Simple pleasures

A moveable feast of food, fun & family

By Mitch Markides

   It was probably one of the top twenty-five things I’ve done in my life.  It was exhilarating, exciting and breathtaking.  It was majestic and magnificent.  I didn’t have to take a plane or train to get there.  And it was absolutely free. 

    It was a slow stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge.

    I had planned the day for weeks, admittedly there really wasn’t much to plan.  We drove down Flatbush Avenue to the bridge mainly to give the “kids” a taste of the real Brooklyn.  It took us twenty minutes to find parking down and around Old Fulton Street near the base of the bridge, and we finally found a spot at Cadman Plaza.

   The five of us—my wife, two daughters and Alessandra’s boyfriend Brett—walked through the park to the staircase leading up to the Bridge walkways.  There were hundreds, if not thousands, of people strolling, biking, resting, and walking—the Bridge was full of people!  We walked out on the Brooklyn side until we were just about over the water’s edge.  The Manhattan Bridge—not nearly as magnificent or majestic as the one we were on—was right there beside us, almost close enough to touch.  Down below, you could see the cars on the roadbeds whizzing across the span, and off to the sides you could see the new waterfront areas that had just been created from clean fill and the parks that they had been transformed into and there, too, was the Barge Music barge and on the other side the grand catering/dining establishment, the River Café. All the while, you see Manhattan Island before you, the Empire State Building, the Old Fulton Fish Market and the South Street Seaport and its Piers. 

  The helicopters were taking off just to the side of the Seaport, and there was the statue of Liberty to the left and Ellis Island and far into the distance the Verrazano Bridge. The entire city was before us on the right and the sun was starting to set over the water on the left, the sky was amber there and the city lights were starting to dot the skyline on the other side, with the magnificence of the Bridge  before us, its arches and stones inconceivably beautiful and mammoth. And we walked beneath those stone arches, stretching up and up into the sky—truly a magnificent architectural wonder.

   From the center of the Bridge we looked down the East River, past the Manhattan Bridge which jutted out now at an angle and you could see the Williamsburgh Bridge in the distance.  All the while the views in all directions were spectacular. And to walk around the mighty stone columns and arches of the Bridge was to be transported back in time, to see and feel the legendary history of the Brooklyn Bridge juxtaposed against the modernity and intensity of Manhattan.

   By the time we reached the other side and began our return, the sun had set and the City lit up as if on cue, the Empire State building awash in its usual glow, the other millions of lights just  mesmerizing as we stood a few hundred feet over the water on this viewing platform watching a piece of living art.

   All that walking had made us hungry, so we dashed over to Calexico, a remarkably authentic Mexican joint over on Union Street in Carroll Gardens.  The place is small and colorful and the tables are few and it’s counter service only.  But the food is good and the condiments fresh and flavorful and we ordered soda and beer, chips and guacamole to start.  The carne asada and pulled pork tacos were amazing.  We also had burritos and quesadillas, rice and beans and we ate till we were full and satisfied.

   From there, to end the night perfectly, we headed around the bend, so to speak, and ended up in Coney Island.  We walked along the boardwalk, looking out into the Atlantic and the Verrazano Bridge from the other side now.  We watched the people and walked along the amusements and had our ice-cream on Surf Avenue.