Las Casuelas Nuevas

I have had a very long relationship with Las Casuelas Nuevas in Rancho Mirage, California. My family and I have been traveling to the Palm Springs area for holidays and weekends since the early 80's. Typically we all go to Las Casuelas Nuevas at least once a trip for the big night out. I have gone from the kids menu to the large house margarita and probably have eaten a metric ton or four of their chips.

Las Casuelas (the original) was the first Mexican restaurant to open in Palm Springs (1958). Las Casuelas Nuevas (this location) was opened in 1973 and is claimed to be the first Hacienda-styled dinner house in America. I have never been to Las Casuelas Terraza (opened in 1979) or Casuelas Cafe (1992). The restaurant is like a large house with a big open pation (where we eat on this trip) and several rooms, each with a little different ambiance.

I ordered the Fish Tacos under the "Taco Platters" and selected one grilled and one "Baja style" (fried). For $15.25, the plate includes mahi-mahi tacos fried or dusted with achiote seasoning and grilled, rice and beans. The tacos themselves are the standard double-corn tortilla affairs with the fish, and then a smoky Chipotle Cream sauce and jicama cole slaw.

My wife had the chile verde and our friends had carnitas and fish tacos. I have had the carnitas and chile verde many times and had some orderer's remorse when the food arrived. The carnitas looked positively succulent and dripped with pork fatty goodness. I told our companions about our search for the best fish taco and we spent some time comparing notes on where they felt the best came from. (Note: if I get down near Del Mar, I apparently need to try the Brig).

Both of us that had the fish tacos were disappointed. To be fair, they were fine, and when ordered with good friends, sitting outside on the patio on the front-side of a long weekend in Palm Springs and with a HUGE goblet of margaritas to wash it all down, I am not sure that they could ever be bad. But, in the search for the best fish tacos, all of those outside influences must be ignored and the fish must swim on its own.

To that end, the Chipotle Cream Sauce was pretty good, the tortillas were good and the fish itself was prepared well. It was just missing something to make it qualify as the best. What that is, I can't tell you, but they fall within the ever growing pool of forgettable fish tacos that will do the trick if you need fish tacos and aren't looking to be wowed. The ulitmate question is always "will I order them again?" The answer here is no...that doesn't mean that I won't keep coming back to one of my favorite restaurants in the Desert, it just means that I will order something else and only enjoy being there rather than deconstructing the food.

Website
Las Casuelas Nuevas
70-050 Highway 111
Rancho Mirage, California 92270
(760) 328-8844

Bear Trapped

Ever since the seeds of this blog were planted, I have heard about Bear Flag Fish Co. in Newport Beach. I had heard from multiple sources that their fish tacos are the benchmark for fish tacos. I was excited. Upon picking up my wife at the airport (returning from a Bachelorette Boondoggle in Veg-Rock), and with my daughter in tow, we headed down to Newport for lunch.

Located a mere 2 blocks from the sand and sharing a parking lot with a popular "Sunday Funday" bar, Bear Flag has an unbeatable location. On a warm sunny SoCal day, as it was during our visit, this place shines. Tables inside and out with a casual, surf-fish vibe inside. There was a line 10 people deep, which was a good sign. We ordered to-go and took it home.

Anxious to bust into our eats, we snacked on the chips on the way home. Thick and with a homemade taste, these tortilla chips were a second good sign that we were able to sample some fantastic FTs. We got home, set up our feast and dove in. I ordered 2 panko-grilled fish tacos. The tacos had your typical shredded cabbage and came with tomatos to top on each taco. Here are my takeaways:

1. The corn tortillas held up very well, considering there was 20 min. between our ordering and eating. The tortillas were grilled, giving each taco a smokey flavor. Unexpected and different.

2. Each FT came with a lemon, which was a nice change from the typical lime that comes with FTs at other establishments.

3. The Tommy sauce was drizzled on each FC, and really made for a nice tangy tasting experience.

Overall, the tacos were great. The smokey taste with the Tommy's sauce really left you feeling like they were aiming for something different that other places. They were offering a creative solution. I have nothing but good things to say about the taste, but...

The size of each FT was a serious issue. Typically, when I order FT's I use the price as a guage for the size. When FTs are listed at $1.99, I know not to expect much. But when they are priced at $2.99 with $1.00 extra for avocado ($3.99 total), I expect a sizable FT. For lunch, 2 FTs for $8, should fill you up, right? Not at Bear Flag. A filling lunch here would have required me to purchase at least 3 FTs, perhaps 4. $12-16? That seems a bit absurd to me, even if they are great.

