Bourbon and Tacos!

I have a confession to make. I've grown kind of tired of the search for the ultimate fish taco. Now had we moved to San Diego instead of Toronto... I might have been inspired. But as much as I love exploring the cuisine of my new city, it's the Bibimbap, dumplings and sushi that call my name. Then I heard of Grand Electric. You go to their website, and the first words you see are Tacos and Bourbon. Now how can you go wrong with a concept like that?! I was intrigued.

The buzz on this restaurant is huge and so it has a notorious wait list. Be prepared to put your name on the list, and grab a drink or two at one of the neighboring bars. As their answering machine will tell you, they don't take reservations and are "closed on Tuesdays so [they] can get drunk." Grand Electric is small, the chatter loud and the old-school rap sets the mood. The hipster vibe is complete with chalkboard menus detailing the food, a limited cocktail list and extensive bourbon offerings. While I opted for a Grand Electric Sour (vanilla bourbon, agave, egg white and lemon - $8), my hubby started making a dent on the bourbon list. The food menu is small, but it was still hard to decide what we wanted. There were a handful of mains ranging from $8 - $13 (we went with the Spicy Squid and the Miami Ribs) and half a dozen different tacos at $3.50 each (Pork Tinga, Baja Fish, Spicy Arbol Chicken, Beef Cheek, Cactus Queso, and Scrapple). Now of course I had to try the Baja Fish and added the Pork Tinga and Cactus Queso to our order.

So how was the fish taco after my long hiatus? The corn tortillas were just right. The batter was light and airy. The fish - tilapia - was light and not greasy. The crimson Valentina hot sauce was flavorful. The housemade salsa verde sauce was tangy. But what really set these fish tacos apart was the radish cole slaw on top. So crunchy! While this still is not the ultimate fish taco I dream of, it came pretty close. And I have fallen hook, line, and sinker back in love with the fish taco.

Grand Electric
330 Queen Street West
Parkdale
(416) 627-3459

http://www.grandelectricbar.com/

4 out of 5 fishies.

Marfa Marfa Marfa!

Back from a Big Bend and West Texas Spring Break road trip and I'm all sick and sniffly. So as I work my way through this large box of Kleenex, let me tell you about the fish tacos I had in Marfa and the sights I saw in the land of wide open spaces.

Driving through this region is like nothing else. You can drive for hours and see few signs of life. The landscape is beautiful, but the terrain is often rugged with random rock formations jutting out from the desert. Your eyes are always peeled for a cowboy or a javelina. I kept thinking back to the Karl May western books I cherished as a child and found myself lost in the peace and solitude the area had to offer.

Big Bend National Park is really really big; as in almost as big as Rhode Island. The terrain is varied, with the Chisos Mountains, the Chihuahuan Desert and the watery U.S. / Mexico border of the Rio Grande to explore. But even with its sheer size, please don't just stick to scenic drives. The park is best explored by foot (or canoe!). So many hikes to choose from can be a bit overwhelming, but you can't really go wrong in the diverse beauty the Park has to offer. Listen to the silence of the desert, try to spot a mountain lion in the Chisos Basin and gaze in wonder at the Blue Heron sitting on the river's edge.

Then there are the little towns, like Terlingua, a former mining boomtown that went bust when the mines closed down in the '40s. The town is now home to park employees and river guides, as well as a smattering of artists and others who were drawn to the laid-back lifestyle this region provides. As for the ghost-town feel, the place is slowly reviving, with new buildings going up that make creative use of the crumbling walls of old ruins.

And no trip to this part of the world is complete without a stop at the McDonald Observatory. Some of the clearest and darkest skies in North America are found here, as well as some really big telescopes. Buy tickets to one of their Star Parties and the biggest laser pointer you've ever seen will help guide you on a tour of the night sky, pointing out constellations, planets, and galaxies. And afterwards, you get to play astronomer as you peer through various telescopes (my favorite targeted the Orion Nebula).

