La Cabaña Peruana

PERÚ 🇵🇪

Most outsiders who come on day trips to the beaches of the Rockaways do not have much sense of the demographics or lay of the land in various neighborhoods, but there is plenty to explore north of the boardwalk. There are pockets of urban New York City from Belle Harbor to Far Rockaway, where besides the salt in the air you would never know a beach was nearby.

The pocket of commercial businesses in the neighborhood called Rockaway Beach is one of the largest west of Far Rockaway, stretching from Beach 86th Street down to Beach 102nd and encompassing one of the major vehicular entry points from Cross Bay Blvd. Beloved Dominican restaurants like Brisas Del Mar are found in this area, as well as this Peruvian favorite. Most beachgoers from other parts of the city stick to their own coolers and some of the expensive hipster-leaning summer stalls, but better food is on these urban streets where Rockaway residents eat.

One afternoon's "fresh catch"

La Cabaña Peruana advertises itself as a pollos a la brasa restaurant, and on any given day you are likely to find most if not every booth lining the bright orange walls full of folks tearing into this rotisserie chicken with glee. The rest of the menu spans the usual back and forth between chifa, or Peruvian-inspired Chinese, and plenty of seafood dishes.

Various forms of chicken, ready to be eaten by hand, work well around the world for beach food, but the mood on this particular day was for some of this seafood on offer.

It is always a bit of a risk in New York City and along the east coast to order shrimp dishes, but the big, high grade juicy shrimp used here in the ceviche de camarones ($16, above) warranted the relatively high price for a modestly sized dish. These are worth it by leaps and bounds, as is the slightly spicy marinade.

The pickled onions that are an instrumental part of this mix also come in a side dish to add more if necessary. It is served with a couple sweet potatoes and a good portion of hominy which has also been soaked in the same sauces.

The pickled onions and tomatoes also go well on top of the jalea personal ($18, above and below), the ultimate Peruvian bar food that does well to make your beach blanket heaven. Coming in two sizes, the "personal" is the small but was massive enough to fill two plates when transferred from its to go container.

The offerings in this dish included shrimp, squid, meaty hunks of whitefish, one large clam, and some strips of yuca, all fried. It should be stated that the batter here could win awards for not only being light and airy but delicious enough that nothing extra is requisite. But two containers of the yellow pepper wondersauce Peruvians call aji amarillo is included in the bag and should not be skipped for a real kick in the teeth. The onion, tomato, and cilantro topping also adds just the right amount of tartness to balance all the necessary flavors.

This is a dish that is always taken seriously by Peruvians, and the love from this small kitchen on a stretch of Rockaway Beach Blvd. is no different. Sitting here in the sun enjoying the last scraps until almost popping, it was tough to imagine how the chicken at La Cabaña seemed to be even more beloved than this by those customers dining inside.

For a next visit, both might be in order. When you have this little secret of Rockaway dining next time you come for a daytrip, you can snicker at all the folks eating overpriced burgers, burritos, and arepas.

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ROCKAWAY BEACH Queens
91-17 Rockaway Beach Blvd

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Kopernik Polish Deli

POLAND 🇵🇱

The neighborhood of Rockaway Park is always spoken of as heavily Irish, but a walk down the two blocks of Beach 116th Street, the main commercial drag in the area, does not give this away. It has the feel of any random neighborhood in Brooklyn, Queens, or the Bronx with takeout Chinese and sushi joints, a red sauce Italian restaurant, pizzeria, some clothing stores, and yes one Irish pub. To get a better sense of the Irish community here, come on the day of the Queens St. Patrick's Day Parade, the second largest in New York City.

Amidst all of this, and just off of Beach 116th Street is a small and modern looking Polish deli by the name of Kopernik. This address has been home to a Polish deli for the better part of ten years, but this iteration is less than two years old. It does not seem like much on first inspection, but it turns out to be the perfect place to pick up food for a little picnic on the beach.

On any given day there are always plenty of gołąbki ($3 each, above), and these should not be missed. A solid filling of deliciously spiced minced pork is wrapped in boiled cabbage and can be sliced up easily even without a proper table or cutlery. A whole tray of these is usually available, but do not take too many as they are quite filling.

Instead, grab a cup of chłodnik ($3.99, below) also. This creamy beet soup is meant to be eaten cold and perfect for a hot beach day, nevermind the fact that you only have access to a cooler and not a stove or microwave. This is a staple of humid summers in Poland, immediately transforming your day at the Rockaways into the northern beaches on Baltic Sea shores. The beets, crunchy cucumbers, yogurt, sour cream, and dill all taste so fresh and act as an immediate coolant.

