Staten Island Restaurant Tour, Part X: Do Eat (Bay Terrace)

Courtesy SI Live.

One way to grapple with the geography of Staten Island, the least explored of New York City’s five boroughs, is to view it in terms of north, south, east, and west.

The North Shore defines the neighborhoods around the ferry, the island’s lifeline to Manhattan, or “the city,” with which Staten Islanders have a complex and sometimes fraught relationship.

The less populous West Shore — adjacent to New Jersey, along the slim waterway known as Arthur Kill, below the SI Expressway—has more industry, undeveloped land, and parks, including the greenwashed remains of the infamous Fresh Kills Landfill.

The South Shore continues along Arthur Kill and curls around the island’s southern tip, turning north along Raritan Bay, which communicates directly with the Atlantic. The first nine parts of this comfort-food rail tour have taken us through South Shore neighborhoods from Tottenville, end of the line on the SI Railway, to Great Kills.

Then there is a subtle inflection point not marked by any particular geographic feature — I figured you’d need the map. That brings us to the East Shore, stretching along the Atlantic-adjacent Lower Bay back to the SI Expressway and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge to Brooklyn.

Bay Terrace, today’s destination, is at the bottom of the East Shore. It was called Whitlock before being renamed after one of its streets, a name it shares with a neighborhood in Queens. It is a compact enclave, with only six short blocks between the SIR station and Great Kills Park. Until the 1970s it was relatively undeveloped. Jewish families from Brooklyn and Queens arrived to populate the new development, followed by Russians, perhaps giving it a subtly different flavor from surrounding Italian-dominated neighborhoods.

Possible fumble with the pano mode gave the ferry boarding photo a different feel, to say the least.

No, I hadn’t dropped acid. Never touched the stuff.

A surprising lack of tourists on the Statue of Liberty side of the boat today. Study of freedom icon and sleeping gentleman in hoodie.

A hardworking fella on his way to work, no doubt.

First time I’ve grabbed a pic of the Staten Island Railway platform. The train is timed to meet the ferry, and doesn’t linger, so I’ve learned to avoid going to the bathroom between the boat and the train unless I’m really desperate.

The waiting area, not shown, is not exactly Grand Central Terminal.

If I ever decide to relocate to SI, modest accommodations within my price range may be available in Bay Terrace, just a few minutes’ walk from the station.

Good to know.

With more to come, perhaps, eventually to replace this scenic collection of boulders. There are plenty of houses here as well. They tend to be a little less grand or, in some instances, less grandiose.

Affordable or not, who can say?

The last few steps to the restaurant were along busy Amboy Road where the sidewalk was nothing more than white paint. There is, however, an almost invisible speed bump in the photo. Is a speed bump better than a curb, pedestrian safety wise, or not as good?

Anything that makes pedestrians safer is probably good.

The Do Eat Restaurant is part of Evergreen Plaza, one of many shopping clusters dotting the island. It is nestled between a pork store and a smoke shop.

The curve is an effect of the panorama mode.

“Wow,” I said to the server, “I’ve got the whole place to myself!” It turned out that I was misinformed by Google — the 11 a.m. opening was for takeout and delivery, not for eating in. That doesn’t start until 3 p.m.

Oh no.

But I was graciously accommodated — that would never happen in Manhattan — once again proving that Staten Islanders are different from other people, and sometimes better. Do Eat bills itself as a European Fusion restaurant, with an emphasis on Ukrainian home cooking. I showed the server this painting, which is the background on my Facebook account, to demonstrate solidarity with the Ukrainian people. I added that I also have a Russian friend or two. She is from Georgia, she said, “but everyone in the kitchen is Ukrainian.” Like the Ukraine, Georgia was part of the Soviet Union, but gained its independence, and has resisted the territorial ambitions of its neighbor. You can read about the state of play here.

Image courtesy of Setsiri Silapasuwancha.

While waiting for my food, I admired the decor. Love those clipper ships on the shelf. The plain exterior does not even suggest the beauty of the interior. As with people, sometimes.

Clearly a lot of love and care went into this place

Not photogenic, but delicious, the pear salad was probably ennobled with peanut oil as well as peanut shreds.

Nice napkin dispenser.

It was dotted with fresh raspberries. They were quite visible though the thin-sliced pear was not. I do like having crunchy items on the bottom of a salad because you can spear them through the greens…

Just a hint of gorgonzola or bleu cheese, which is the right amount.

…with the largest dinner fork I have ever seen. I have tried, perhaps not with complete success, to capture its comparative size, which makes the soup bowl look small by comparison.

Take my word, that is a huge fork.

The Ukrainian borscht clearly got its color from tomato stock. Tomato paste, I’m guessing.

Red. Listen to the King Crimson album, eat the soup.

It was loaded with cabbage and a red root veg that seemed to be potato, possibly stained by the soup. That’s what borscht is, of course: cabbage soup.

Whether Ukrainian or not.

Less easily photographed, but just as appreciated, were the sausage chunks, which made the hearty soup even heartier.

The sausage also added a savory flavor note.

But what should I do about the sour cream? I wondered. It’s a substance I don’t much like and which invariably upsets my stomach — in other words, it induces a massive amount of farting. It was a dilemma, because the soup needed a little extra kick. I tried a dollop.

The dilemma.

Oh, my word. It was wonderful. The more I put in, the better the soup tasted. Eventually I caved and used it all. Clearly it was a key ingredient, albeit one served on the side, making it optional.

Seriously. This was the missing piece.

I guess the sun has set on my sour-cream skepticism.

Ironwork along the street called Bay Terrace, formerly Bay Terrace Avenue, on the way back to the station.

This being a fortnight before Xmas, a Merry was offered and gratefully acknowledged. Second time I’d seen these giant lawn lights.

And I love ’em every time.

During my visit to Great Kills in the previous episode I aspired to walk the peninsula jutting out of Great Kills Park. Access was cut off from that neighborhood, but surely, I thought, the adjacent one would have an entrance. Nope. Looks like there is a well-worn path here, near the bus stop — and that locals have mixed feelings about it also being fenced off, judging from the broken fence. What gives? Is it a public park or not? When is a public park not a public park?

Perhaps a more knowledgable person could explain this in the comments.

I grabbed some texture shots for an unrelated project, getting well-deserved odd looks in the process. This is someone’s concrete driveway.

Project to be announced.

And so ended my trip to Bay Terrace. It was great to have a culinary change of pace from SI’s usual Italian fare, though that will only sharpen my appetite for the tasty pastas and pizzas to come! You know what absence does to the heart. We will continue with the East Shore neighborhood of Oakwood Heights. What will I eat next?

Previously on the Staten Island Restaurant Tour:

Part I: Angelina’s (Tottenville)

Part II: Fina’s Farmhouse (Arthur Kill)

Part III: Laila (Richmond Valley)

Part IV: Il Forno (Pleasant Plains)

Part V: Breaking Bread (Prince’s Bay)

Part VI: Woodrow Diner (Huguenot)

Part VII: Il Sogno (Annadale)

Part VIII: Riva (Eltingville)

Part IX: Marina Cafe (Great Kills)

If you’re enjoying the Staten Island Restaurant Tour, please follow my blog by clicking follow next to my name at the top. Then subscribe to get emails on new episodes. See you soon!