According to Steve Miller, the tattooed 38-year-old proprietor of Rock Hard Taco in Boca Raton, his new taco joint is not a typical Mexican restaurant. He can say that again. Most Mexican places don’t have a steady diet of punk rock and ’90s rap emanating from the speakers, or images of surfing and motocross that share the walls with blown-up album covers by Bad Religion, N.W.A. and Minor Threat.
If you know the names of these bands, then you’re probably already leaving your computer to check out Rock Hard, the most youth-centric eatery in Boca since it soft-opened in May. But the difference is not only in the ambiance. Miller says most Mexican restaurants incorporate a South American influence, where Rock Hard channels the Mexicali style Miller grew up with a young man in Southern California. This means that, while the restaurant doesn’t exactly offer health food, its menu choices go down lighter than some of its competitors.
“You don’t feel heavy after eating,” says Miller, a veteran of the clothing business out west. “You can pig out and still walk around.”
A recent tasting proved this theory: I enjoyed a satisfying variety of dishes and never felt overstuffed. The chicken-filled burritos ($6.95) and beef-stuffed taquitos ($6.50; you can order any meat with any tortilla you like) are fine, if a tad dry, but the restaurant does simple really well: The tacos ($2.50 to $2.95) are out of this world. The crispy shell melts in your mouth along with everything inside of it, and it’s seasoned with a spicy, addictive zing. I also recommend the “Rockin’ Salads.” I ordered a steak salad with romaine, Mexican cheeses and tortilla strips ($7.95), and the wonderful cilantro-lime dressing burst with flavor despite these minimal ingredients.
Other popular entrees include “Mahi Mahi Tacos Rock” ($8.50), quesadillas ($3.95 to $6.95) and nachos ($3.95 to $6.95). Rock Hard also serves a killer breakfast dish, unusual for Mexican restaurants, with scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, pico de gallo, a choice of meat and veggies and beans. In its Palmetto Park Road location near the beach, the restaurant caters to early-morning surfers; it’s open from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. every day. Seating may be a problem during busy times. Rock Hard is a small counter-service restaurant, with just three tables inside and a half-dozen out back in and front. A mist system helps battle the heat in these summer months, but take-out is recommended.
Rock Hard Taco aspires to be more than just a restaurant; it seeks to be a cultural destination for the extreme sports/skate-punk set, and Miller has plans to expand the business throughout Palm Beach County. We’ll have to wait and see if the eatery, with its strange, porn star-ish name, catches on. Hopes are high for its grand opening from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 20, which will include live music, raffles, a half-pipe skating competition, a ribbon-cutting ceremony and autograph signings with pro surfer Sunny Garcia and boxing gold medalist Howard Davis Jr.
Oh yeah – and there’s food, too.
Rock Hard Taco is at 891 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton. Call 561/393-8226 or visit www.rockhardtaco.com.
