Tiki Tacos opens as new concept at Crazy Beans in Miller Place
The Tiki Burger with a mai tai at Tiki Tacos, the nighttime concept at Crazy Beans in Miller Place. Credit: Newsday/Melissa Azofeifa
Crazy Beans in Miller Place might not be the first place Long Island foodies think of to go to for mai tais and tacos, but its new nighttime concept seeks to change that.
By day, Crazy Beans is an all-day breakfast and brunch spot, serving comfort food like chicken and waffles alongside avocado toast and pancake quesadillas. Rather than close for the day at 4 p.m., owners Callie and Timothy Martino partnered with John Louis of the Maui Chophouse food truck and chef Madison "Maddy" Bender (you've seen her on the reality cooking show "Hell's Kitchen") to create a nighttime taco restaurant open until 10 p.m.
Business partners John Louis and chef Madison "Maddy" Bender have launched Tiki Tacos as a nighttime concept at Crazy Beans in Miller Place. Credit: Newsday/Melissa Azofeifa
The idea came about when the Martinos hired Louis’ food truck for their son’s birthday party earlier this year.
"It matches our fun level," Callie Martino said of the new concept that launched in August.
The Hawaiian-inspired menu is similar to the menu Louis had at the now-shuttered Maui Chophouse in Rocky Point. Build-your-own tacos ($13.99 for two) can be had with teriyaki beef or tofu, coconut shrimp, pulled pork or garlic butter shrimp, and your choice of toppings and sauce. There's a beef "spamburger" ($11) served with pineapple, jalapeño and sriracha aioli.
"As far as the tacos go, that’s such a hot concept nowadays," Louis said.
Tiki-inspired drinks include non-alcoholic Hawaiian POG — that's passionfruit, orange and guava juiced — along with the requisite mai tai or blue Hawaiian made with made with coconut rum, blue Curacao and pineapple juice ($12 each).
Bender said she is cooking at Tiki Tacos with "a different perspective of the culinary world," after having "the most crazy, surreal experience of my life," as a contestant on "Hell’s Kitchen" with Gordon Ramsay about a year and a half ago. Her season airs on Fox beginning Sept. 25 and will also stream on Hulu.
Louis hopes to bring Tiki Tacos to other Crazy Beans locations in Stony Brook and Greenport, with the goal of franchising the concept within five years.
Tiki Tacos, 159-14 Rte. 25A, Miller Place, 631-403-4954. Open 4 to 10 p.m. daily.
Melissa Azofeifa is a restaurants reporter with Newsday's FeedMe team. Having grown up on Long Island, she loves talking about food and its impact on culture. A graduate of Stony Brook University, she joined Newsday in the fall of 2024.
