RESURRECT DEAD ON PLANET JUPiTER

Surf Taco

I just saw a girl walk by in jeans, shirt and sweatshirt. I’m sitting here at my desk, in front of a fan, shorts, sandals and uncomfortably hot.

In other news, I’ve been inspired. On Sunday, Liza and I drove across Jersey to Island Beach State Park. The bathing beach was crowded and pleasantly diverse, but when I say crowded, I mean crowded. We stayed, waded (water is still cold, even on a blistering day) and read for a few hours before seeking new ground. Heading down the road to the unguarded beaches, we found an almost empty stretch of sand. This second beach was recessed from the shore trail by a ridge of about 10 feet. When you stepped over the arc and down onto the beach, the temperature dropped from the mid-90’s, to a breezy and cool 80-85 degrees. Trail and seaside existed in entirely different meteorological realms. It was much more pleasant. There was even a brown pelican.

But the inspiring part was dinner. On our way out of the park, I had a sudden craving for a taco. Liza remembered seeing a California style tacqueria in town, so we decided to stop. Not expecting much, we pulled up to “Surf Taco.” As we walked in, a song that I meant to burn for the car ride was playing on the stereo. The next thing I saw was the salsa bar. A salsa bar! What a fucking great idea! Why I’d never encountered one before in the world of east coast mexi-cali eateries was instantly baffling. You buy chips for a nominal fee and pick out 1 of 4 types of salsa. They provide little cups and you can try a little of each. If you run out, you just go get some more. The concept is genius. Why days later, this still excites me, I can’t explain. But it does.

Beyond the music and the salsa bar, the food was fast, fresh and very good. I tried 1 classic fish taco, one mahi, mahi grilled fish taco, beans, rice and 3 of the 4 varieties of salsa. All were top notch and reasonably priced. When I got home, I was excited to see that the Surf Taco empire is steadily growing, expanding from 1 to 3 locations in just 5 years, with 3 more set to open soon. Maybe I’ll buy their first Philly franchise someday.

In closing, here is a heavily stylized photo of an osprey landing in its nest.