Another Issue of "Now Don't Go Telling Your Manhattan Friends": They say you pay for a view but...

Their view:

Image from the Brooklyn Paper

Our view:

Image from the Brooklyn Paper

Ha Suckas!

Another Issue of Now Don't Go Telling Your Manhattan Friends: The Banya Wars heat up on the Kensington/Ditmas Park Border!

Coney Island Banya

602 Coney Island Avnue

Brooklyn, NY 11218

718.853.2525

Open 7 days a week . M - F 9:00 - Midnight . Sat - Sun 8:00 - Midnight

Touche Royal Baths...Take that Sandoony! Flatbush once again has a cozy little Banya of it's own and the Pigeon was lucky enough to be one of the newly renovated bath house's first customers under its new management. The establishment known as the "Coney Island Banya" is clean, affordable, welcoming and just what's in order for those of us barraged by the stresses of life in NYC. To top it off, the Banya also houses the excellent (and also very affordable) "Restaurant Hotspot" - which serves an array of international cuisine.

If you've been up on any of the neighborhood buzz, you know this banya has been the subject of some intrigue (and more intrigue) as it sat unused for a number of years. And if you're also up on your Pigeon trivia, you're well-aware that the Pigeon is no slouch when it comes to hedonism...So, of course I visited the banya four days after it re-opened. I have to say, the new owners were extremely welcoming to unknown patrons. (So much so that I even scored a free sample ventik/platza session from owner Stanley!)

Venik for sale displayed at the front counter

Now for the particulars:

Coney Island Banya offers both scorching wet and dry saunas, a fantastic eucalyptus-infused turkish bath, a comfortable jacuzzi and a small tile pool that is manually-fed chopped ice as needed. (Think you don't need an ice pool - ho, ho - then you certainly haven't experienced the heat of the dry sauna yet!) Massage and platza sessions available for an extra fee. As mentioned earlier, there is an excellent restaurant and juice bar on site.

The entrance fee to the banya is $25 for adults and $15 dollars for kids. Monday is women only day and is offered at a discounted price of $20. So what are you waiting for? Grab your bathing suit and get down there!

New to the banya scene and don't know what to expect? Click here for more about the experience!

Happy bathing.

~The Pige

Now Don't Go Telling Your Manhattan Friends!

Now that all persons who violated the "Brooklyn Loyalty Pact" by leaking FP "Now Don't Go Telling Your Manhattan Friends" information to the mainstream media (namely the NYTimes and NY Magazine) have been effectively tortured into submission or, if warranted, executed, I feel free to continue with the "Now Don't Go Telling Your Manhattan Friends" series. Certainly, the precedent for such violations has been set. Should any of you FP readers choose to run your mouth about the fabulous Brooklyn institutions so generously imparted on this blog, all I can say is - just make sure your Mama has your dental records!

Since that has been made perfectly clear, I can now tell you about one of the most perfect old time Salumarias that still operates in Brooklyn:
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Eagle Cheese
320 Ave. U,

Gravesend Section of Brooklyn

718- 449-2810
Owner: The Casamento Family
Established 1942

Eagle Cheese, a family owned business, located on Avenue U between McDonald Avenue and West Street has been serving the Gravesend community what has got to be some of the best homemade mozzerella, cured meats, and italian specialties in the city for over 66 years. While Eagle is known to locals for such tasty goods, I find that Eagle makes the very best cold-cut sandwiches in Brooklyn not only because of the high quality of the meats but also because they have perfected the art of slicing meat to half the thickness of an ordinary piece of paper. Just take a look at the goods:

Eagle is a clean, organized well-kept Italian market.

Offers a nice selection of fresh olives and peppers.

Stromboli, fresh mozzarella & tomato, and artichoke hearts.

Fennel sausage, homemade Ravioli, manicotti and other fresh macaroni.

An array of cured meats; prosciutto, salami, soppressata and fresh cold-cuts.

Eagle also carries a nice assortment of jarred and canned goods as well as Italian cookies and dried pasta.

