BRONX W www.BXTimes.com EEKLY December 16, 2018 6
Top skateboarder Tyshawn Jones opens Caribbean restaurant
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BY ALEX MITCHELL
A recently opened take-out
restaurant doesn’t have a conventional
name, it doesn’t have a conventional
fl avor and it doesn’t have
a conventional backstory.
Newly opened Caribbean-
American joint, Taste So Good
(Make You Wanna Smack Your
Mama) at 1752 Lafayette Avenue is
bringing a necessary spice-up to
the Soundview food scene, according
to 19-year-old owner Tyshawn
‘TJ’ Jones.
So, how does a 19-year-old open
up a restaurant in New York City?
Being named Thrasher Magazine’s
2018 Skater of the Year certainly
helped move things along.
Skateboarder by day, restaurateur
by night, this Soundview native
took up skating in 2010, fi rst
learning to keep his balance at
Bruckner Skate Park behind M.S.
101. L
ong since those days of skating
in Throggs Neck and later on
161st Street, TJ mastered his craft,
earning sponsorships from Adidas,
New Era, Supreme in addition
to other major brands while travelling
the world in the process. He’s
currently in San Francisco to formally
accept the skater of the year
title.
Not a fan of traditional competitive
skateboarding, TJ prefers
performing and fi lming his moves
around the Bronx and rest of the
city.A
s far as creating his artistic
maneuvers, TJ likes to modify
standard moves like ollies, a simple
jump trick, by adding a new
edginess to them.
“I like doing them, but getting
really, really high in the air,” TJ
said.
In the past, he’s gotten enough
air to clear a #6 IRT station platform.
It was only two months ago that
TJ opened Taste So Good, to fi ll a
need in the neighborhoods’s gastric
choices.
“We have nothing good to eat in
this area. We haven’t since I was
a kid and it drives me crazy,” he
said. “I had to put some great food
in Soundview,” TJ said mentioning
that he also opened Taste So Good
as a career backup.
TJ freely admits that the restaurant’s
name, Taste So Good (Make
You Wanna Smack Your Mama), is
derived from the cult-classic movie
‘Friday After Next,’ starring Ice
Cube and Chris Tucker.
“I’ve loved those movies since I
was kid,” TJ said.
His own mother Tamisha
works in the kitchen, whipping up
some of the best, savory Caribbean
treats that the Bronx has to offer.
TJ’s favorite items on the menu
are the jerk shrimp and the ribs,
but the spicy jerk chicken is also a
big-time seller.
Pair that chicken with Caribbean
rice and mac n’ cheese to
make a lunch that could warm up
an ice sculpture.
Being that TJ can’t stand cold
weather, some spicy Caribbean fl avor
is exactly what he’s looking for
this winter.
He also wouldn’t mind a second
location for Taste So Good.
“Next I want to open a sit-down
version of this place, this one is a
little spot for the neighborhood
to do take-out from, but I’m sure
thinking about expanding,” TJ
said.
While this reporter wouldn’t
even entertain the thought of slapping
his mama, the food did in fact
taste so good.
Tyshawn Jones outside of his Soudnview restaurant.
Shcneps Community News Group/ Alex Mitchell
Jerk chicken, rice, and mac n’ cheese.
Schneps Community News Group/ Alex
Mitchell
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