By Elena Kadvany
E-mail Elena Kadvany
About this blog: I am a perpetually hungry twenty-something journalist, born and raised in Menlo Park and currently working at the Palo Alto Weekly as education and youth staff writer. I graduated from USC with a major in Spanish and a minor in jo...
(More)About this blog: I am a perpetually hungry twenty-something journalist, born and raised in Menlo Park and currently working at the Palo Alto Weekly as education and youth staff writer. I graduated from USC with a major in Spanish and a minor in journalism. Though my first love is journalism, food is a close second. I am constantly on the lookout for new restaurants to try, building an ever-expanding "to eat" list. As a journalist, I'm always trolling news sources and social media websites with an eye for local food news, from restaurant openings and closings to emerging food trends. When I was a teenager growing up in Menlo Park, I always drove up to the city on weekends with the singular purpose of finding a better meal than I could at home. But in the past year or so, the Peninsula's food culture has been totally transformed, with many new restaurants opening and a continuous stream of San Francisco restaurants coming south to open Peninsula outposts. Don't navigate this food boom hungry and alone! Feed me your tips on new chefs and eats and together we'll share them with the broader community.
(Hide)View all posts from Elena Kadvany
After about two years of shucking oysters on Castro Street in Mountain View, the owner of
Shell Shock has cut her losses and replaced the restaurant with a more casual and less expensive concept: fusion tacos.
Owner Amanda Huynh closed her oyster bar about two weeks ago and opened East Street Tacos at 124 Castro St.
"The Shell Shock concept wasn't possible," she said Friday. Some customers loved it, but most people came in on weekends or for special occasions, and she often saw groups opt for other Castro Street options that serve more than just seafood, she said.
The "Dare Devil" at the now-shuttered Shell Shock featured a raw oyster topped with a quail egg, roe, ponzu sauce and Sriracha. Photo by Veronica Weber.
Oysters also "weren't as sustainable in terms of profit margins," Huynh said.
So she settled on a new concept — "international tacos," which she said has already drawn in more families, vegetarians and lunch-time customers than Shell Shock did.
The menu includes the restaurant's own taco creations, like miso-truffle pork belly with apple slaw, scallions and pickled daikon ($4.95) or the vegetarian crispy avocado with guacamole, slaw, corn crema and crispy scallions ($3.75). Diners can also build their taco by choosing a shell (soft corn, crispy corn, lettuce wrap of steamed bao), fillings (including meat, seafood and vegetarian options) and toppings.
There are also "snacks" like chicken wings, edamame, tater tots and salads, as well as a kids' menu.
View the full menu
here.
East Street Tacos is open for lunch every day except Monday and dinner daily.