The real important info you need to know about a visit to Eagle Cheese; Don't forget your wallet! Although, Eagle products are pretty reasonably priced, you are going to want to sample as much as you can. But, rest assured, not a cent of what you'll spend there will be wasted money. So enjoy! Mangia!

New Series: "Now Don't Go telling Your Manhattan Friends!"

Hi Folks!

Now you know the Pigeon loves to turn you all on to some of the great experiences that our great borough has to offer. Until now, I've done so without condition but there are some things that must be kept under hat. Otherwise these borough jewels will be ruined by masses of people who just have to go to (fill in great Brooklyn experience) so that they can say they went to (repeat great Brooklyn experience). **Think DiFara's here (...which I think is just, well, ...'meh compared to a lot of true Brooklyn Pizza, but that's another post.)

Anyway, I've come up with a plan to prevent such problems. Please note that this entry will be a first in a series in which I have entitled "Now Don't Go Telling Your Manhattan Friends!" As Brooklynites it is your duty to protect the our Borough gems from being over-run by tourists from the other side of the river. (I'm doing my best to drum up a dogmatic bravado here.) In fact, I have decided that I will refer to daytrippers from Manhattan as "the Bridge & Tunnel crew." ;-) To be clear, I am a true Brooklynite and I am therefore NOT Manhattnocentric. I expect the same from my readers! (How am I doing with the dictator tone? I'm really working on these skills nowadays and I welcome critique from anyone with tyranny experience.) Violators of this order shall be punished to the full extent of authentic Brooklyn mores which includes the revoking of your Kings County passport - among other things. (In other words, I'm from Brooklyn. I know people!) So now that I have made clear the tenets of this series, I present the following:

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Rave: Royal Palace - Royal Baths

614 Sheepshead Bay Road,

Brooklyn NY 11224
Phone:877 819 2284
RoyalPalaceNY.com Check the website out. Great pics and full desciption.
Hours: Mon-Fri 5pm-11pm, Sat-Sun 9am-11pm.
Admission: Adults $40, Children $25
Venik treatment / Platza: $40
1 hour massage: $110

So what is a overtired, overstressed, premenstrual, perimenopausal, single mom of a 6.5 year old supposed to do on Mother's Day? Go out to eat? Hells-to-the-NO! As a former waitress I know that it is the last day of the year that I want to be in any restaurant! No, no, NO! Not this mama! My spawn and I did it up right and went to Brooklyn's newest, swankiest Russian Banya. You've got to hand it to the Russians. They know how to treat themselves right!

Royal palace features six different steam rooms: Russian, Finnish, Turkish and Roman as well as the much needed cold plunge. The main bath hall features a huge pool, an alcoved hot tub, showers and cafe tables from where you can order a variety of Russian delicies. There will eventually be a full gym in the facility. There is a well-utilized beer bar and eight private rooms with separate steam rooms for 2-12 people. A full service restaurant graces the upper level of the facility.

Apparently, Royal Palace Bath just opened a few months ago. It is the biggest Russian Banya in New York, and possibly in the US. Check it out and while you're there you might want to indulge in a Russian venik/platza treatment which involves beating the skin with a bundle of birch leaves. It is said to improve circulation and increase metabolism. For more info visit: here.

In general, Banyas are very family friendly places. My daughter loved it but it is not overrun with wild kids. It seems that extended families gather at the poolside tables, enjoy servings of herbal tea, beer, dried fish. Family members slip off to relax in the hot tub, steam room, sauna or whatever and return to the table for another beer. The kids were well supervised but able to enjoy the facilities as they wished. For those of you who are totally kidphobic, you might want to visit in the evening.

Royal Palace is a bit pricier than other Banyas but it's a nice treat on a special day. It wasn't very crowded during our visit but that may have been because it was Mother's Day and the regular customers where involved in obligitory brunches with Mom.

It was a great day for us and you can enjoy a relaxing day at the Banya as well. Just remember; Don't go telling your Manhattan friends!

Cheers,

The Pigeon