Rockaway Beach Bakery makes for a perfect first stop. Locals as well as beachgoers visit for danishes filled with seasonal fruit, sandwiches on house-made biscuits and croissants, cake and pie by the slice and many more baked confections that change daily but disappear early. Arrive later than mid-afternoon and you’ll probably find a rolled-down security gate and the legend “gone surfing.”

A few blocks from the ocean, a surfboard marks the entrance of the Rockaway Beach Surf Club. Inside you’ll find a lively indoor bar beside a sprawling patio and a Mexican food stand known as Tacoway Beach (summer only). Pro-tip: you’ll want to arrive here early and place your food order before queueing up at the bar – cocktails come quickly, but fried-fish tacos can’t be hurried.

This summer-only favorite is within earshot of the water and a surfers-only section of the beach, anchoring one of several vending concessions along the five-and-a-half-mile boardwalk. Burgers and fries are its reasons for being; both taste best when a salty breeze is blowing onshore.

A welcome haven après-beach if the heat and sun have been too much is the shaded interior of this Uzeb restaurant. A cool Uzbek salad might be just the thing, but don’t let heat dissuade you from the manti, steamed dumplings plump with ground beef or butternut squash. We’re also partial to the house-made halva ice cream, topped with more halva as well as black and white sesame seeds.

The Rockaway Bazaar hosts two fistfuls of food vendors under one roof. Our favorite of these, the Red Hook Lobster Pound (summer only) serves its signature lobster rolls two ways: cool, with lemon mayo (Maine style) or warm, with butter (Connecticut style). Hopefully you’ve made the trip out with a dining buddy and can try both.

Some three dozen ice cream flavors await your pleasure at Mara’s Ice Cream Parlor. American ice cream classics are up against other tried and true desserts-turned-flavors: s’mores or peanut butter pie, anyone? Even when the line stretches out the door, usually there’s room to sit in the shady, sand-filled backyard.

Even when every table at Bungalow Bar is full, the outdoor deck is not as raucous as the local surfer joints. This casual restaurant – think soups, salads, sandwiches and mains, with or without seafood – sits on the sheltered bay side of the Rockaway Peninsula, and offers a panoramic waterfront view of Jamaica Bay and the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge. You’ll also catch sight of air traffic arriving and departing JFK.

Howard Beach is a nearby “beach” that’s on the way to the Rockaways, but where you’re unlikely to see any sand. The close-knit mini-neighborhoods of the area are crowded with many low-rise houses – some, along waterways, sit on stilts – and are home to old-school Italian-American eats. New Park Pizza serves excellent slices and whole pies, to be enjoyed indoors or at a picnic table.

A 15-minute cab from JFK, Lenny’s Clam Bar is a more polished offering at Howard Beach. The entryway is lined with autographed photos of its many celebrity customers, and its menu is extensive. We’re drawn to the seafood, taking note of the restaurant’s name, though we’re especially into the combinations of shrimp, scallops, calamari and scungilli.