Tacocina; Brooklyn, N.Y.
Will Danny Meyer do for tacos what he did for burgers? That’s the underlying question behind Tacocina, the Brooklyn taco shop launched in June by Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group. The new counter-service concept, located in Domino Park, a 6-acre waterfront green space, features a simplified menu of six tacos, chips, salsa, shrimp cocktail and adult beverages. The year-round taco restaurant has outdoor seating for more than 100 people. The diverse seating options look like what one might find at a backyard barbecue, with communal picnic tables and metal stools, as well as more intimate two tops in fiesta-ready, brightly colored woods and metals. The restaurant’s tortillas are made from an heirloom corn variety sourced from Mexico. So will Tacocina become the next Shake Shack? After all, Shake Shack got its start in Madison Square Park (and Meyer’s Union Square Cafe helped revitalize the park of the same name). “I think there’s one Shake Shack and it doesn’t come along more than once in a lifetime,” Meyer told the Wall Street Journal. Meyer originally mulled a seafood spot for the waterfront property, but decided the comforting, easy menu of tacos would be a better fit. Union Square Hospitality Group holds a 10-year lease on the space.