Governor Alfred E. Smith/Sunken Meadow State Park

Governor Alfred E. Smith/Sunken Meadow State Park
Rte. 25A and Sunken Meadow Parkway (northern end of Sunken Meadow Parkway)
Kings Park, NY 11754
Phone: (631) 269-4333
Secondary Phone: (631) 269-5351
Vehicle Fees:
5/29 through 9/12 - $10
9/18 through 11/14 - $8
Unlimited access with Empire Pass



The ride north on the Sagtikos (however you say it) Parkway until the eventual flow into the Sunken Meadow Parkway is an ominous one but for no apparent reason. Once referred to as "Creepy Parkway" by a defensive driving instructor, there are quick glimpses of the ruins of Pilgrim Psych Center and the rusted signs that announce the exits to Pilgrim and Kings Park Hospitals. I guess if you spent time thinking...many people in the past may have realized at this point that thing were really going to suck for a while as they gazed from the passenger seats at these exit signs. But its true...the highways lend themselves to deep thought as you travel along mundane landscapes as the unpaved road underneath you hums a similar tune for miles. But like a beacon (or bacon) of hope, there is a glimpse of the magnificent Long Island Sound right before you get to a group of retro toll booths much unlike the wire shacks manned by angry college kids that "herald" the entrance to Jones Beach. It makes one think that way before the advent of I-Pads, wine-pairing dinners, and easy national and international travel via airplane, this was "the place to be" (if I may quote Frank Costanza).

I have always been a "South Shore" kind of guy. As I write that last sentence, I realize I have no idea what that means. I guess I refer to the beaches. But being overweight and pale, the beach oddly never appealed to me. However, I think that when one thinks of South Shore beaches, one thinks of miles of tree-less land, beautiful beaches, and slightly better parking than at Yankee Stadium. And this was the striking juxtaposition of the "North Shore" beach; lush greenery and forest, lush greenery and forest...BOOM...beach. And it really is just like that. You will drive amongst beautiful trees, park in the lot, and then be able to walk to a beach. For most of us South Shore people, this is quite odd. But this is where the "awesomeness" lies; you can hike for the day and then jump straight into a beautiful pool of water with no one else in sight. I will get into this more later.

You will drive not far from the entrance and see the picnic area to your right. Jess and I had lunch here one day. I actually had salami and provolone, a tribute to my ancestors came to America with a salami in one arm and a provolone (?) in the other. Either way, there are tons of picnic benches in a nice, shady wooded area. There are some concessions stands but they were not open so you should plan on bringing your own lunch just in case. I have to mention that the smells at this place would drive any foodie nuts. And if I had a big enough "set," I would have gone up to a ton of people to ask them what they were cooking. Jess and I were amazed by the mix of ethnicities here. People of all races and creeds were spending time relaxing with family and friends, taking advantage of the beauty of Long Island. It was, for a lack of a better word, "cool," since Long Island is so separate when it comes to neighborhoods. Some of the foods being grilled up were foreign to me but I would have loved to sample them. At many points, I was tempted to grab something from the grill and run away.

If you continue past the picnic area, you will cross a small bridge and be at the parking area for the beach. For our purposes, make a quick right into the picnic area and park there. Grab some lunch and then get ready to hike. Walk east past the picnic area and follow a path that gradually increases in grade until you reach a fence. This will take some navigating around a deep "hole" in the ground until you come around to the part of the trail where you walk way up above the Long Island Sound. It's a bit of a walk but eventually you will reach the area of Zen, seen below:
After a long hike, you will enter a clearing and will see this; a beautiful vista of the Sound. All of your hard work and sweat toiling through tight corners and dangerous, narrow corridors way above sea level will be worth it. Take a seat here; grab a Gatorade and eat an apple; ask yourself why people feel a need to leave Long Island for beautiful views and relaxation. Now, the best part; you will now head down a steep slope of soft dirt. If you have any sort of hockey skills, now is the time to use them. At the bottom, you will walk through the reeds to an inlet from the Sound and Nissequogue River. A shallow inlet of water separates you from the main beach. Jump in here - the water is warm, there is never more than a couple of people (and the occasional old dude with a Speedo), and the serenity is invigorating. You can float in the currents but be sure to wear flip-flops as the North Shore beaches are known for their rocky terrain beneath the water. I even floated in the warm water with a fellow explorer (Tony B's) in the midst of a storm, one that we found out that was much worse than we had thought and probably should not have been in the water.