But let's get back to the quirky little towns of this region and specifically Marfa, TX. A dusty little West Texan town filled with New Yorkers and hipsters, you might wonder how a place like this came to be. Well, it's mostly due to one of the world's largest installations of minimalist art. Throw in a little bit of James Dean lore (Giant was filmed here) and some mysterious lights and you have Marfa. This place, with its quirky eateries (be sure not to miss Marfa Burrito) and "hotels" is on its own schedule, which the locals make up as they please. There is even a grilled cheese place that is only open 9:30pm to 2:30am on Fridays and Saturdays. Talk about limited hours! 

I promised to tell you about my fish tacos here, and the story begins with the idiosyncratic nature of Marfa. Craving some pizza after days of camping food, we headed to the Pizza Foundation, only to be told that they were out of dough and wouldn't have more for three days. They do know that dough is made up of little more than flour and water, right? And it's not like they weren't expecting the Spring Break crowds. Finding another place that was open on a Monday (this town is pretty dead the first half of the week) proved to be a challenge, but we were successful at last and settled down around the bar at Jett's Grill located at the Hotel Paisano. The hotel's claim to fame is that James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and the rest of the Giant cast stayed here during filming. Our barkeep was frazzled with all the orders she had to keep up with (it's apparently hard for this tiny town to be sufficiently staffed during busy times), but the Margarita she mixed up for me was delicious and refreshing. And when I saw tilapia tacos on the menu, I felt as if fate had brought me here.

For $12, one pan seared tilapia fillet is split onto two flour tortillas and topped with cucumber, cabbage, avocado and a spicy aioli chipotle sauce. The fish was perfectly spiced and the flavors stayed in the palette for quite some time. The toppings were simple and tasty. The sauce was piquant, although not plentiful enough. All in all, a might tasty fish taco was had in Marfa, TX. And the slowness that is West Texas and places like Marfa? I probably won't be purchasing a pair of cowboy boots and moving to these parts, but the respite was sure appreciated.

Jett's Grill @ Hotel Paisano
207 North Highland Ave.
Marfa, TX 79843
(432) 729-3669

http://www.hotelpaisano.com/pages/jetts.html

4 out of 5 fishies.

Hipster Tacos

With this glorious weather we've been having (not in the least bit wintery!), my housemate and I took an evening stroll to Tower Taco. The restaurant is located a few blocks west of what has come to be known as the Cherokee Street Mexican / hipster artist neighborhood.

Two fishy taco options were found on the à la carte portion of the menu. The fish taco ($2.25 each but for some reason you have to order two) is a sauteed tilapia fillet marinated with pico de gallo and a guajillo sauce. The shrimp taco ($2.75 each) is sauteed shrimp marinated with the same fixings as above. Both are served in housemade corn tortillas and topped with a healthy dose of cilantro. The fish was properly seasoned, but the flavor was not enough to carry the dish, which involved little to no other ingredients. The taco was, however, improved by the addition of the tomatillo salsa (one of two that accompanies the free basket of chips). The shrimp taco proved to be a much tastier choice. It was cooked perfectly, opaque yet tender, and carried quite a spicy and flavorful kick. So I'd suggest sticking to those. And ordering them in any quantity desired, odd or even.

Tower Taco
3147 Cherokee St.
Saint Louis, MO 63118
(314) 256-1141

http://towertaco.com/

3.5 out of 5 fishies.

Guest Review: This fish taco blogger's mom heads to Mexico

As the mother of a dedicated fish taco blogger, I felt I had to do my part and eat some fish tacos during my recent trip to Mexico, the land of the taco. My husband and I went on a New Years cruise and one of our stops was the port of Cozumel. I not only had a chance to explore this town but also to eat genuine Mexican delicatessen.

We decided to check out Palmeras. Located right by the beach in front of the main ferry pier, the restaurant's Caribbean style wooden structure and French tile roof were very inviting. Its location offered a spectacular view of the Caribbean sea and what I hoped to be a solid promise of a new culinary and fishy adventure.

