A few weeks ago someone sent me a photo similar to this one with the message: “next blog post!” I liked what I saw: a rustic, white, handmade wood sign with the paint peeling off spelling: TACOS. Being told I’d “fall in love” with this place, I decided to pay it a visit.
A friend and I hit Rockaway Beach looking for a break from the city. 90 minutes from Manhattan by train, Rockaway Beach lays on a strip of land that extends from the southern point of Queens referred to as The Rockaways or Rockaway Peninsula. It has gradually become a popular spot for hipsters, artists, skaters, and surfers – those who want to hit the beach, yet are not into the ostentatious vibe at the Hamptons or the family environment at Jones Beach. No white sand or crystalline waters here – only an unpretentious escape from the craziness in Manhattan.
Around 10 years ago, hard-core surfers came to Rockaway in the search of some waves, risking getting fined for paddling into the water since surfing was illegal in the area back then. At that point in time, Rockaway was only a gritty and even shady town, home to bungalows and public housing; the beach is nothing special – it is well kept and the water is clean – very similar to what Venice Beach, CA was years before it became what it is today. Over the years, Rockaway Beach has increasingly become popular – so much so that it wouldn’t surprise me if in another decade or less we have our own version of Venice Beach here in New York – a hipster/artistic epicenter home to surf shops + iconic food establishments like Caracas Arepas Bar, Meat Hook, Roberta’s and Blue Bottle Café, to name a few.
After spending 4 hours in the 90-something degree heat, my friend and I went looking for Rockaway Taco. Little did I know I was in for a surprise. Here in the middle of this lazy beach town, was this picturesque gem – a corner with a farmers market, an Italian shaved ice spot and a Rockaway Taco.
Rockaway Taco is basically a beach shack constructed with rustic wood, where a huge line of people waiting to eat a fish taco forms around the corner. A thought instantly came to mind: you could have literally picked this place up from Puerto Escondido (a hot surf spot in Mexico) and brought it here. The laid-back, tropical beach town feel of the place is created by every tiny detail: the open kitchen, friendly staff, hand-painted signs and benches, broken surfboards, chalkboard menu and bags of {cacahuates} and {pepitas} hanging from clothespins on a rope, and of course, the food.
The fish tacos served with guacamole, radish and cabbage were very good, objectively speaking, although I am not a personal fan of mayo (and they had quite a lot of it). The meat tacos were good as well, but the definite winners were the bean-cheese-plantain tacos – referred to as “quesadillas” at Rockaway Taco. Beans + cheese + plantain: 3 basic ingredients from Latin American cuisine, yet I’d never had them in a taco together and I can tell you, I’d been missing out. Then to really transport you to a beach town in Mexico there’s the watermelon {jugo}, Jarritos sodas, and the little bag of jicama cucumber and mango with lime and {chile piquin}, a classic Mexican snack. Top this amazing meal off with an Italian shaved ice from DisCosmo’s next door and you’re more than good to go – the grapefruit shaved ice tastes literally like you’re biting into an actual piece of fruit.
One of my dreams is to someday have an orchard in my own backyard – grow fresh herbs, tomatoes, and whatever I can put my hands on, and use these ingredients in my family’s daily meals, so I was naturally drawn to produce growing in plastic buckets, bins + all sorts of containers at Rockaway Taco – on the roof, the floor and even hanging from the fence. David Selig, owner of Rockaway Taco and DiCosmo’s, Ñ, a tapas bar in Manhattan, Rice, an Asian fusion spot (which is now closed) mentioned he would love to grow enough fresh produce to use at Rockaway Taco and make it self-sustaining, but weather + other factors don’t help much, so they actually use it to cook a daily meal for the “Rockaway family.”
David and his business partner, Andrew Field (who lived in Mexico for a few years), now own the concession to all the food stands on the boardwalk, and they have decided to create a foodie paradise, partnering with Motorboat & the Big Banana (created by the owners of Vinegar Hill House), La Newyorkina, Thai Rocks, Baby Cakes, among others. So if the beach is not enough to get you out of the city to Rockaway Beach, maybe the fantastic food here will.
