Brooklyn -
Brighton Beach East along the boardwalk from Coney Island, at Brooklyn's southernmost
end, lies Brighton Beach, once an affluent seaside resort complete with
a racetrack, casino and major hotel
East along the boardwalk from Coney Island, at Brooklyn's southernmost
end, lies Brighton Beach, once an affluent seaside resort
complete with a racetrack, casino and major hotel. Today, the largely
residential neighborhood is often referred to as "Little Odessa" (the
film of the same name was set here), and is home to the country's
largest community of Russian émigrés, who arrived in the 1970s following
a relaxation of emigration restrictions on Soviet citizens entering the
US.
The
main attractions of Brighton Beach are the restaurants, which really
heat up each evening, becoming a near-parody of a rowdy Russian night
out with lots of food, loud live music, lots of glass-clinking and
free-flowing chilled vodka. Guests dress to the nines, and the dancing
girls will have you feeling like you've landed in a foreign Vegas. The
most popular and accessible spots are National, Ocean and
Odessa
, all on Brighton Beach Avenue at 273, 1029, and 1113, respectively.