BarryK

Taking daughter to JFK this afternoon and thought we'd stop for dinner to avoid the worst of rush hour on the way home to Phila area.

Can anyone suggest a good diner, or perhaps some ethnic food (Indian, Thai, Chinese) near JFK or not far off an exit west on the Belt Pkwy?

Thanks.

mclaurie

The area immediately around JFK and due west is not very good for dining. There are some places in Nassau county (just east of JFK) but you'd be heading in the wrong direction.

I'm not that up on Brooklyn, but looking at a map, the logical options would be Sheepshead Bay or Brighton Beach both just off the Belt. But if it's already rush hour, even getting that far may be difficult.

Brighton Beach is a Russian area and has some good restaurants. Primorski is one famous place that's supposed to be good. In Sheepshead Bay, I had a read on Chowhound and some places that were mentioned are Yasiou or Yasou (Greek/fish), XO (Russian owned French creperie), Limon (seafood), and Sarai (Russian). I think all these Sheepshead Bay places are on Emmons Ave.

laurieb_nyny

I am sure if you head west on the Belt & then South on Cross Bay Blvd (Howard Beach area), you can find a restaurant/diner that appeals to you. I don't have a specific recommendation though. 10 minutes from JFK with no traffic.

basingstoke2

You could also go east on Rockaway Blvd that runs alongside JFK. Sherwood diner will be about 2 miles on your right and it is a good classic diner.

Driving to the Phila area you will most likely be taking the Belt. I second the idea to take a slight detour off the belt to Brighton Beach and Little Odessa. Everything is under the El and depending on time of day, you can take a nice stroll on the boardwalk. There are a number of good Russian restaurants there and the neighborhood is a hoot.

BarryK

Thanks for the replies. Timing worked out well. We left JFK about 4:40 and got to the Knapp St exit about 5 PM, just in time to get off before the big traffic mess. We parked near Emmons and Ocean Aves and walked around a bit. After looking at a few menus, my wife decided she wanted a diner, so we ended up at El Greco diner, on Emmons a couple of blocks west of Lundy's. It was very good. Left there about 6:45 and hit no traffic the rest of the way.

Daughter is coming back in about 10 days. We don't want to do the round trip again so soon, so time to look for alternatives like an airport limo service...