Posts tagged taco

The Tap & Grill Clambar at Rockaway Beach

The weather’s been great for us to check out Rockaway Beach. First stop was to get a beer of course. And that first bar we past was The Tap & Grill. It’s Rockaway’s oldest clambar since 1934. Some cool old pics on their site.

I ordered some fish tacos. Glad I did. The Rockaway Taco line around the corner was nuts. I just want to eat, not buggin out waiting. Fish tacos were great. Fish was like the kind you’d get if you ordered fish & chips. Cod I believe. The ceviche-style salsa punched up the flavor.

Rockaway Beach was cool. Not crowded and stinky like Coney Island and closer than Long Beach. Huge recycle bins you can lock your kid in and a prison-style concrete picnic yard.

Grabbed another beer on the way back to the train at the divier Rockaway Beach Inn. The bartender there said Rockaway Tacos are “out of this world.” I started to regret not trying them.

Everyone was really nice in Rockaway …at both bars. Even the lady wearing double denim (jeans and jacket) with the black eye. I can’t wait to come back.

The Tap & Grill Clambar – 97-20 Rockaway Beach Blvd. Rockaway Beach, NY 11693

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La Norteña Tacos in Greenpoint

After walking out of Manhattan Inn, I was like whoa, Calexico is packed. Ben says it’s like that all the time. So he took me down the block to La Norteña. No one in there. We got carnitas pork, steak and spicy beef tacos. Complimentary chips and salsa in a little piggy bowl. The tacos were good and cheap. Why no one in there? Gringos scared to be gringos? You would think the takeout menu with the picture of the cowgirl & horse would be enough bring in the hipsters. They had me at the horse.

La Norteña – 668 Manhattan Ave (btwn Bedford & Norman) Brooklyn, NY 11222

Oh yeah, check out Ben’s new seafood series, Hook Line & Dinner. It premieres June 7th on the Cooking Channel. That shit’s gonna blow up.

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Brooklyn Taco Company

Went to Brokelyn‘s Spring Gala party last week at Public Assembly. Brooklyn Taco Company set up shop there. I was a little skeptical because it was $4 for one taco and who are these young non-Mexican’s making tacos? …But then I saw that brisket meat stewing in the pot. Dang. It was actually pretty good. I should stop being prejudice against non-Mexican taco makers. It’s racist against hipsters.

Check out brooklyntaco.com to see where they’re serving up.

I walked up behind Ryan when they were giving away the 3-day Greenpoint Coworking office space raffle. I told him I was going to win it. A second later, they called my name. I can’t believe I wasted my visualization on winning more work. Maybe I can food blog it.

Really weird thing happened later. I started talking to this girl who won something right after me. She gave me her card later in the night and I Google image searched her. Oh shit. I came up as the first image and I was wearing a fake stache from a year ago. I don’t know what to do. I’m hesitant to email her about it, because I’d be admitting to Internet stalking. But I guess I just did.

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Choza Taqueria

One of the first nice days out in a while, Anthony and I got some tacos and a burrito bowl from Choza Taqueria and sat in Madison Square Park. I want to say Choza is like a smaller Chipotle. Similar prices, but taste is more simple and fresh. I think getting the burrito bowl is the way to go. I think you get a lot more food in that bowl than the three tacos. I was stuffed.

I like how they have Cholula brand hot sauce packets. Every place should have hot sauce packets, but not like Taco Bell packets.

It was a beautiful lunch day in the park. I made eye contact with a really hot girl from afar while eating my burrito bowl. She ended up sitting right behind us on the statue steps. Her legs were pretty much in my Horchata …which was very cinnamon-y. I didn’t know what to do, so I talked loudly to Anthony about Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville Bar & Grill in Orlando. I said they should serve a buffet in there. I wish she laughed.

Choza Taqueria – 66 Madison Ave (btwn 27th & 28th St) New York, NY 10016

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Tacos Morelos Food Cart

Dang. Good taco cart in the East Village across from Bar 2A. Went to two birthday parties there this week. A good opportunity to get a taco.

