Traveling on an Empty Stomachs

El hambre es el mejor salsa. Hunger is the best sauce.

– Miguel Cervantes

ROCKAWAY TACO – Rockaway Beach, NY

Let’s just say I could have done a bit better at acquiring directions…but my head and belly was telling me one thing only – TAKE ME TO TACO! After an early morning at the gym and very little breakfast, Jonathan and I decided to get ourselves together for a last-minute beach trip. Just as we were packing I remembered my prior quest for tacos that turned into a major failure. So this time, hoping to not repeat myself and armed with my trusty iPhone, I yelped Rockaway Taco and got the address to the main ‘shack’.

The last adventure ended with me quite disappointed at the Rockaway Taco concession on the boardwalk – I stood there completely defeated when I found out that they don’t serve tacos at that location. I was angered to say the least – once tacos are in my head nothing else matters. I really wanted to challenge the cashier about the name of the joint and ask why on earth is ‘taco’ in their name if they don’t sell them…needless to say, I stuck a tostada in mouth and got over it. This time I had the address of their main outpost and hopped on the A train ready to daydream about tacos on the beach. And then failure numero dos happened…

An hour or more passed and we had left the big city behind us for some sunshine and waves. We made our way down from the subway and I pulled up the Yelp address for Rockaway Taco and $%@ ^#$%^ *&^$! Yelp – you failed me once again. No tacos in sight. In fact, not much of anything in sight except a lonely beach and an empty boardwalk. Thirty-six starving blocks away. If Jonathan could shoot killer laser beams from his eyes then I would have sizzled away after about two steps into telling him I had (Yelp’s fault mind you) the wrong address.

So what did we do? We walked the thirty-six blocks in mind altering hunger and 95 degree weather for some damn tacos! We eventually made it to the right beach and in close proximity of tacos – with noticeable six packs…sadly, not because of the gym but lack of nourishment and unnatural amounts of sweat seeping out of our bodies.

There at last! Normally, I would have been annoyed at a place that has a line down and around the block but after this hot adventure there was no way I was going to miss out once again. So we wait, and wait, and wait…and YUM! Taco belly filled and ready to lay in the sand exhausted and happy!

Here’s what we devoured in a matter of minutes:

Fish Taco = A+ (warm flaky tilapia covered in cabbage, radishes, guacamole, and even more goodness!)

Black Bean Tostada = A- (crunchy tortilla with layers of beans, cheese, guacamole, cabbage and salsa on top)

Flauntas con Papas y Chorizo = B (crunchy on the outside, smoky and starchy on the inside)

Bean, Cheese & Plantain Taco = C+ (description is exactly like the title – yet just didn’t taste as good as it sounded)

Super tasty, better than most, Fish Taco… but even better because you can scarf it down a hundred yards away on the beach!

Black Bean, Cheese & Plantain Taco – good, but nothing to write home about…

Verdict ~ don’t forget your SPF! This little hip shack, attracting people from afar, is serving up some damn good fish tacos. What else goes better with the beach? My only argument – Coronas?! However, if you are making your way to this side of Queens for tacos only – then you’ve gone way too far on that A train. It’s good, but in my opinion – not worthy of a solo trip. Keep in mind though, if I happen to be enjoying some sunshine at Rockaway Beach, I can promise you I will be right there in line with everyone else. Where you find good tacos – you find me!