So, either go to Bear Flag when you are only half-full or be prepared to hand over a few more sheckels than you would think.

B

Bear Flag Fish Co.

407 31st Street

Newport Beach, CA

Del Taco

I love Del Taco. Let me say it again with the full knowledge that it may destroy my culinary credentials with everyone, but I love Del Taco. In the war between Del Taco and Taco Bell, I would choose DT 99 out of 100 times (the 100th time is when there is only a TB within several miles). Throughout my High School and College Career (and, sadly, still) if I am eating fast food after 10:00 pm, it is Del Taco. I have seen friends take down $18 worth of DT and then walk back up to the Counter for more (OK, it wasn't just friends, I did it too, but there was tequila involved).

My usual order is two chicken soft tacos (the best in the business in my opinion) and some sort of burrito. Every once in a while, I mix it up with their crispy fish tacos.

I have ordered the Crispy Fish Tacos at Del Taco may times and while they are always very good, I usually just consider them a starting point (or mid-way point) of a Del Taco multi-course Fiesta. So it was with rapt, laser-like focus that I enjoyed a fish taco with the goal of reviewing it here.

The setup is standard, double corn tortillas, cabbage, pico de gallo, and VERY crispy breaded and fried Halibut with "special sauce" (basically mayo and lime). Extra credit is awarded to Del Taco for including a lime wedge, a nice special touch that fish tacos costing triple sometimes forget to include. They are great for what they are, mega-chain (in SoCal), fast-food attempts at Mexican food. On the plus side, they are just about the crunchiest fish tacos I have had. On the negative side, they are very small and really don't have much fish to them, they are really fried batter tacos with some fish in them.

Del Taco's website.
Various locations. For list, see here.

Jalapenos

Jalapenos is one of those ubiquitous Mexican restaurants that line the many strip malls of Orange County. That is not to say that it isn't great Mexican food, just to say that you sometimes need to brave the Stepford-like malls of the Irvine Company (and Ladera Ranch in this case) to get good food.

I have been to Jalapenos many times, but previous to this visit, I had only ever ordered the Chile Verde or Chile Colorado (both excellent dishes, the latter being a smoky, spicy treat unique from many other places).

The fish taco is listed on the menu for $2.35 and is described as coming with cabbage, tomatoes, cliantro, onions and white sauce in a soft shell. And, in fact, it did.

The fish (Tilapia) was lightly breaded and friend and was a very good specimen of the lightly fried fish taco. The size of the taco was larger than most and the overall flavor was great. All in all, a better than average fish taco that I will eat again.

6404 Irvine Blvd
Irvine, CA 92620
(Woodbury Shopping Center)
Locations also in Tustin, Irvine, and Ladera Ranch
Website

SIlverware Needed

I love being surprised, which is why I really enjoyed my most recent visit to Opah Restautant & Bar in Aliso Viejo. As I made the short drive to lunch, I have to admit that The Year of the Fish Taco was not at the front of my mind. What I was thinking about was my go-to Opah order: Macademia Crusted Mahi-Mahi. At the risk of undermining this blog, let me put in a little plug for what I consider the best item on the menu! I can almost taste it now (eyes closed, glands salivating)...the sweet, crunchy exterior, the soft, flaky, Mahi-Mahi....whoa, what happened...where am I?

Sorry, back to the FTs. So let's face it, anyone who has been to Opah a few times can agree that fish tacos are not what you think of from this small, but upscale OC restaurant chain (locations in AV and Irvine). In fact, I almost didn't open the menu... thinking I already knew what I wanted. But, just before it was my turn to order, I glanced at the menu and spotted "Fork & Knife Blackened Fish Tacos." I knew what to do.

These FTs were different than the typical ones I have had in the past. First, as stated in their name, these FTs required utencils. But don't think for a second that utencils make these FT's not worth the effort. Don't judge a book by it's cover.

The lunch portion includes a pair of grilled, blackened Mahi-Mahi FTs covered in cabbage and sprouts and flanked by a healthy portion of a fresh papaya and cucumber salsa. The flour tortillas were spread on the inside with a roasted tomato butter. What made this dish was the combination of all of these things together. The sweetness of the papaya was the best part. Unlike most tacos I eat (fish or otherwise), which I douse in the hottest hot sauce available, these left a tangy taste in my mouth.

It is hard to compare these FTs to their hand-eaten brethren that you find at most Mexican or Mexican-inspired restaurants. Overall, I enjoyed these FTs and would encourage ordering them...presuming you have tried the Macademia Crusted Mahi-Mahi.