Our fish taco plate (~$10) came with three tacos. The strips of blackened fish were wrapped in soft flour tortillas. I could not distinguish what type of fish was served; however, I noticed that the filling included a mayo-based creamy sauce, guacamole, salsa and shredded lettuce. The latter ingredient surprised me, as cabbage is traditionally served in fish tacos. The taste of the meal was good but not as extraordinary as I (naively perhaps) expected from the Mexican tavern. However, the entire experience of sitting outdoors on a gorgeous January day, while looking at the blue ocean and drinking Mexican beer was indeed priceless.

Av. Rafael E. Melgar
San Miguel, Cozumel 77600
Mexico
(987) 8720532

http://www.restaurantepalmeras.com/

3 out of 5 fishies.

Just stick with the fried clams

I recently spent a day in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Having once lived nearby, I was seriously craving some delicious seafood, preferably in one of the restaurants overlooking the Portsmouth Harbor. So we headed to Surf, home of the Raw Bar and super fresh seafood. Now I was planning on eating my much missed fried oysters or clams and perhaps some ceviche, but when I saw a fish taco on the menu, I knew I had to sample that as well.

The fish tacos ($14) came three to a plate with a side of Jasmine Rice. The flour tortillas were filled with seasoned fried haddock, a house mango salsa, guacamole, napa cabbage, cheddar cheese and sour cream. The litte fish bites were oh so tasty. But the tacos as a whole... well, they didn't really taste taco-ey. Maybe it was the overwhelming taste of the sour cream or the choice of cheddar cheese, but I just didn't feel like I was eating a fish taco.

However, the lightly fried calamari tossed with parmesan in a cherry pepper vinaigrette, spicy scallop ceviche and the lightly fried Ipswich sweet clam sandwich (served on a grilled potato roll with spicy mayonnaise) were all delicious - so much fishy goodness. So stick with those and skip the fish tacos.

Surf Restaurant
99 Bow St.
Portsmouth, NH 03801
(603) 334-9855

http://www.surfseafood.com/portsmouth.html

3.5 out of 5 fishies.

This fish taco blogger trades the Little Apple in for the Big

New Year's Eve brought me back to New York City and I was introduced to another fish taco establishment. Nestled in the heart of Nolita, Tacombi has quite the interesting hipster vibe. The first thing you notice when entering the warehouse/garage space is the perma-parked vintage VW bus with a pop-up roof. There is a surf-shack style open kitchen in back, folding tables and chairs scattered throughout and the place is decorated with stringed lights and tropical potted plants. The name Tacombi is a play on the words "taco" and "combi" (van). Orders are taken at a counter and made up at the bus which gets its fixins from the kitchen in back. The atmosphere may be campy and theatrical, but it does evoke being at a Yucatan beach shack. Tacombi was indeed originally a taco stand in Playa del Carmen on the Riviera Maya.

The taqueria had a number of fishy options for us to sample: Crispy Fish (beer battered fish, chipotle mayo, cabbage slaw), Seared Veracruzana Fish (seared fish, roasted tomato, caper and olive salsa), Pescado a la Plancha con Pina (seared fish and grilled pineapple salsa), Crispy Shrimp (beer battered shrimp in a salsa borracha), and Seared Shrimp (seared shrimp in a salsa borracha). Served on small tin plates, each double tortilla'd taco ran around $4-5 and had enough filling to make two. Outside of the pineapple salsa version, which they were out of, we sampled all they had to offer. Some fishy tacos were better than others. While most were a bit on the bland side, the Crispy Fish was indeed crisp and tasted freshly fried. The only thing that did not work was the overly strong mayo taste of the sauce. What really made a positive impression on us were the non-fishy tacos such as the Al Pastor (marinated pork and roast pineapple) and especially the Maiz y Poblano (sweet corn, poblano peppers, cotija cheese). But unfortunately for Tacombi, it's the fishy tacos we are reviewing.

