CULTURE & LEISURE • Friday Routine
DUSTIN MACKAY • owner • Coco Boys
Neighborhood you live in: Bed-Stuy
It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
I don’t have a ton of free time these days, but I also LIVE for summer. So on Friday before the big weekend at the shop, I like to wake up extra early, make coffee at home, and read a little in my living room (may mean I’m restarting Moby Dick… yet again). Then my girlfriend and I might hop on our bikes and ride down to Fort Tilden for a quick splash in the surf before I head to Dumbo. Our favorite route takes us through lush trails in Canarsie Park, under the Belt Parkway, and along the scenic Jamaica Bay Greenway.
Any restaurant plans?
Coming back from the beach I might stop off at Lahori Chilli in Kensington for a Pakistani breakfast and Kashmiri chai, or the Park Slope Food Coop (when I’m not suspended) for some cheap sushi, or the Montague Diner if there’s time. After work I like to go to River Deli on Joralemon Street for a Cynar Manhattan and some mussels, or Ferdinando’s Focacceria (which is currently closed) in Carroll Gardens for the pasta con sarde and a glass of red. Then Montero Bar & Grill for a nightcap!
How about a little leisure or culture?
It’s summertime now, so most of my plans revolve around the ocean, or at least take place very near it. This includes trips to Coney Island to ride the Cyclone rand get our picture taken. Also Brooklyn Cyclones games with the whole crew — one of those big group ticket package deals where everybody gets hats! Dinner and a floor show at Tatiana Restaurant in Brighton Beach — singing, dancing, magic.
Any weekend getaways?
Every July, my girlfriend and I squeeze in a woefully brief trip to Maine to see family and friends. We bring our bikes on the Portsmouth, New Hampshire-bound C&J bus. From there we ride into Maine on back roads that hug the coast, passing through quaint vacation towns until we reach our friends’ cottage in Ogunquit. Then it’s bodysurfing, sandcastles, and tinfoil turkey sandwiches by day, and backyard barbecues, karaoke, and mosquito bites by night.
What was your last great vacation?
I can’t stop going to Thailand. Ever since I lived there 10 years ago I just keep going back. My most recent trip was particularly special. I spent the better part of a week hanging out in coconut-growing communities in Samut Songkhram province, learning about various stages of coconut production and processing. If you are in Bangkok and a little coco-curious, the family-run Coconut Sugar House (an hour and a half from the city by car) is a great place to start. You can tour their plantation and watch them cook coconut palm sap into bricks of gooey brown sugar, and they even sell coconut wine. At least they did to me.
What was your last great vacation?
The only fairly large purchase I’ve made recently that wasn’t work-related is a new Audio-Technica turntable and speakers. I still have hundreds of records that I collected back in college, but for many years I’ve had no way to play them. The Boss, D’Angelo, and Busta Rhymes are on heavy rotation in my house this summer!
What product or service do you always recommend?
I love going for a nice long shvitz from time to time. For years I favored the Russian & Turkish Baths on East 10th Street but more recently I’ve been enjoying the Wall St Bath & Spa 88, especially on a rainy day when I don’t feel like I’m missing anything outside. I like to sit by the subterranean pool with a book and spend the whole afternoon lounging around.