You can traverse the inlet during low tide and walk along the beach until you reach the main beach. Or you can walk back along the inlet side to the parking area. There is some nice wildlife to be seen here. Eventually, you will find yourself on the other side of the beach. Walk along the left side of the parking lots and you will eventually see a bridge. Cross this bridge and you will be be back at the picnic area. You can eat again here - I probably would!

There is a list of quite a few other things that can be done at the park, including fishing and access to a golf course. I have to admit that this is one of those places that is an essential visit during the summer months. It lacks that burning sun/long lines/no space/coconut smell that permeates Jones Beach and Long Beach. It is a completely different experience. It is much more relaxed and, although at times can be crowded, it never seems like it is excessive. But I grew up in Queens and now live in a basement apartment. I appreciate things like this.

Notes:
- Visit the Governor Alfred E. Smith/Sunken Meadow State Park website for a list of all the activities that you can take part in here.
- Apparently, the Long Island Greenbelt Trail continues from Nissequogue Park along the beach to Sunken Meadow Park (not far from where you go from the trail to the water) but I have yet to find the connection. You can buy a map here but I am too cheap. I mean my dad had a marble notebook mapping out all the caves from the Nintendo game Ultima from years ago. The thrill is in the chase, the unknown.
- I would like to organize a group trip here next year for some grilling and chilling. Many people set up shop a few steps from the beach - It would please even the crabbiest of people. This would be the ultimate day-trip experience.
- All photos seen here were taken by Dan.

Oktoberfest at Plattduetsche Park Restaurant

Oktoberfest at Plattduetsche Park Restaurant
1132 Hempstead Turnpike
Franklin Square, NY 11010
516-354-3131
10/15/2010
$45 - Unlimited German buffet, beer, wine, and soda

Oktoberfest, whether you spell it with a "c" or a "k", usually brings to mind liter mugs filled with a copper beer, piles of sausages, and waitresses who define the meaning of cleavage. However, there is a rich history behind the affair. According to BeerAdvocate.com, "This festive celebration was established in October of 1810 by Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (crowned as King Ludwig I) in celebration of his marriage to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen." BeerAdvocate also notes that the odd thing about the celebration is all people from all walks of life were invited to attend, a social taboo to this point, where peasants would be in the company of royalty. Ironically, the original celebration was based upon horse racing and an agricultural show and not until 1818 did the beer and food vendors arrive. (BeerAdvocate)

Even more ironically, the Plattduetsche Park Oktoberfest actually brings together people from all walks of life. Jess and I attended this celebration last year for the first time with another couple. It is held indoors in a huge banquet hall, not unlike a classic wedding setting. The odd thing is that if you do not have enough people in your reservation to fill a large, circular table, you will find yourself sitting with people that you do not know. It was admittedly awkward at first but as the beer began to flow, little did it seem to matter. This year, we were seated with an older couple. We exchanged pleasantries and never spoke again. And that is fine with me. Last year, we sat with two couples that were similar in age. Everything was fine until they started ordering beer for the whole table opting for "whatever they had" instead of the fine imported beer that could also be attained. I will speak about this more as things have changed in a year.

Yes, it is much like a wedding. Loud music, lots of food and drink, awkward company, and lots of time spent chatting. However, the music is provided by The Continentals, who roar through sets of classic German songs, bad jokes, and plenty of chant-response ditties enjoyed mostly by those who are drinking heavily. Dancing is done by the Original Enzian Dancers (do not be fooled by imitators!) who provide plenty of knee and ankle slapping and circle-skirt twirling, demonstrating old-style German dance. It is enjoyable and if you have enough beers, it is pretty fun to watch.

