#8 – FISH TACOS at THE LOADING DOCK

Once again Time Out New York released their Top 100 Dishes of the year and once again, I’m going to eat my way through every one. And no price point or subway delay will stop me. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100.

Time Out’s not the only food publication I devour each week. I also read Eater, NY Magazine, and the Village Voice’s blog on a regular basis. Thanks to them and other food bloggers I follow on twitter, I’m always up to date on the latest restaurant openings and closings. And if I hadn’t gotten my daily intake of Eater, I may have not known that one of our list item venues would be closing at the end of January.

It was announced that because his food truck was stolen and finances aren’t great, Forrest Cole must close his very cool, very Brooklyn art gallery that also serves Southern California influenced Mexican food. It’s one of the few food options (apart from McDonald’s and the sort) in the Downtown Brooklyn area and the home to the fish tacos on the Time Out list.

Aside from a sign beckoning you for tacos, you’d probably miss this taqueria/gallery space off of Tillary Street because it looks sort of like a hidden garage (or loading dock). The vibe inside is warm and looks like a warehouse with some seats, until you push open a back door and discover another unlikely dining room: a gallery space with avant garde artwork on the walls and grade school tables and chairs. I don’t know about you, but they never served fish tacos in my grade school.

In addition to the fish tacos, we also ordered a carne asada burrito. We had plenty of food, but spent about double what we would have at any taco shack in San Diego. And aside from the food, nothing about this place feels like Southern California. It has a very urban and industrial feel, although the interior could bring to mind visions of Maine or Vermont.

The tacos were tasty. Mahi mahi was the star of both versions. We ordered one grilled and the other beer battered and fried. Both were topped with crunchy cabbage, chopped cilantro, and a yogurt based crema sauce. The grilled fish had a smoky char and the fried version was buttery and light. The fish on both was fresh, tender and enlivened with the addition of some lime.

A thin red salsa and a green tomatillo sauce were included on the side and did bring out some of the light, spicy flavors of the dish. Without those, there wasn’t a ton of depth, but the tacos were light and fresh enough to be a real find in Brooklyn. And while the Mexican food was overpriced, it’s a real loss that this sleepy little destination is coming to an end.

The restaurant shutters on January 30 (there will be a closing party announced on their website), but the tacos and burritos will continue to be sold at the Brooklyn Flea under the name Choncho’s Tacos. And the owners are actively looking for another space. So I suppose, worse case scenario, we could have waited and tried these elsewhere. But it wouldn’t have been the same, especially considering that the unusual and alternative atmosphere really completed the experience. And I would have felt like a failure and it would have been written in Time Out and Eater for all the world to see.

Would The Loading Dock’s Fish Tacos make my Top 100 of the year? While overpriced and not too complex, these are fresh, light and a rarity in Brooklyn, so they get a 7 out of 10.