This summer’s best snack? Without a doubt, the fish taco. Fresh, fast and (in some cases) fancy, the Baja-born take on a piscatorial sandwich has surfed its way onto menus all over town.
It wasn’t always so: Until fairly recently a really good fish taco was hard to find on the East Coast. So make the most of these top-notch versions, found all over the island of Manhattan and beyond.
Empellon Taqueria: 230 W. Fourth St.; 212-367-0999
This is a chi chi place, so the tacos are pretty chi chi, too. So upscale, in fact, that the dish is listed as Fish Tempura with Cabbage and Lime Mayonnaise. Made by owner Alex Stupak, with dogfish (a kind of shark meat), and julienned green cabbage arrayed on top, along with a few radishes, cilantro and a de rigueur lime wedge. At $18 for a three-taco main-dish serving, it’s up there in price but well worth it.
Café de La Esquina: 225 Wythe Ave., Brooklyn; 718-393-5500
Sometimes a fish taco demands a knife and fork, or at least a full-plate accompaniment of moros y cristianos (rice and beans) and fresh pico de gallo. At this newest outpost of La Esquina, the fish tacos come as a platter for $14, two to an order and turned into a meal with fluffy white rice and black beans. The fish — almost a whole fillet per taco — is lightly browned on the grill. It’s balanced nicely by red onion, cabbage, chipotle mayo and a dollop of salsa verde.
Rockaway Taco: 95-19 Rockaway Beach Blvd., Queens; 347-213-7466
Rockaway Taco can be a confusing place, what with its epic line and laid-back surfer-dude vibe that feels more Santa Cruz than Queens, but it’s where you want to go to catch that real-deal outdoor taco experience. A single-tortilla taco ($3) is loaded with one giant piece of crazy crispy tilapia, green and red cabbage and a dollop of guacamole on request (which will run things up to $4). Sliced radishes and whole cilantro leaves add color and taste to each serving; dress it up even more with one of the free salsas on the counter.
Snack Dragon: 164 Orchard St.; no phone
No south-of-the-border authenticity here, but Snack Dragon’s Contented Sole taco is an inventive take. Far tastier than it looks, the $5 fish taco comes on a blue tortilla, the grilled (more sautéed, actually) sole topped with a kicky chipotle-mayo red cabbage slaw, plus the usual radishes and herbs. It comes together messily but beautifully, packed with flavor and demolished in four or five bites.
Tacombi at Fonda Nolita: 267 Elizabeth St.; 917-727-0179
Why yes, that is a VW bus parked in the middle of Tacombi at Fonda Nolita — and it serves as the kitchen at this
SoHo hot spot. Tacombi’s fish tacos might be the best in Manhattan. The crispy Ensenada fish taco ($4) comes with a chubby piece of crunchy tilapia. A blanket of seasoned red cabbage dresses the double-tortilla situation. Dressed with cilantro sprigs and lime wedges on the side, there’s not much more you need — except a michelada to wash it all down.
Choncho’s Tacos
Saturdays at the Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene (176 Lafayette Ave.); Sundays at the Brooklyn Flea in Williamsburg (East River Waterfront between North Sixth and Seventh streets)
This is a crispy, hand-held snack that makes perfect sense in the middle of the feeding frenzy at the Brooklyn Flea. For $5 a taco (two for $9) this is the only one that goes the extra inch with bits of batter far bigger than the surface area of the fish for more crunchy goodness. A single, large tortilla acts as the base for the buildup of fish, red cabbage and a classic Mexican crema specked with cilantro. A quick squirt of the green salsa at the counter adds a perfect sour/spicy blast.