Another perfect score from the daily offerings is pasztet cielęco-wieprzowy (below) sold for $6.50/lb. This is a pork and veal pate or spread that is soft and savory. Unlike some French pâté, it seems lighter and not as liver-forward, allowing you to eat many slices of bread with it. A rack of loaves is there for selection, but the proprietor recommended a white rye bread (chleb zytni) to pair with it perfectly.

There are a few desserts available, but the iconic Polish pączek (below, plural: pączki) is irresistable. Grab one for each person in your group, as the fluffy pastry is hard to share given that the jelly filling never makes its way thoroughly through it and half the fun is finding that perfectly-proportioned bite. Unlike jelly donuts, pączki dough is made with a small amount of grain alcohol that acts to keep any of the deep frying oils from getting to the chewy interior. Chef's kiss.

On weekends the selection is larger, with pierogi and other items available for purchase already cooked. If they do not offer you a side automatically, grab a small container of sour cream and really get in the spirit. Kopernik also has plenty of packaged goods so all your crunchy and sweet beach snack needs can be fulfilled Eastern European style.

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ROCKAWAY PARK Queens
115-07 Rockaway Beach Blvd

Map of Eat the World NYC:

The Cradle NYC

NIGERIA 🇳🇬

One of the main drawbacks of visiting the Rockaways is that the vendors on the beach can sometimes be a bit lacking in terms of flavor and history. Some operations come and go offering hints of countries they may or may not have connections to, but in the end the food has been altered, often intentionally, to cater to the tastes of the weekend crowds arriving on shuttles from Williamsburg. As shown before on these pages, there are good neighborhood options, but sometimes you just want to stroll up shirtless and order some lunch.

Thankfully for all interested, Mr. Babajide Alao, who lives nearby and will introduce himself to you as "Jide" with an ear to ear smile that can almost set the boardwalk on fire, has decided to bring his young catering business to the sea and his brand new food cart, now in its fourth week of operation.

The written menu is limited, and likely to be even more limited as Mr. Alao continues to find his sea legs and figures out what works and what does not, but a couple options for lunch and dinner should always be available. Choose a rice style, a meat, and a side, all for $10.

The combination above included jollof rice, seasoned beef, and fried sweet plantains. On a second trip back to the cart (below), baked seasoned chicken and sweet potatoes were swapped out. His vegan jollof rice had to stay, as it was very tasty. As with this, the chef seems interested in making sure the traditional recipes he knows are kept as healthy as possible. These bowls had no lingering effects nor did they require a 30 minute wait before jumping back in the ocean. West African food that leaves you feeling light as a feather.

On the days with heavier traffic, the chef is also bringing his homemade zobo, a drink made from sorrel and fantastically popular all throughout Nigeria. This is the kind of cool refreshment needed on those summer days.

Best of luck to Chef Alao and his new business!

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ARVERNE BY THE SEA Queens
Rockaway Beach Boardwalk at Beach 73rd Street

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Goody's BBQ Chicken & Ribs

JAMAICA 🇯🇲

Not much can go wrong at Goody's, around since 1989 in Arverne. You can certainly find its fair share of one star reviews posted by disgruntled customers, but it is more than likely no one ever read those and even less likely anything changed. Because why would it need to? The line is out the door but there is a smile on each and every face, even the children in strollers are not fussing. Everyone knows that something delicious is coming their way.

Once you make it past the threshold, there is enough activity and history to keep you occupied for a long time if necessary. The walls are covered with baseball and basketball teams that Goody's has sponsored over the years, and the signs and demeanor look as if not much has changed since the first kids had the name of the place on their jersey. The shirts of the many employees simply state "The best darn BBQ in town," and from the look of things this title will not be contested, at least on this evening.

The exhaust here works just fine, but the air is still under the spell of everything on the grill. Seemingly dozens of chickens are back there being prepared for jerk and barbecue orders. Fat hamburger patties line one side. The grill master constantly squirts a plastic bottle of oil into the coals and makes the flame jump up over a foot past the meat. Just watching all this is enough to whet the appetite but the smells were already hitting you from the sidewalk.

An order that contains more than two items will probably have to be repeated eventually, but the busy folks here do not mind being reminded. Everything about the feeling here is old school and oozing with charm from the hospitality and character.

