Staten Island Restaurant Tour, Part XXI: Chang Noi Thai (St. George)

Between the St. George Ferry Terminal and the North Shore Waterfront Esplanade Park.

Would it be reasonable to assume that St. George, the Staten Island neighborhood where the ferry meets the train, was named after the saint who slew the dragon?

Portrait of St. George the Dragon Slayer, by Raphael, at The Louvre.

Or perhaps after the patron saint of England, a Roman soldier, trophy bearer, and early Christian martyr executed in 303 AD by the Roman Emperor Diocletian for refusing to bend the knee to pagan gods? That St. George’s annual feast day is April 23, only a few weeks after I banged out these words.

Possibly an Albanian portrait of St. George the Trophy Bearer.

The truth is more prosaic: Staten Island’s St. George is a nickname given by one real estate developer to another in exchange for giving up the land on which the St. George Ferry Terminal opened in 1886. According to historian Carlotta DeFillo of Historic Richmondtown — covered in the Oakwood Heights episode— Erastus Wiman told George Law: “I will canonize you, George, if you will sell me that land.”

“Saint” George Law.

Law sold the land, and the neighborhood formerly known as New Brighton — part of which, to the west, still wears that name — became known as St. George. While Law never slew a dragon, he rose from stonemason to railroad and steamship magnate. He built the High Bridge over the Harlem River between Manhattan and the Bronx, just south of the George Washington Bridge — here is an old colorized print with the original stone arches. So “St. George” has won his place fair and square in the history of both islands, Staten and Manhattan.

High Bridge from Manhattan to the Bronx.

St. George was successively occupied by Lenape Native Americans, Dutch, French, and the British, who quartered their German mercenaries there during the American Revolution. Since then it has seen successive building booms and busts, punctuated by the Panics of 1837 and 1873, as well as one successful terrorist attack, the 1858 arson of the Quarantine hospital complex (where victims of Yellow Fever and other diseases were confined before the discovery of antibiotics).

Image courtesy of The Whaling Museum & Education Center.

Real estate developers aren’t what they used to be. Their most prominent contribution to present-day St. George, where many Staten Islanders transfer from transit to boat, is a half occupied, money losing boondoggle called Empire Outlets. It was started in 2015, opened in 2019, went into foreclosure in 2022, and was picked up at a fire sale by Goldman Sachs in 2023. I wish I had taken a picture of the area when I passed through it for concerts at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center in previous years, before they ruined the view of the Kill Van Kull entering Upper New York Bay.

The skies darkened in displeasure as I took this picture. God is on my side.

Even so, although the opening of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 1964 shifted much of the island’s population south of the expressway, the North Shore does have its share of spacious homes for two families.

Or perhaps one very lucky family.

If you’d prefer apartment living, consider the Ambassador, with its gorgeous Art Deco facade. Former tenants include Paul Newman and Martin Sheen, whose son Emilio Estevez was born in the building. His role in the Alex Cox film Repo Man was a touchstone of my gloomy young adulthood in the 1980s, a time so far away, I now feel compelled to put a 19- in front of the -80s.

The Ambassador, on Daniel Low Terrace.

The housing stock includes numerous historic neoclassical buildings as well as the low-rise project Richmond Gardens. It went up in 1984, so it still should be in its prime, but reportedly it is having a rat problem.

Richmond Gardens, on Jersey Street.

Today’s dining destination was around the corner from the Empire Outlet Mall, the first and, one hopes, the last of its kind in New York City. As I turned to go up Wall Street (the SI version), a tasting-menu version of the Manhattan skyline was behind me. Presumably, before the mall, pedestrians on the downward slope leading to the ferry would have enjoyed a sweeping view of the harbor.

Instead of this.

The restaurant was located in a corner of St. George Court, which dates from a time when developers would develop, rather than blight, the city. Nice arched doorway for the apartment dwellers. The landlord gets into the spirit of things too, with a soothing two-tone yellow and grey color scheme that brightens the tenement block.

Restaurant at far left.

And here we are, as Stephen Sondheim might say: at Chang Noi Thai, one of two Thai restaurants in St. George. I hope to check out the other one and did quickly return to try the Turkish place across the street (see below).

Sorry about the blue obstruction. Someone’s having issues with his masculinity.

The chicken satay appetizer was yellowed with curry. The peanut sauce was nice and sweet and the accompaniment of diced veg in vinegar was a nice balancing touch.

Color and flavor, a great combination.