So in summary, come check out the hipster vibe, eat some non-fishy tacos and wash it all down with hibiscus tea, spiked horchata or (my favorite) watermelon lime sangria. This place is worth a visit.

Tacombi
at Fonda Nolita
267 Elizabeth Street
NYC, NY 10012
(917) 727-0179

http://www.tacombi.com/

3.5 out of 4 fishies.

This fish taco blogger is once more pleasantly surprised in Kansas

It was that Christmas time of year again and so I headed west to Manhattan, Kansas for the Holidays. My mom was quick to bring to my attention a newly opened Mexican joint that had a fish taco on the menu for me to try. Taco Lucha is located in Aggieville, home of bars and cheap eats for the students. And this newly opened eatery seems to be quite a hit already, as even with most students out of town, the lines were long. The place is happy and bright, steeped in the imagery of the Mexican Luchador tradition and decorated with colorful wrestling masks, assorted lanterns, and bright green bar stools.

We started off with a margarita (tasty although a bit on the watery side) and a bowl of freshly made guacamole. The fish taco was of the classic variety - grilled tilapia, pico de gallo, cabbage, and cilantro lime creme served on a flour tortilla. On the side, a bottle of homemade smoked habanero sauce to spice things up. For $2.75 each, the tacos are priced to please the student budget. The fish was flavorful, the creme delicious, the cabbage crunchy and the addition of the habanero sauce tied it all together beautifully. For 50 additional cents you can add cheese, guacamole or pickled escabeche to your taco. Seeing as Taco Lucha is brought to you by the same owners as the previously well-reviewed So Long Saloon, I should not have been surprised to find such tasty fishy morsels in this Kansas town.

Taco Lucha
1130 Moro
Manhattan, KS
(785) 320-5255

http://www.tacoluchamanhattan.com/

4 out of 5 fishies.

This fish taco blogger really wanted to love you

Located in the Southampton neighborhood of Saint Louis, Lily's is a family-owned, family-run restaurant that touts itself as serving "home-style" Mexican food. So I wanted to love it. I was ready for a hole-in-the-wall establishment with some quirks, but I was also expecting some great flavors. You walk in and place your order at the counter and get handed a cafeteria tray with empty cups, silverware and a basket of chips. You fill your own drinks and grab salsa from the plastic tubs sitting lopsidedly in ice. The decor in this place includes random Mexican objects, a metal cart against a wall that serves as the bar, an assortment of U.S. Marine paraphernalia and lovely family photos (including ones of the Marine son who looks strikingly like his mother).

There were two fishy options to be had and my friend and I tried them both. The fish taco and shrimp taco plates both come with your choice of corn or flour tortilla (though we ordered corn and got flour instead) and are served with rice, homemade potato chips (odd, I know) and pico de gallo with cabbage. The fish taco had a whole piece of fish on it - I would guess Tilapia. It had some nice flavors to it, although certainly no kick. But it was the only thing on that four tortilla and looked rather sad and lonely. Adding the pico de gallo cabbage helped, but the whole thing was still on the dry side. Next, I tried adding the several available varieties of homemade salsa. The roasted one was especially interesting, but definitely on the watery side, so it too did not really improve matters. The shrimp tacos had much more interesting flavors but were way too salty. So I was underwhelmed with blandness. Sorry Lily's, maybe I should have had one of those famed margaritas of yours.

Lily's Mexican

4601 S. Kingshighway Blvd.

Saint Louis, MO 63109

(314) 352-1894

http://www.lilysfreshmex.com/

2.5 out of 5 fishies.

Where's the fish?

Flying through DFW and wishing the Urban Taco I stopped at had fishy options on their menu... their chicken tinga and al pastor tacos were quite tasty and only $3 each (not bad for airport prices).