Get straight to the Jamaican roots of the joint with a small cup of rasta pasta ($3, above), which is covered with a cheesy creaminess that is perfect, all with just a touch of pepper lingering somewhere. Larger portions are great for takeout to the beach, but for meals here it is preferred to order and sit in their covered patio dining area.

The small jerk chicken dinner ($7.50, below) was unavoidable after seeing the birds on the grill. The "small" is of course never small in New York City's Caribbean restaurants, a healthy portion of rice and peas is laid down before five or six pieces of chicken. Oxtail gravy seems to be made in big batches here, as not one customer declines it atop their rice. Follow suit, and do not turn down their fried sweet plantains either.

Somewhat hidden as the last item advertised in the window the Goody burger with cheese ($5, below) is joined by the word "famous" to start tipping you off. On the menu board inside the description says "Best burger in town." After the addition of it in the order, a woman turns around to ask if this was a first time and made it obvious the treat that was in store.

After all of this, the anticipation was high. Unwrapping the foil reveals a workaday sandwich, not much to look at but plenty of value for the price point. But this is a burger that hits each and every pleasure point in your mouth and has no problem living up to its hype. A slightly spicy tomato sauce gives it a unique aspect and separates it from other burger experiences. It almost seems criminal that one five dollar bill is all that it takes to enjoy one of these.

The roti, for whatever reason whether it be an off day or just not the place for it, was the only thing that did not wow here. An order of goat roti ($10, below) had good guts but its wrapper just was not necessary. Maybe next time a simple order of the curry goat will be paired with rice instead. The on the bone chunks of goat are joined by large pieces of potato.

Their patties are pretty darn good as well.

With the next trip to the beach happening soon, it will be very difficult to stay away from Goody's to grab a meal both before and after the time in the sun. With that being said, it is not a stretch to imagine a craving in the winter as well.

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ARVERNE Queens
70-18 Amstel Blvd

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Brisas del Mar

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 🇩🇴

Dominican restaurants are not hard to find in New York City, as one of our largest and multi-generational communities have roots from the island. But feeling like you are on the Greater Antilles isle of Hispaniola is not easy to recreate, as city life makes this almost impossible. Brisas del Mar comes close, a couple blocks away from the beaches of the Rockaways, full of shirtless beach kids and laid back neighborhood folks.

It also attracts a pan-Latinx crowd, with Mexican and Central American construction crews working nearby all finding their way here for lunch. It seems that everyone in the know is eating here, while those that come in for a beach day and read garbage online publications are cordoned off somewhere else. It's busy enough though, no need for their coddled toddlers and manicured beards.

The tables have a feel of meeting rooms, as if the spot is a big community hub. Most people are eating, but they might also come for a coffee and chat. On the Monday afternoon of our visit, the spot was buzzing for lunch.

Along the right wall the selections of the day are laid out for all to see. A range of stewed or roasted meats, fish, and shrimp as well as all the necessary sides to accompany everything. Take note of the people who came in before you, and work your way towards the front once you have an idea of what you want. Customers are expected to sort their own order out, so stay firm when it is your turn so as not to get passed by another hungry soul. You could ask the pricing structure as you go, but it is all very fair and the people working will add it up at the end. Our feast pictured above all came to $25 and even included the two drinks we grabbed from the fridge.

The beautiful reddish-brown broth of the oxtail stew (below) immediately grabbed our attention and was the first order. An order with rice and beans comes with a mountain of white rice that we asked to be reduced knowing there would be at least a couple more plates coming our way.

The oxtail meat seems almost unimprovable, tender and flavorful hunks that come easily of the bone. An extra spoon or two of the gravy never hurts either.

The shrimp salad (below) was crisp and fresh, mostly unseasoned other than a bit of lime juice. We snuck a couple bites of this during our meal but packed most of it in our cooler for a beach snack later.

The roast pork (below) is very memorable, also not overly seasoned and allowing the meat to speak for itself. As always in this preparation, the skin is crisped with care and a thin layer of fat holds onto it, creating the most sought after bites. Orders of both types of plantains (below) were enjoyed, but the fried sweet version wins top prize.

If you plan on ordering a lot, mention you want small portions of each dish or you will receive mountains upon mountains. Each portion can be added or subtracted to, and as mentioned already, it all seems very fair. There seems to be no better way to begin or end a day in the Rockaways. When the winds kick off the sea and bring the salty air to your nose, it comes as close as possible to eating on the malecon in Santo Domingo.

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SEASIDE Queens

99-02 Rockaway Beach Blvd