While Shake Shack now has locations in 24 states and 13 countries from the United Kingdom to Japan, it all started at a single outdoor burger stand in Madison Square Park in New York back in the early 2000s. Now, the team behind the world-famous burgers is opening a taco stand in Brooklyn’s new Domino Park.
Tacocina opened on June 10 inside the new waterfront park in Williamsburg that gets its name from the historic Domino Sugar Refinery where it’s located. With made-to-order corn tortillas and locally sourced meat and produce, Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group is bringing the same high-quality ingredients to a casual outdoor setting that they did with Shake Shack over 14 years ago—this time with Mexican food in Brooklyn.
Danny Meyer’s latest venture serves a variety of tacos, cocktails, and snacks.
Photo by Peter Garritano
Since running a burger empire doesn’t exactly translate to making authentic tacos, Danny Meyer hired Union Square Cafe’s former sous chef, Barbara Garcia, who hails from Aguascalientes, Mexico to oversee the culinary operations at Tacocina.
The menu features a variety of snacks, including chips and guacamole, cheese chicharrones, and a Mexican shrimp cocktail, but the standouts are, of course, the tacos. With only six different options, you could easily try them all, but Tasting Table recommends the Beef and Salsa Negra (pulled beef with spicy salsa negra and fried potatoes) and the Shrimp and Chayote Tartar (cornmeal-battered shrimp doused in house-made Mexican tartar sauce topped with pickled Peruvian peppers). Vegetarians will also be happy to find a Mushroom and Elote Sauce taco, as well as a Monterey and Cotija Cheese taco on the menu.
So far, the reviews on social media have been overwhelmingly positive with people on Instagram saying that Tacocina has “seriously delivered” and is a “summer 2018 must.”
View of the Williamsburg Bridge and East River from Tacocina
Photo by Peter Garritano
Befitting its waterfront location, Tacocina also has a full menu of Mexican beer and cocktails (mezcal negroni, anyone?), plus several wines on draft, making it an ideal place for sundowners this summer. Just like Shake Shack, expect long lines here. Your best bet is arriving early on a weekday if you don’t want to wait forever.
Tacocina will be open year round from Sunday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays until 11 p.m.
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