The food is the highlight of the night. I would imagine that the critical question behind the unlimited food is, "How much German food could one possibly eat in one night?" A peek at the non-vegetarian menu would lead one to schedule a session with the cardiologist. Here is list of what I had the pleasure of enjoying:

1) Sauerbraten - Slightly thick fork-tender medallions of bottom-round (top-round? rump?) in a sweet brown gravy.
2) Loin of Pork - Tender and in a slightly-spicy sauce.
3) Leberkase - German meatloaf (minced pork and beef) with the consistency of a thick cut of bologna. It is horrifying to most people, has a uncanny resemblance to Spam, but has a wonderful, meaty flavor. Slap it on a roll with sauerkraut and mustard. Bring it to work and jam it in someone's face!
4) Wursts - An assortment of bratwurst (pork and beef), knockwurst (smoked beef with garlic), weisswurst aka bockwurst (pork, veal, and milk!), and peanut franks (mini hot dogs). All were excellent.
5) Mashed Potatoes - Heavenly, loaded with butter, bacon, and cream, and topped with fried onions
6) Potato Dumplings - Gelatinous white orbs that might have been the densest things I have ever eaten. A decent flavor but the consistency took some getting used too.
7) German potato salad - Al-dente potatoes with a nice vinegar kick and salty, smoky bacon.
8) German cabbage salad - A focus here on crisp cabbage with vinegar and a nice note with the addition of fennel seeds.
Other items included sauerkraut, red cabbage, a garden salad, split-pea and ham soup, and a slice of apple strudel as dessert. All of the food is excellent here and well cooked despite the buffet style.

They offered two types of beer. Warsteiner Original was the pale beer offered, a hoppy pilsener that went nicely with the food. They also offered a mystery Oktoberfest. I deduced that it could not be by Warsteiner because it had too much of a rich copper color (Warsteiner Oktoberfest does not vary much from the original). From the taste, color, and "wallop," I believe that it was Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest. Last year, I was able to taste many of the great beers offered on tap at the bar but this was no longer an option. I had my fill of the Oktoberfest, so I did not leave unsatisfied.

It is funny that I should mention "last year." Last year, the Oktoberfest celebration was much livelier, much more crowded, and we even noticed that the lights were dimmer. There also seemed to be many more younger people at the celebration last year. I have to think that the moving of the date of the Beer Tasting Festival to the weekend before the Oktoberfest (last year the tasting was in May) left people with empty wallets, massive headaches, and little desire to do it all again in less than a week, now with the addition of unlimited food. Even I had to select between one of the two events. Obviously, I was in the minority by choosing this.

I believe that this event is worth attending at least once, regardless of age. There is enough German culture here to make it semi-educational and enough beer and food to make $45 seem like a steal. However, upon my return for a second time, a lot of the "wonder" and "excitement" was lost. I still got full value for the money but I think I would rather have had a nice, sit down dinner in the restaurant, which I have heard is very good.

Notes:

- Visit the The Plattduetsche Park website. Here they have a calendar of events, menus, beer pairing dinners, festivals, etc. There is a lot going on here most weeks. Join the beer club! Think you can hold a full liter of beer for a while? Enter the Masskrugstemmen! Visit the beer garden!

NY Cupcakery

Custom cakes * Cookies * Confections

2544 Merrick Road

Bellmore, NY 11710

(516) 409-8866

www.newyorkcupcakery.com

Holy mother of yumminess! As many of you know I have a sweet tooth. I never met a cookie I didn’t love (or a cake, or a donut, a muffin, a pastry…you get the idea). So when I had my bridal shower a few weeks ago (thrown by my fabulous friends and family) I was thrilled to see this beauty:

Yeah, it’s a teapot. And yeah, it’s a cake. I’d always wanted an “Ace of Cakes” style custom cake so I was super excited. I was even more excited when I tasted it. I always imagined that cakes that looked this cool probably wouldn’t taste that great but this cake was dynamite!