Opah Restaurant & Bar

26851 Aliso Creek Road, #C

Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

(949) 360-8822

Tacos & Co

Tacos & Co is a small chain of mexican food restaurants that I have been to many times (because their location at Bristol & Jamboree) is central to everything. They have five total stores and I have not been to any of the others ones. My regular order at Tacos & Co is the carnitas and I have always enjoyed them.

As I drove up today, I saw a huge sign advertising fish tacos for $1.99 hanging out in front of the store. On the wall menu, I saw both grilled fish tacos and Sonora fish tacos (fried) offered. I ordered two grilled fish tacos with rice and beans. Each one was $1.99 and the rice and beans was an additional $0.99.

There was a small mix-up with my order and I only received one taco (as pictured) with the sides, but they quickly rectified the mistake and brought me out my second taco within a minute. The tacos are standard in their construction; double corn tortillas, yellow-tinged chopped up and grilled Tilapia, mixed-cabbage slaw (very crunchy), crema, and diced tomatoes. I tasted the first one without any additional salsa and found it to be a very good fish taco. The best part of it was the crunchy cabbage mix which was much more toothsome (although pleasingly so) than others. I couldn't detect what the mysterious yellow seasoning on the fish was and forgot to ask. I will be back to sample the Sonora style tacos and will ask then.

My overall review is positive. The tacos were above average, incredibly well priced, and the cabbage mix was really pleasingly crunchy.

They have great nachos and give student discounts as well (though my student discount days are growing farther and farther away at an alarmingly rapid rate).

Tacos & Co
3601 Jamboree Road, STE #6
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Good coupons on their website here

George's Mexican Food

It was 2:00 pm and I hadn’t had lunch. I was running around trying to get my two year old son a Thomas the Train crossing arm that he desperately wanted and that took me far from Irvine to the mean streets of Westminster (and incidentally, if you need ANY model train paraphernalia, go to http://www.arniestrains.com/). On my way back to the freeway along Edinger, I saw the bright sombrero of a grinning man beckoning me to come in to George’s. Despite it having a drive-through, I parked and walked inside to better feel the ambiance and enjoy the fish taco as George would have me do it.

I walked into the empty restaurant (although there were several cars in the drive through) and perused the menu. I have to admit that there were so many good looking menu options that I wanted to order a torta or a carnitas burrito, but, this is the year of the fish taco, so I soldiered on and ordered the 2 item combo with two fish tacos and rice and beans for $5.49. I inquired from the less-than-friendly lady behind the counter what type of fish was used in the tacos and she informed me that it was Tilapia. For those that don’t know, Tilapia is a freshwater, tropical, white fish that is a bottom-feeder like a catfish, however, most are farm-raised and good for you since they are low in fat and high in Omega 3 and 6’s.

I watched as the cook took a Styrofoam, 3-part “picnic” plate and piled up refried pintos in one part, Spanish rice in another part, and prepared four corn tortillas on a steam press. She waited for a cook in the back room to produce two 5 inch fried filets of fish through a pass which she then placed into the double tortillas and added a white crème freche (or Crema) sauce, a shredded cabbage mix, and pico de gallo. She added two lime sections and a handful of chips and handed me the plate.

Upon inspection of the fish, I found that it had a thick, bright orange breading that appeared to feature several spices and that the fish inside was somewhat slimy and had shrunk from the crispy outer shell. The tortillas were larger than most and the filet of fish in each taco was much larger than most.



The overall flavor was ok. Nothing special. I found the consistency of the fish within the breading (the sliminess) a tiny bit off-putting, but overall, it was a mediocre fish taco. The chips were above-average and the rice was one of the few Mexican rices which I actually ate and found to be tasty (no doubt from the overall fat content since it appeared to be completely covered in oil). Overall, it was a passable lunch and well priced, but left me thinking that I should have ordered a carnitas burrito…

I checked out their website and it says that they have been doing it for 25 years. I found their website to be pretty impressive for a drive-through Mexican food place. My only criticism is the opening video where a clearly Caucasian voice says, “Our food is Bueno and picante!” with no attempt to add any sort of accent and with a funny way of saying “bueno.” They should have told her to roll like the newscasters who speak perfect English until they pronounce a Spanish word and roll their r’s into oblivion. They even have a twitter feed and online coupons. Now if they could only improve their fish tacos…

George’s Mexican Food
6581 Edinger Avenue
Huntington Beach, CA
http://www.georgesmexicanfood.net/index.php