woodside and Greenpoint of the same name. If so, great place to pick up some Peruvian roast chicken. We hung out at Ruby’s Bar and Grill to drink and use the restroom. I noticed beers and food can get quite expensive there. They have a home brewed draft at $9 and their fried jumbo shrimps (5 pieces) were also at $9! Wowee Zowee! At least they have dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets.

The best deals are the taco stands. Cheap & tasty. My favorite one behind the Stillwell Stage was this hole in the wall/small garage, which is now gone and has become an Uncle Louie G. There’s some food vendors at the new flea market at Coney. The most popular looks like the Red Hook Pupusa truck. I’m sure it’s great, but big line. We headed over to the midway to get cheaper beers from the random hot dog/pizza (with old brown looking pepperoni) stands –Buds were around $3.50. And there are two really good taco stands around there. Tacos at $3. Get your food bargain on there I say, especially if you don’t want to brace through the crowds and lines for a Nathan’s hot dog.

If you need a few restroom suggestions, the ones right at the Wonder Wheel line are good. It costs 25cents, but Christa said it was well worth it. And for men, there was no line. Plus you can wait in the arcade for your friends to pee and help some guy play Deal or No Deal. I couldn’t tell if he didn’t know how to read or was just nervous. He was really nice though. I pretty much played it for him or rather I lost it for him. Then you walk over to the Ghost Hole haunted house and look at the animatronic woman puke into a toilet. I think the Ghost Hole is the one that’s scary. I guess the two haunted house there are both lame, but one is definitely scarier.

You can also hang out at the Freak Bar (part of the Sideshow Freak show). Get some $4 Buds and use their restroom. It says “Employees Only” but I think they don’t mind if you’re buying drinks. Boy, we sure used the restroom a lot. They also have sideshow acts performing in the bar for your entertainment.

Down over on Surf Ave. there’s a few food stands like Erika’s Empanadas at $1.75 and Dices Grab and Go, which I’m not sure if it’s a food stand or what. I saw people crowd around and couldn’t figure out what was for sale, then walked away. Maybe I’ll check it out again. Then there’s Denny’s Ice Cream Shop for soft serve ice cream and funnel cakes. You can watch the cool indoor bumpers cars next door with all the disco lights.

If you’re looking for something after the bands are done, take a nice stroll over to Brighton Beach for some awesome Russian restaurants right on the boardwalk. There’s two next to each other. One has a glass aquarium floor, but it’s always nice to sit outside. My favorite thing I’ve tried was what my friend ordered, perogies with red caviar. So decadent. You can hop on the B/Q train at the Brighton Beach stop back home.

Alright. I think that’s about it. Make sure you get off at the NY Aquarium train stop. It’s closer to the main stage and less crowded than going all the way to the end of the line. Plus the train slows down a lot before you actually exit if you do go all the way down to the Stillwell Ave stop …all unless you plan on going to the Stillwell Stage first. Wear some sunscreen! Have a blast!