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!

Senõr Veggie: Vegan in San Antonio, TX

So, our second stop in San Antonio was the reason for our whole trip. BUT, I'm not ready to share it just yet. In fact, I'm getting verklempt just thinking about it, so I'll skip ahead to our next meal(s): Senõr Veggie.

We were lucky enough to attend an afternoon event catered by Senõr Veggie, so we got to try a host of their extraordinarily fresh and flavorful menu items. Who even remembers what was on the buffet? I do; it's what I do: baba ganoush, hummus, grilled lavash, antipasto, falafel, stuffed grape leaves, and quinoa salad.

But enough about all that savory yum; the baklava was really my main course. It was OUTSTANDING.

We all enjoyed everything so much so that we agreed it was prudent to visit Senõr Veggie in person for dinner that same night.

 

It was a much larger space than I'd anticipated; the atmosphere was friendly, informal, and laid back.

 

 
agua fresca:

Appetizers first:
Lettuce wraps with crispy tofu, veggies, sprouts. The best! Truly succulent tofu paired well with crisp veggies.

Poblano corn fritters with chipotle mayo. In addition to breakfast tacos, fritters were in abundance in Texas.

Sweet potato wedgies with curry ketchup. You can never go wrong with fries.

I couldn't make a dinner decision, so I shared with a pal.
Portabella Fajitas with peppers, onions, brown rice, black beans, tortillas. Smoky!!

Buffalo tofu Po Boy with house mayo, lettuce, pickles, and shoestring fries.

This feast was followed by an extraordinary sadness when we found out they were out of baklava. You'd have thought we'd eaten enough of it earlier in the day, but you can't really define "enough" when it comes to Senõr Veggie baklava.

Later that night we did a little site-seeing on foot.
How can I write about San Antonio without the requisite photo of The Alamo? I can't.

As if the anti-Obama ramblings of the guards weren't cringe-worthy enough, here's Hello Kitty: Texas style that I found in one of the tourist shops down the block.

And this? This is armadillo milk.

Because why shouldn't we find more animals to milk?

Oh, right. Not your mom, not your milk!

This frog with a plant afro more than made up for any unpleasantness. More vegan Texas coming soon!

Twin Sisters: Vegan in San Antonio, TX

So, last year (you read that right) I had the amazing opportunity to visit San Antonio (and Austin), Texas for a very special reason. Because I am a lazy blogger who is consistently behind on things that are very important, I haven't told you about any of it! Since this was our first stop in San Antonio, let's start here with Twin Sisters Bakery & Cafe.

I've never been to Texas before (or since), but I spent so much time thinking about how adamant Susan Sarandon was about bypassing Texas in Thelma & Louise, that I never gave much thought as to what I was most likely to find in the state: breakfast tacos!!!

The (vegan) options were:

tofu chorizo, sweet potato, avocado, brown rice, tofu, black beans, onion, tomatoes, jalapenos, potatoes, peppers, spinach, alfalfa sprouts, mushrooms, garlic, pico de gallo

Because I'd just arrived in Texas I showed some short-lived restraint. I chose what I expected would be two small tacos with two ingredients each, both on a "healthy whole wheat flour taco" and served with complimentary salsa, of course.

The first: the recomended tofu chorizo with avocado. I'm vegan; I don't know what chorizo tastes like, but slap some avocado on just about anything and you've got a winner!

The other: potatoes with jalapenos. Please note that when you order fresh jalapeno in Texas, they are not messing around. This was easily a half of a giant jalapeno: seeds included. This is how you jalapeno, folks. The Northeast could take a lesson!

I'm no slouch in the eating department, but this was a pretty large meal to start the day with. First meal of day one and I was already winning.

If you look closely you might spy some amazing animal activists that might give you a hint as to where I was headed.

So, stay tuned as I pepper my regularly, "scheduled" programming with posts about this exciting trip; you won't want to miss any of it: particularly the denouement.

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