The A train to the S takes us over Broad Channel to Rockaway. Smell the salt in the platform air. There are boats sunken in the water-grasses and dingy bungalows sit on piers. Off the train is the empty horizon. The beach is crowded and fluffy clouddrops extend far into the Atlantic.
The new restaurants, including Rockaway Taco make the beach a much more desirable destination than before. It is hard to find fish tacos as good on the East Coast, due to the fresh salsas and delicious fry batter. Go earlier in the afternoon to avoid lines and get the guac deluxe.
Rippers offers simple and delicious burgs. Kitty got the quinoa veggie one which was moist and comes with guacamole.
But we prefer Coney Island better, prefer the freaks over the hipsters. The Brighton Beach markets and the Cyrilic over storefronts make it so much more…Brooklyn. But then again, Rockaway is in Queens.
Rockaway is a lot like Bushwick-at-the-ocean: plenty of different peeps soakin sun side by side, but a vague sense of invasion lingers, especially after this summer’s NYTimes article. The Rockaways are nice, especially because you don’t have to go through Manhattan to get there. It’s as close to the Hamptons as you can get for a day trip.
Daniel the Writer 
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