My noodle dish was one I hadn’t had before: gua kai, with succulent “mock duck” (tofu) as well as flat rice noodles, egg, romaine, scallions, and a touch of kale. The online menu also mentions bean sprouts, though it does not mention the two green ingredients.

Hey, recipes evolve.

While waiting for the food, I spread out my tourist treasures on the table. I had been visiting the island for several months, hitting restaurants along every rail stop, and this would be the last phase of that part of the Tour. I commemorated the occasion by purchasing a couple of $6 souvenirs for the fridge. On the NY State magnet left to right there’s the Chrysler Building, the Citicorp (now Citigroup) Tower, the Freedom Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and the Empire State Building, with a standalone version of the ESB at right.

Nice heavy cast aluminum, not ceramic or plastic.

At the shop where I bought them, people were posing for shots in front of the giant Lady Liberty in front. Throughout this project I have tried to get into the same spirit, to see the city through the hopeful eyes of visitors, so that their New York experience would become part of mine.

People take pictures of each other, as Ray Davies would say.

The Turkish restaurant across the street, which I could see from my table, was the estimable Mavi Cafe.

With nice detailing (gothic or moorish?) above the awning.

The falafel side, which I had as an app, came with a dollop of hummus.

Plus lemon mayo dipping sauce on the side.

I chose the Turkish bread option for my delicious chicken gyro, and yes, those are fried potatoes sticking out the side. The thin-sliced chicken was subtly spiced and came with a yogurt sauce that resembled Greek tzatziki and a hot sauce that had more flavor notes than you’d expect. In addition to the hot it was also somewhat herbal. Delightful.

It disappeared fast.

As I walked down the hill toward the ferry terminal, past the outlet obstruction, or should I call it the boondoggle blight, the weather had brightened.

Freedom Tower at far left.

There are actually two ferries leaving from St. George: the Staten Island Ferry, plus a newer one, the NYC Ferry, a municipal operation that runs 38 vessels on 6 routes from 25 piers in all 5 boroughs. I saw the dock for the latter, and though I had no need to take the boat, I did want to see what this pier would do for my view of the harbor.

When the sun comes out, so does my shadow.

I took a long walk down a short pier, as I’m sure the geniuses behind the Empire Mall would like me to do, though I managed not to fall in. Sorry.

Study of photojournalist approaching nifty new ferry pier.

The sea was angry that day, my friends, jostling the rubber bumpers that keep the ferry from pounding the dock. The city had been experiencing high winds. Just a few days earlier I wouldn’t have been bold enough to go out on the water, if the ferries had been running at all.

Choppy waters, through the glass, brightly.

But the view! Well, it speaks for itself, doesn’t it? There is the Freedom Tower, not on a fridge magnet but the real thing, a symbol of New York’s inexhaustible capacity, expressed over four centuries of history, to recover from one wrenching tragedy after another to soar bolder and higher than ever.

To boldly go.

And here, at the ferry landing not disfigured by a bad version of a suburban shopping mall, is where you get the best view of it. Shot with the Pixel 7a, BTW. The Samsung A14 was at home charging, but somehow the Pixel’s more natural color suited the occasion.

If only users of the regular ferry could (still) get as good a view.

As I entered the main ferry terminal, an electric jazz guitarist was playing “It’s a Wonderful World.” That often sums up my mood after these trips, as I wait for the boat with full tum. I often wonder how I got to be the lucky guy, living this idyllic urban life, with a great city at my feet, a place that people dream their whole lives of visiting.

St. George Ferry Terminal.

I’ve been thinking that I’ve got to start carrying coins or small bills again so that I can reward musicians. They are the only people I am willing to give money to on the street or in the transit system.

I hope this tribute will be enough for today.

And so ends the first “season” of the Staten Island Restaurant Tour. Starting with the next “episode,” I will be depending less on the MTA train and more on MTA buses. I am sure the drivers will serve me well and I’ll get to see different parts of the island, mostly on the North Shore, from a different vantage point, the street as opposed to the tracks. Stay tuned!

Epic weather means epic views, even inside the ferry.

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)

Part X: Do Eat (Bay Terrace)

Part XI: Canlon’s (Oakwood Heights)

Part XII: Prince Tea House (New Dorp)

Part XIII: Inca’s Peruvian Grille (Grant City)

Part XIV: Colonnade Diner (Jefferson Avenue)

Part XV: Baci (Dongan Hills)

Part XVI: Chinar on the Island (Old Town)

Part XVII: Cinco de Mayo (Grasmere)

Part XVIII: Phil-Am Kusina (Clifton)

Part XIX: Lakruwana (Stapleton)

Part XX: Pier 76 (Tompkinsville)

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