The bottom layer was vanilla cake layered with vanilla pudding, whipped cream and fresh strawberries. The heavy layer of fondant was removed by most people, but if you could handle the sweetness it was quite yummy! The cake itself was moist but not gooey; it wasn’t crummy, and it wasn’t bland. It was everything you'd want a cake to be. My favorite part about it was the texture; the edges were ever so slightly browned which added a nice contrast to the fluffy inside.

The top layer was mine to take home, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I had my way with it. It was the same moist yellow cake as the bottom layer but the top was filled with a fudgy chocolate that left me drooling. There may or may not have been an open-mouth kiss involved…

I was so impressed with the cake that I went to the bakery to scope out some of their other creations. The shop is pretty small but it’s cute: pink and white and very…“cupcakey.” There are a few small tables if you can’t wait to get home to enjoy your sweets, and to be honest, you might just want to stay for the smell…it’s heavenly.

I bought myself four of the minis which are bite-sized: carrot cake, red velvet cake, Oreo, and peanut butter cup. The carrot cake was the first down the hatch. It was excellent! Very carroty, very yummy. The frosting was very soft and creamy but a little too sweet. The red velvet cake was pretty bland—definitely the least impressive of the bunch. It just didn’t have a strong flavor, and in fact, I tasted the frosting (a little buttery) more than the actual cake. I’d pass on this one if I were you. The Oreo was pretty tasty, though not as chocolatey as I expected it to be. However, I was also expecting a sweetness overload and it was pretty mellow which was a good thing. I was most excited about the peanut butter cup cupcake and oh.em.gee. A chocolate cupcake with fudge, then chocolate frosting, a little dab of peanut butter and two mini peanut butter cups on top. There is a God.

Their prices seem a little high to me, but whatever. It’s worth it. The mini cupcakes are $1.25, medium cupcakes for $2.50 and oversized cupcakes for I don’t know how much…maybe $4 but I don’t remember. I will definitely go here when I need a cake for a party, and it’s definitely worth a stop for a quick treat every once in a while (any more often than that and you’d better amp up your cardio!).

Phatso's

Phatso's
3601 Merrick Road
Seaford, New York 11783
Hours:
Monday to Thursday 11am -12am
Friday-Saturday 11-1am
Sunday 12pm-11pm
Phone: 516-809-7878

The advent of Food Network, shows such as "Man Vs. Food," and the rise in popularity of competitive eating has caused a boom in large portions that care little about caloric intake or health. And to quote Mel Torme, "I think that's the tops!" I am a big guy and I enjoy eating and not just portion size - as my friend Broccoli Rob would say, "It has to be Flavor-Blasted." And to be perfectly honest, with experience as an amateur home chef, food needs fat to taste good. Ironically, I am trying to lose some weight so I can easily see the juxtaposition. Sure, I like making Mexican chicken tacos, with plenty of cilantro, chili powder, lime, and cumin but I realize its restrictions. Let's take some fried fish or chorizo, add some chipotle mayo-laced cabbage, globs of sour cream, and some bacon and we are on our way to a "most excellent" taco.

I have read about the bahn-mi (a Vietnamese sandwich filled with pate, Vietnamese bologna, ground pork, cilantro, pickled diakon, sliced hot peppers, and mayo all on a French baguette - there are a ton of variations though) craze in the city, where people use Twitter to chart the courses of mobile trucks to find these great sandwiches. Although I have yet to find one on the Island, I appreciate the amount of hype a sandwich is getting and one that is different. Sure, we all love our "Godfather" heroes but Long Island is saturated with generic pork store specialties to suit most tastes, leaving sandwich aficionados with little hope. And of course here our focus is on affordability. I am sure there are high-end places that serve Serrano ham sandwiches at $20 a pop in West Hampton. The sandwich is a lost art, one that deserves more than meat and cheese or some paltry meatballs. It has become mundane and only the greats look to revive it. But to all of those looking for quantity and quality and a low price, Phatso's should be a destination. I had heard rumors of a sandwich place taking over a spot where numerous pizza places dishing out Elios specialties had failed. A few months ago, Phatso's opened, their Facebook page proclaiming their massive specialties. I have had the pleasure of heading to Phatso's twice since it has opened and have been truly satisfied. The menu does contain highly-heralded cheesesteaks, hot dogs (can get bacon and cheese on it!), classic hot Italian heroes, some Mexican staples, and burgers. However, the main attraction are the monster heroes, all served on fresh, crusty Italian bread.

