This fish taco blogger braves suburbia - Salina's Mexican Cafe

Since the beginning of this little fish taco blog I've been hearing great things about a place way out in the county. It is called Salina's Mexican Cafe and it's located in a strip mall way out in Chesterfield. We tried to make it out there a few months back, but city slickers that we are, we completely neglected to realize that for people in the county Sunday means Closed. We left feeling foolish and hungry, and the really bad fish tacos we eventually found nearby (in county terms) were little consolation. This time we ventured out on a Friday expecting some excellent grub. For $10.50 you get your choice of either two tilapia or two fried cod fish tacos. Now I say either, because when I first asked to have one of each I was told that was not a possibility. Even though my fishy friend asked for the same (bringing the combined order to two of each fish) so that all we needed was a little switcharoo between our plates. Not a difficult concept, right? Eventually, they were able to figure that out and accommodate us. But if it's just you eating fish tacos, be prepared to choose one kind of fish. The tacos come in house made flour tortillas and are topped with cabbage, carrots, a house made tart ranch dressing mixed with a bit of spicy house made salsa and sprinkled with a little bit of cheese. On the side is a healthy serving of rice and your choice of refried or black beans. This is what I would call a pretty traditional fish taco, outside of the pinkish tone to the sauce. The tilapia was nice but could have used some seasoning, so I would definitely suggest going with the fried cod, which had a nice and crisp batter, with a lovely touch of saltiness to it. The addition of carrots to the cabbage was a welcome touch. The sauce was good and had some tang and spice to it, but it certainly did not make the fish tacos as outstanding as advertised. My watered down simple syrup saccharine sweet margarita did not help matters. Nor did the service, between the difficulty of being served both kinds of fish tacos and the weird sensation of eating in someone's kitchen. So all in all, these fish tacos were good - but certainly not so good that you should brave however many miles of suburbia to give them a try.

Salina's Mexican Café
20 Clarkson-Wilson Centre
Chesterfield, Mo
(636) 530-9010

3.5 out of 5 fishies.