In the pursuit of greatness, there are no guarantees.

It was the day after Thanksgiving and we decided to lunch at SqWires in Lafayette Square. Amazingly enough I was actually hungry and hours before our lunch plans I was already perusing the menu online. The Gourmet Grilled Cheese with white cheddar, sliced pears, bacon and almond pesto on sourdough was calling my name. But when I sat down at the restaurant and was presented with the specials of the day, there it was, the Friday Fish Taco. How could I say no, right? I had an obligation as a fish taco blogger. A pursuit for greatness to follow! It certainly sounded appealing on the menu - three tempura Alaskan cod tacos wrapped in warm flour tortillas with shredded cabbage, cheddar and chipotle ranch, served with a black bean salsa and corn chips. For a whopping $14. But what I was served was the blandest version of fish tacos I've tasted to date. The tortillas were stale and wrapped like rolled-up crepes. The fish portion was hardly generous and the chipotle ranch, cabbage and cheddar would have needed magnification to spot. The black bean salsa was really the only edible portion of the meal. I kept drooling at the Gourmet Grilled Cheese that my mom had ordered with pangs of remorse. But fear not, my resolve to find the Holy Grail of fish tacos was tested, but has not faltered.

1415 South 18th Street
Saint Louis, MO 63104
(314) 865-3522

http://sqwires.com/restaurant/

2 out of 5 fishies.

La Esquina del Sabor

La Vallesana is my favorite little Mexican joint on Cherokee Street. The food is delicious and the prices can't be beat! But while everything on the menu - the burrito, torta and quesadilla - comes with a "camarones a la diabla" (spicy shrimp) option, the taco for some reason does not. Since the quesadilla is prepared with cheese, mayonaisse and lettuce, it will have to do for this fish taco blogger review. The spicy shrimp quesadilla is served on a wheat-flour tortilla, which is a little bit crisp here and there, so it's not that far removed from a taco. The spicy shrimp is spicy indeed and is cooked up perfectly. And if the spice factor is not high enough, then you can add one of two salsas - a smoky red with a medium kick to it or the green chile spicy salsa. The quesadilla is served with a side of fresh and chunky guacamole and chips (a bit on the bland and stale side unfortunately). They do not have a liquor licence, but be sure to try one of their fresh and homemade agua frescas. The seating is primarily outdoors on their patio, so this is the first place I head to once the temperatures thaw (something I can only be wistful about seeing as it is mid December). They recently opened up a La Vallesana 2 across the street with indoor seating and a more expansive menu... I'll have to check it out and update the review when I do.

2801 Cherokee St.
Saint Louis, MO 63118
(314) 776-4223

4 out of 5 fishies.

Tools of the Trade: Fish Bone Tweezers

Check out this helpful article on fish bone tweezers from one of my favorite food blogs "Serious Eats."

This fish taco blogger gets cooking...

Strangely enough, this fish taco blogger has never cooked fish tacos. An easily remedied situation!  So from now on, I will be reviewing an assortment of recipes as well as fish taco serving establishments.

Our first recipe stems from buying a lovely bunch of radishes at the Farmers Market and (with holiday gluttony around the corner) from a craving for something on the lighter side.  Martha Stewart has a scrumptious sounding recipe "Fish Tacos with Salsa Verde and Radish Salad" that called out to me.

The ingredients are as follows: cilantro, lime juice, a jalapeño chile, scallions,radishes, tilapia fillets, corn tortillas, olive oil and salt, pepper and coriander for seasoning.

I loved the colors of the salsa verde and the radish salad (the latter of which was a nice crunchy topping alternative for the standard cabbage).

And the coriander gave the tilapia a lovely little kick!

Who is to say if there is a right or wrong way to make a fish taco? As much as I appreciate battered fish and the Baja sauce, basically a fish taco is a tortilla with stuff on it. And as long as the stuff tastes good and creates a lovely presentation, it is indeed a delightful thing.

P.S. A word of warning... The oils in the jalapeño peppers can irritate your skin, so be sure to wear gloves when seeding and chopping the hot peppers! Wash your hands well with soap and water and be careful not to touch or rub your eyes and nose. Trust me, the oils will really burn! Let's just say I've had a near death by jalapeño experience bringing you guys this blog post!

4 out of 5 fishies. Go make it today!

And the hottest entertaining trend of 2010 is....

the taco!

Love this "fishy so delishy" Threadless Tee!

http://www.threadless.com/submission/279611/fishy_so_delishy

El Borracho - meh

A half-assed review for half-assed service. So they have two fried fish tacos on the menu. The "pancho" style comes on a soft corn tortilla and is served with cilantro and onion - $3. The "gringo" style is served on a flour tortilla, with lettuce, cheese, tomato and onion - $3.50. Seeing as we never got the pancho fish taco (even when asking for it again), we have nothing to say about its merits. But it's doubtful that it was less bland than the gringo taco. The serving of guacamole we got on the side was ho hum as well. The ambiance was awesome though; as were the margaritas. And one good thing about the poor service - never got charged for those drinks. We were too annoyed and unimpressed to point it out to them.

2001 Locust St.
Saint Louis, MO 63103
(314) 588-0055

http://www.elborrachostl.com/

2 out of 5 fishies.