I think when you drive by, you know whats up. Met up with Kreg, the General Manager for The Counter in Aventura, FL. It was dinner time after a long trip. I was flying out of Miami early the next day, but before I left, taco time. Still recouping from a rough taco bout in New Jersey, I was in need of great tacos. I was pining for a California taco. I settled, happily for some true Florida beach tacos. This place epitomizes Florida tacos and bars. It was pretty cool. So cliche that I was laughing and entertained by the women in roller blades that were going up and down the street.
I know, I almost went to the Greek place across the street. It looked good. I could go for a great Gyro right about now. But, back to this taco place. They are pretty interesting, pretty strong following. The location is fantastic. They do live music and all of the things that you can imagine should be done in a Florida beach restaurant. Here's the ugly, the pricing. I think it was a bit high. That's fine, it works for them, but not so much for me. The parking is horrid. I mean really damn horrid. It is non existent. The bar that they have is awesome. They have some great local brews and some neat craft beers on tap. The bartender was awesome.
The set-up of this place is great, have I said that? If I had a Florida restaurant with my name on it, I'd want this set-up. The menu for here is pretty neat. They stick with what you should probably expect for Florida Tacoteering.
I know, I need to come back and hit up $1 tacos for happy hour! That is the way to do it. Kreg and I got a variety of stuff and just attacked and shared. We had some pretty interesting stuff. Here is the menu opened up if you want to see all that they have.
RATINGS:
BRISKET: 1, this was tough, not very good. I was disapointed to say the least. They advertise as a 12 hour smoke, but that can't be right, or they have way too much heat on that meat, it was really tough, flavorless, no smoke ring, I'll just stop, I don't want this to turn into a burn.
SHRIMP: 5, this was about as nicely done as you can get with a shrimp taco. The mango salsa was on point. It was a great find that I'm happy I got to be a part of.
MAHI: 3, it is what you would expect. It was good, but nothing amazing. We went with the regular Mahi because it was grilled. If you get the "Baja Style" it will be deep fried.
CHICKEN: 4, this might have been the surprise of the day for me. It was great. Nicely grilled chicken that was well seasoned, tender and damn tasty.
CALAMARI: 4, yes. This was good. This was right on point, lightly battered, fried, but tender and great. Very happy with this selection.
KOREAN SHORT RIB: 3, this would have been a 4, but was just a bit too sweet for my beard and me. It was good, I would say order it, but don't get overly excited like I did.
SALSA: 3, it was pretty run of the mill. Not bad, not great.
HABANERO SALSA: 4, oh I liked this almost too much. Very good stuff. Nicely done. It was good, spicy, creamy and delicious.
GUACAMOLE: 2, please don't waste your time with this. It is just not good. Full of filler, missing the citrus. Yeah, no bueno!
That is the spread, not too bad. This trip was a long time coming. Kreg spent four weeks in SoCal, but my travel schedule and work prevented us from going Tacoteering together. We wanted to go when I was in Florida a few weeks ago, but we were crazy busy getting his restaurant open. We finally went and it was a blast. Heck of a restaurateur and I'm glad we were able to catch up and enjoy some tacos. Check this place out, it is worth it. The ambiance is great, the food is good, the beer selection is on point. Today's goodbye photo is Kreg and me.
Stay Excellent!
http://www.tacobeachshack.com/
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