On my first visit, a cloudy afternoon hankering for something different yet viciously filling led me here. I decided to go for the gusto and ordered specialty hero #1 which consists of chicken fingers, steak, bacon cheese fries, and fried mozzarella balls all jammed into a hero. Each sandwich is made to order so it takes some time so if you are in a rush, it is worth calling ahead. However, I felt no need to rush, especially in waiting for this. I took the sandwich home and felt guilty eating it - there were too many great things on one sandwich. I took a bite and reveled in the flavors. Some were more prominent than others but each bite offered various palatal pleasures. The steak was well-cooked and slightly crusty like on a good steak. The cheese from the fries weaved between layers of fried mozzarella and crispy chicken. And the bacon added a salty kick and even more crispiness. Now, one has to realize that you are eating a bevy of fried items so there is bound to be some oil. However, Phatso's does a great job at limiting this. Its tremendously filling as even a big dude like myself had trouble finishing the whole thing. And don't forget, that this is the sandwich with everything on it. There are other options.

On the second visit, a return from a beer soaked bachelor party weekend absolutely called for such food. I headed to the shop with my brother, heralding that such a place would do wonders for recovery. I decided to go a bit "milder" with the #6 which is chicken fingers, bacon, provolone cheese and fries with ranch dressing on a hero. Of course, it was excellent and I have to admit that the lack of "everything" from the #1 enabled me to get a better taste of each item in the sandwich. The provolone provided a sharp bite that mellowed the fingers and bacon. The ranch provided a nice creaminess and pulled the sandwich together. My brother ordered the #5, which is similar but has fried mozzarella and barbecue sauce instead of provolone and ranch. He enjoyed it very much. We also ordered a side of fried and onion rings (completely unnecessary since they were on the sandwiches) but the fries had that rustic, skin-on flavor and the onion rings had a nice, flaky crust, which dominated the standard breaded fare. Add a nice fountain Coke, and it was quite a meal.

Phatso's also offers some fried desserts such as fried Oreo's, Twinkies, and chocolate chip cookies. In both visits, I was unable to think about another bite of food but I have heard some great things about them. In addition, they have super-sized versions of the specialty heroes (from the pictures it looks like two heroes with a ton of fries) for $20. If you can eat it, you can name it. So if the name, "The Islanders Suck" comes to mind, you can name that sandwich that. Most of the food falls between the $5 to $10 range, so head here before pissing away money on mini-burgers from a $1 menu.

Phatso's is worth a visit - go for the gusto and get one of the monster sandwiches. There are not many places where you can find such fare. You will leave full, happy, and with the realization that eating way beyond when your brain tells you to stop is awesome! The sandwich is back!

Notes:

- You can visit the homepage here for a peek at the menu and location.
- There is also a Facebook and Twitter page.
- Keep an eye out for excellent coupons offered by Phatso's in local papers, Pennysavers, and magazines. They are quite the deal!
- On a side note: the second time I went, one of the owners (Dave I believe his name was) told me that one of his fryers had crapped out on him so the wait would be a bit (close to a half-hour). He also said he would do his best with what he had. Not only were the sandwiches, fries, and onion rings great, but he knocked a few dollars off the bill when we paid. Ironically, I would have been fine with paying full price because the food was great and I appreciated his honesty. This is the kind of thing that will keep me going there. Not only did Dave remember me from my first visit, but he appreciated my patronage and did what he could to keep me as a regular customer. Kudos!