The cook told me the Barbacoa goat taco was the one to get. I liked it. $2.50. Tender shredded meat. Juices dripping all over my fingers.

Also tried a Tlacoyas. Never heard of this before. Looks like a vegetarian Huarache with beans, sour cream, onions and red & green spicy sauce $2.50. Not bad. I think some of that Barbacoa on it would make it even better. But maybe that makes it a Huarache?

Tacos Morelos cart – Northwest corner of E 2nd St and Ave A. New York City

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Taco Cart on 6th Ave Btwn 29th & 28th St

Had my first taste of this taco cart last week. One Pork (carnitas) Taco $2.50. One Pork Gordita ($3). Tiny cook standing on a block. Nothing else much to say, except really solid.

East Side of 6th Ave (between W 29th & 28th St) NYC 10001

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Meeting Ramen & Friend’s Baby Cormac

We went out to see Ramen & Friends Yoshie & Rob’s new baby Cormac. He’s a little one. He sure likes to watch TV. Apparently he likes True Blood and White Chicks. I can’t wait until we food blog with him.

jotu cormac Meeting Ramen & Friends Baby Cormac

Sam, Laura and I stopped for tacos on the way out at California Taqueria. The sign says it’s been open for 20 years (since 1990). I keep thinking we’re still in the 90′s. Shit, I’m old. I got what I expected in the combination platter …a pile of slop. Sam noticed it weighed about half of baby Cormac. The food needs a lot of hot sauce to make it taste good. Luckily they have several kinds. Also Sam got to try his first TAB soda. TAB? We sure it still ain’t the 90′s?

I then ran over to Brooklyn Bowl to catch my friends Brendan and Jackson of the Playboys of the Western World, covering a bunch of yacht rock songs (Michael McDonald, Toto, Christopher Cross). I blown away. They’re twins, but one is playing leftie and the other rightie guitar. Then they’d rip the same identical Steely Dan lick. It was like there was a trippy mirror between them. Interestingly, I came back to Brooklyn Bowl the next night to see my friends in Class Actress. Sexy. And Chairlift played later, who have that iPod commercial. They were good, but outside of that one iPod song, they reminded me of Avatar.

Original California Taqueria – 187 Court St (btwn Congress St & Wyckoff St) Brooklyn, NY 11201

Jason Lam meets Baby Cormac

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Spanish Harlem Taco Adventure

I met up with Jessica in East Harlem for some food. My first time in the area. There’s so many sidewalk vendors selling out of shopping carts, granny carts and trash bags. It was rad. It was so hot outside, I cooled myself off with a brown drink from one of the large jars many of the vendors had. I don’t know why I thought brown would be refreshing, but it was. It was tamarind.

We got $2 tacos at Taco Mix, which Google Maps incorrectly labeled as “closed”. Good thing I just got my new Virgin Mobile touch phone that told me where things are. I got unlost twice that day. Before, I would just get lost and go home. BTW, only $25/month for unlimited texting, internet, google maps and 300mins. FTW! Anyway, I’ve never seen Al Pastor on a spit and so orange. Next to it was a pile of boiled pigs ear. Had to get one each. The pig ear taco was crunchy.

05 Cooking Meats at Taco Mix Restaurant Spanish Harlem Taco Adventure

Then on the same block, we had a pupusa from a sidewalk vendor who had their own griddle. The lady stuffed it with lettuce, cheese, crema and paste made of chicharrón (fried pork skin). The chicharrón really got stuck in our teeth.

From another sidewalk vendor, a lady making cups of slushee/shaved ice, shaving it by hand from a large block of ice. We asked what the flavors were. She said “blue.” We got a blue and a mango. Very sweet. Blue really did taste like what you think blue tastes like.

I noticed a bunch of hot models coming out of the apartment building next to Taco Mix. I don’t understand how they can stay so skinny with what’s right outside their front door. I wonder if they like blue flavor.

Taco Mix – 234 E 116th St (East Harlem) New York, NY 10029

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