This fish taco blogger heads down to Texas

Howdy from west Texas y'all. Not being a native, I cannot eat pulled pork sandwiches and steak fries on a daily basis, so I recently headed to Fuzzy's Taco Shop for somewhat lighter grub. This self touted "Baja Style" joint had three fishy tacos on their menu - fish (grilled or tempura), shrimp (grilled or tempura) and crawfish. All tacos come on your choice of corn or flour tortillas, served soft or crispy (c'mon, that's just wrong). The fixins are lettuce, feta cheese, a garlic sauce and tomato. Now I thought everything was supposed to be big in Texas, however that seems to compete with the fact that everything in Lubbock has to be cheap to keep the college folk happy. Instead of substantial pieces of fish, these tacos come with a piddlee'o amount of little nuggets of fish. But at $1.99 each, can you really complain? The tacos are still quite large in size, with a lot of filler to bulk them up (mainly consisting of lettuce). The tempura batter is just a fancy way to say fried, and the fish underneath was decent, but nothing to write home about. The grilled shrimp was bland and to be avoided. However, the crawfish tacos were quite tasty - lots of flavor and a surprising sweetness to them. The garlic sauce in the tacos was boring and watery, but the feta cheese (a surprising choice) added a lot of flavor. And you can spice up any taco with their very hot habanero hot sauce. So get down to Fuzzy's Taco Shop (see here for its many locations) and cool the seat of your saddle. And be sure to get a strong and palatable $4 brain-freeze Texas-sized margarita while here!

2102 Broadway
Lubbock, TX 79401
(806) 740-8226

http://www.fuzzystacoshop.com/index.html

3 out of 5 fishies.

This fish taco blogger turns lobster red at the Jersey Shore

After too much sun and beach lounging, we strolled along the shore on our way to Surf Taco. Having read somewhere that this surf-themed, casual restaurant serves up fresh coastal cuisine, I knew we had to sample their fishy fare. Tacos are around $5 for one and we ordered two different fish tacos on the menu. Their signature Surf Taco is cod battered in tempura, topped with pico de gallo, a white cilantro sauce, a ton of shredded cabbage and a squeeze of lime. The blackened mahi mahi comes with seasoned grilled fish and the same toppings as above. We got both tacos "Baja style" which was supposed to amp up the seasoning by adding two more sauces to the mix. Both tacos are served on a 6" four tortilla and come with homemade chips and four fresh salsas to choose from (mild, verde, baja and hot).

The surf taco was decent - the fish and trio of sauces were tasty, but the batter lacked crisp and the cabbage quantity was quite overpowering. The mahi mahi taco was underseasoned and bland, and the fish quantity close to non-existent. The salsas were quite palatable and fresh, but the verde was overly sweet and to be avoided.

94 Brighton Ave.
Long Branch, NJ
(one of nine locations)
(732) 229-7873

http://www.surftaco.com/

2.5 out of 5 fishies.

Like the CWE's Tortillaria? Check out Milagro in Webster Groves!

Having already been sold on Tortillaria's fish tacos, I next headed to Milagro Modern Mexican in Webster Groves with some friends. Brought to you by the same owner/chef Adam Tilford, Milagro is a higher-end version of the CWE eatery and features a full bar and a more elaborate, upscale menu. The place is all about fresh ingredients and lighter cooking techniques.

There are two fishy options on the menu. The Baja fish tacos - three for $12.95 - come with your choice of grilled or beer battered tilapia, a chipotle lime aioli, shredded cabbage, pico de gallo and fresh Mexican cheeses. Or you can go for the Shrimp Diablo tacos - the shrimp is sauteed in a chile de arbol sauce and is topped with micro greens and fresh mango pico de gallo. Both entrees are served on the same handmade corn tortillas found at the Tortillaria and come with your choice of rice (a traditional Mexican rice cooked in tomato broth or a cilantro rice pilaf with great cumin flavors) and beans (pinto beans stewed with house made chorizo, bacon, tomato, onion, garlic, and chile poblano or black beans simmered with epazote, onion, cumin and chile serrano, and topped with fresh Mexican cheese).

