The Creek

I'm proud to say that I, unexpectedly, had my very first post-blog fish taco experience this past weekend. I crossed the Pulaski Bridge in to Long Island City and made my way to The Creek, a rather confused "California-style Mexican" restaurant, comedy club, rock lounge and bar. The Creek (formerly known as The Creek & The Cave) is a simple neighborhood joint, just above that of a diner, and apparently is not keen on making a splash in the culinary arts - a good thing, as NYC has far too many restaurants seeking to serve the next best fish taco (really, it's true). The Creek's facade is a very stale and mustard-like yellow that appears to have been painted by the neighboring school's second graders - it looks just awful. Since my visit, however, The Creek has made efforts to improve their facade by replacing the lackluster and unprofessional-looking yellow with a lackluster and unprofessional-looking white though I do believe that this is temporary...Tickle Me only hopes!

Anyhow, my job here isn't to discuss facades or streetscapes! With that said, I ordered The Creek's fish taco platter that consisted of three cod fish tacos - 2 beer battered and 1 grilled - and rice and beans. When my food was delivered, I was devastated to discover that flour tortillas were used instead of corn. Full disclosure - I am a staunch advocate of corn tortillas. Flour tortillas should only be used for burritos. See, burritos have many ingredients, and flour tortillas are made larger than and do not crack like corn tortillas. Until a proper corn tortillas replacement has been developed, flour tortillas must only be used with burritos, period.

Back to the tacos. Each taco was adorned with slaw and wasabi sauce/crema. This was a first for me, that is, wasabi on a fish taco. The grilled fish taco was good, nothing great, but good. The beer-battered cod, on the other hand, was excellent! Nothing beats a well deep-fried fish taco! The fish was moist and flaky, and the slaw was fresh. The high point of the meal was definitely the wasabi sauce. It was neither overwhelming or secondary - just a perfect kick and complementary flavor to the cod. Though far less superior to corn, the flour tortilla did not take away from the surprisingly delightful tacos at The Creek.

Though my job here is to report on fish tacos, I must give The Creeks props on something other than our tortilla-wrapped friends. To my surprise, the rice and beans were excellent! Whether I'm a snob or consider myself an "insider" is unimportant, but I was expecting a side of box-made yellow "spanish" rice and your run-of-the-mill refried beans - I got neither. In fact, I was given non-refried, unmashed pinto beans in a sauce reminiscent of my mom's own special Colombian recipe that will remain a family secret - sorry ya'll. The flavor was not "mexican" at all, in fact, it was so damn Colombian that all I could do was think of my mom and her amazing cooking. As a perfect accompaniment to the splendid beans, The Creek added a simple yet perfect side of WHITE rice. Increasingly, it seems that restaurants and people in general seem to fuck with rice...white rice is amazing left alone. No need for colors, onions, spices or anything, well, maybe just some salt and a touch of olive oil. Good work, Creek!

Though The Creek is not a hotbed of fish taco amazingness, if you're in LIC and are craving taquitos de pescado, head over to The Creek and do your thing. Don't forget to order a Pacifico and chill in their quirky yet comfortable backyard.

* This article was orginally posted in May 2009, but was, err, inadvertently deleted by someone who shall remain nameless.