It’s that time of the year when many of us city dwellers make our annual pilgrimage to lie in the sand at the edge of the sea, for a few hours, or a few days… Photographer Valery Rizzo hit Rockaway Beach to document the seasonal migratory ritual, with a focus on the celebrated new food concessions adorning the boardwalk this year. If you haven’t been out to ‘the new’ Rockaway yet, go, people, just go.
'Surfing Only' from Beach 87th to 92nd Streets.
At Rippers at 86th Street, along with buying some wax for your board you can also keep cool while sipping an Ecuadorian, made with fresh cucumber, mint and agave. Surfer Mia Woolrich, originally from Australia, gives the waves at Rockaway a try.
Blue Bottle Coffee serves up cappuccino and handmade granola at Beach 106th Street and shares the space with Caracas Arepa Bar which offers a variety of homemade Venezuelan food.
Superb La Fresh Arepas, which are corn-flour rounds made from scratch daily and filled with white cheese, tomato and avocado with a side of sweet spicy sauce, go well together with a Hibiscus Iced Tea or a Passion Fruit Juice, and are just a few of the many delights you can order at Caracas Arepa Bar.
Gato Barrios is co-owner with his wife Maribel Araujo of Caracas Arepa Bar.
Bicycle on Boardwalk, Rockaway Beach, New York.
Founder Erin McKenna of Vegan bakery Babycakes NYC serves up delicious, all natural and organic, refined sugar-free, gluten-free, wheat-free, soy-free, casein-free, egg-free, vegan and kosher desserts.
Emma McCarthy mixes fresh pop at the P&H Soda Co. counter along side Rockaway Taco serving flautas, chips with guacamole and salads. A fresh young coconut from Rockaway Taco and a Hake Fish sandwich from Motorboat & the Big Banana.
Hake fillet with slaw, pickled onions and a sharp tartar sauce enclosed in a grilled hot dog bun from Motorboat & the Big Banana, a fish fry shack and frozen banana stand. Tossing and seasoning the fresh french fries.
Lines forming at the concession stands inside a bunker at Beach 96th Street, Rockaway Beach.
A European tourist and her children having their lunch prepared at one of the boardwalk food carts, Sharon is Karen, which serves open-faced pickle sandwiches.
Isaac Friedman-Heiman, chef and owner of Sharon is Karen, was inspired by a trip to Spain where he observed the Mediterranean diet and how they preserve food. Bicycle rentals on the Boardwalk.
Zachary Krieger of Veggie Island and Coffee Co, which serves cucumber water, iced tea, coffee, fruit smoothies and breakfast items. Try their mango, banana and kale smoothie.
Hammocks hung under the boardwalk together with rows of surfboards at Beach 92nd Street.
All photos © Valery Rizzo. All rights reserved.
Valery is a Park Slope-based professional photographer with a love of good food and all things Brooklyn. You can find more of her work on her website, and you can follow her food adventures on her photo blog, Eating Brooklyn.