Vegan Rockaway Redux

You might recall that I visited Rockaway for the first time last year and ate all the vegan foodz. I found myself there again recently for a friend's birthday celebration and I have even more to report. The boardwalk was back and so was I!!

First we went to Caracas Arepa Bar. I've never been to their locations in Manhattan or Brooklyn and I now see the error of my ways.

We all ordered the Super V: black beans, sweat plantains, avocado, jalapeno. The flavor, texture, and temperature combination makes for a most glorious mouthful.

 

One friend ordered the cocada: coconut milkshake with a touch of cinnamon and I couldn't help but to be a copycat. Excellent decision on my part.

For dinner we went to Tacoway Beach- formerly Rockaway Tacos, now housed within the Rockaway Beach Surf Club and run by one of the original co-owners.

 

The menu remains vegan friendly with some of the best prepared tofu I've ever had. So good that while last year I'd tried one bean taco and one tofu taco, this year it was all about the tofu tacos with guacamole (hold the cilantro): no regrets!

 

I also ordered the plantain chips with salsa. The "salsa" was more of a sauce whose origin I couldn't quite put my finger on, but the chips were really great.

 

Even though it had been a dreary day, we got to sit in the outdoor section. Our large group was able to snag the premier table because it was relatively early; usually it's packed.

Altogether with watermelon juice.

 

Finally, cookie cake from Erin McKenna's bakery imported (from Manhattan) for the birthday girl:

 

By the way, how great is this carrot billboard? I always say, there's nothing like a convenient vegetable.

There's still plenty of summer left, so get to Rockaway if you can!

Kale Salad Saves the Fried Oreo Day at Champ's in Rockaway

As you'll probably recall, I visited some friends in Rockaway recently.  As a result of careful planning It just so happened that my visit coincided with one of the weekends that Champ's had set up shop.  Yep, that Champ's!!!

Nestled amongst standard beach fare [UPDATE: in reality I had no idea what else there was; I only had eyes for Champ's.  It's been brought to my attention that there was actually vegan-friendly Uzbek food, so I stand corrected.] at the Beach 97th concessions was vegan, cruelty-free Champ's doing what they do best: making mouths happy.

 

 Check out their beachy menu!  The only thing missing was fried oreos.

The whole set-up was adorably and indisputably Champs-y.

 

I went a little crazy: pineapple sweet tea, waffle fries, and a corn dog, but I wouldn't change a thing.

 

 I was AT THE BEACH!

 

Truth be told, I wouldn't pass up a vegan corn dog anywhere.

 

My friends had already visited them a couple of times already, so they handled their own orders with a little more restraint than I did.  Theirs:

The beach slaw veggie burger with added roasted pineapple (and shared waffle fries because I do share sometimes [UPDATE: I've been informed that these fries actually came with, but I've received confirmation that I did also share my order of fries, so I'm not a liar!]).

Double jalapeno veggie dog with non-blogger applied ketchup.

And, well, there's no way around this: kale salad.  I love kale as much as the next person, but even I was perplexed.  You might be thinking that ordering a kale salad at the beach is a sucker move.  Normally I'd agree with you.  BUT, the recipient of said kale salad went on to redeem herself in no uncertain terms, so forgive her momentarily as you await the story of her redemption.

This is where we enjoyed our Brooklyn grub freshly prepared in Rockaway.

A very tired, sleepy, salty dog alternated using each of our legs for pillows.

We were having a great time, but I couldn't let it go.  Although we were all full, I couldn't stop thinking about the fried oreos.  My pals had enjoyed them just the week before and I thought it was a given.  But, this week, by the time we got there, Champ's had sold out and had depleted their back stock of oreos.  WAAAAAH!  But, we could not be defeated.  All we needed was oreos and this is America; you're never far from oreos!  Kale-salad-at-the-beach easily confirmed that they did, indeed, have the batter.  So, we journeyed to the nearest bodega (a matter of blocks) and KSATB filled a bag with un-fried oreos that we then delivered to Champ's...

 

 ...in exchange for fried oreos; it was a victory of epic proportions!

 

Imagine the pride we felt when "fried oreos" were added back to the chalk menu because of one girl and a dream.

 

They were just as I'd remembered: imagine a funnel cake pocket...

 

...filled with melty, sweet, oreo goodness.

 

Know that if you partook of fried oreos at Rockaway Champ's a couple of weeks ago, it was probably due in no small part to my friend: none other than kale-salad-at-the-beach, who can now add this to her list of varied and impressive lifetime accomplishments.

Note: we also asked Champ's to deep fry some peanut chews for us.

That didn't work out so well.

Definitely stick with the oreos, which are ironically listed under the kale salad.

PS: while in Rockaway we also visited Fort Tilden for the MOMA PS1 "Rockaway!" exhibit.

Rockaway!

89's first time on the sand

UPDATE: my content editor and host sent me the fabbest photo of 89 at the Patti Smith installation!

absorbing the culture

89's so glad she's wearing protective footwear

We had a great day- even passed an 89 Street!

It was exhausting (did I mention 89 threw in the towel during our Ft. Tilden walk and needed to be carried?), but exhilarating and we had a great time.  Yes, all one day.

heading home

Kindly reserve your horrified comments about my having indulged in both Champ's and Rockaway Taco in the same 24 hour period; I feel guilty enough (no I don't).

Rock, Rock, Rockaway Taco

I'm not really a beach person, so Rockaway was never on my radar until I started hearing rumors about the stupendous vegan-friendliness of Rockaway Taco.  Beach?  Meh.  Tacos?  Yes, please!

In fact, when a new friend mentioned he lived in Rockaway, one of the first things I asked was if I could visit for tacos.  True story.

And then it happened.

In my mind, Rockaway Taco was a clapboard building built directly on the beach (as I said, I'm not a beach person).  Luckily, in reality it's a few blocks further inland.

gracious pals

As promised, there were a lot of veganizable options.

89-approved!

I started off with a watermelon juice because A) it's my fave and B) it's hella expensive in Manhattan.

My pals went for the pineapple mint (note: the cups were served full, I was just late taking the photo).

Because there were so many choices I did a "I'll have what she's having." Pictured here are a black bean taco and a tofu taco: both with added guacamole.  They come with purple cabbage and radishes, which really hit the perfect notes of fresh crunch paired with the soft tortillas and savory fillings.  The spicy pickled onions on the side were added from their complimentary condiment bar where you can also add a brown sauce that I assumed was mole and in which I did not partake.  Be aware that the tacos are in a state of slight disarray here only because I forgot to say no cilantro and had to scrape it off before capturing the meal for all eternity.

I had the black bean taco first and it reminded me of creamy, refried black beans: very good.  However, the tofu taco was so stupendous that I think I'd go all tofu next time.  Check it out: pressed and marinated for the win.

We also shared an order of sweet plantains which I'm told aren't usually this well done.  However, we all really liked them this way and agreed we'd order them well-done on future visits.  They were the best I've ever had- by a mile; crisp on the outside and sweet, melt-in-your-mouth on the inside.

FYI: there's no indoor seating at Rockaway Taco, so you can sit at picnic tables across the street to enjoy your delicious grub.

Animal-friendly decor in the picnic area: "Sharks need their fins more than you."

By the time we left the line was down the block and around the corner, which I'm told is normal and I'm not in the least bit surprised; everything was ridiculously good.  Rockaway Taco is a MUST-VISIT for sure and would be particularly ideal for anyone embarking on a taco cleanse.

no dog tacos, I'm afraid