Needing some comfort food, we went for the beer battered fish option. The batter was nice, but could have used a bit more crunch. The fish had a spicy kick to it. But what really stood out was the aioli sauce. It was light and creamy and flavorful. Next, we tried the Shrimp Diablo tacos. Although the seasoning was nice, it certainly was no Diablo. The mango was fresh, juicy and lovely in the pico de gallo, but the tacos seemed to be missing something. We all felt a bit of cheese topping might have helped pull it all together. The presentation of both entrees was great - metal stands hold your tacos upright like three little soldiers. That, and the fact that the corn tortillas did not disintegrate as is often the case in the Lou, made the tacos quite a bit less messy to eat. The fish taco was clearly the winner of the two; just as clearly as the pinto beans were the winner of the sides. I don't even like beans, but the smoky flavors were awesome. Or maybe it was all the chorizo and bacon that finally made me devour a plate of beans.

Be sure to grab a margarita while here. Even the cheapest one on the menu contains real limonata and 100% agave tequila. Not bad for $6!

20 Allen Ave.
Webster Groves, MO 63119
(314) 962-4300

http://milagromodernmexican.com/

3.5 out of 5 fishies.

Food Truck Friday!!

I am so loving the food truck revolution overtaking the Lou! And what better way to celebrate it than with Sauce Magazine's Food Truck Friday in Tower Grove Park. All the food trucks in one place - which sure is easier than chasing them down one by one via their Twitter feeds! It allowed me to finally try Shell's Coastal Cuisine's grilled fish tacos. The tacos come with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, onions, cilantro, key lime crema sauce and a tomatillo salsa. You can choose between flour and corn tortillas. Normally, you get two for $7.50, including a side. But they had a Food Truck Friday special going on - one taco for $4.50 and a side of sweet potato chips. Seeing as I had lots of other truck fare to sample, I went for the special.

The fish tasted like tilapia; it had some nice, spicy seasonings and was quite moist and succulent. Shell's Coastal Cuisine advertises itself as providing "Floribian" flavors and this was most apparent in the key lime crema sauce. It was citrusy and very tasty. The onions were slightly caramelized, which added a little bit of sweetness. The iceberg lettuce provided a little crunch. However, the corn tortillas were quite a fail and fell apart at first bite. P.S. Loved the sweet potato chips!

A moving target - follow them on Twitter.

3.5 out of 5 fishies.

Guest fish taco blogger heads to Hotlanta

Prior to the Philly trip and subsequent El Vez review, we went to Atlanta to see the Cardinals take on the Braves. Needing a fish taco fix, we headed to Pure Taqueria. The restaurant has three locations in the Atlanta area, as well as a place in North Carolina. Our destination in Alpharetta, GA started its life as a 1920s era Pure Fuel gas station. The place has large glass garage doors that open up and expose you to the elements. Inside, they play up the gas station feel with cement floors and industrial furniture; 1920s metal ice coolers keep the beers cold.

We ordered the Pescado - three fried fish tacos on corn tortillas for $10.49. The tacos were topped with poblano slaw and chipotle mayo. The platter included arroz Mexicano and your choice of frijoles negros, refritos or churros. To spice things up, two salsas - cruda tomatillo and chile morita - were served on the side. The fried fish was superb and super fresh. They used tilapia, although it was hard to tell as they did not skimp on the batter, resulting in a nice and crunchy fried fish. The chipotle mayo was a nice take on the traditional Baja sauce. It wasn't overly spicy, but had a bit of a kick to it. However, topped with either or both of the side salsas, the fish tacos had some serious Atlanta heat.

Our fish taco cravings were satisfied. Unfortunately the Braves beat the Cardinals.

103 Roswell Street
Alpharetta, GA 30009
(678) 20-0023

http://puretaqueria.com

4 out of 5 fishies.