Take the Matter into Your Own Hands

Fish Fridays are the law of the land (for Catholics, at least) during Lent. And what better way to advance this blog, than to enjoy a lovely FT on a Friday. I did just that today with my wife and daughter at Avila's El Ranchito in Laguna Niguel.

With my ususal order "off the table, " I snuggled up to a 2 order combo of fish tacos and rice and beans. After having helped myself to a strong serving of chips and salsa, I was looking forward to a new FT adventure. The FTs are delivered in simple form with mahi mahi covered in shredded green cabbage, loosely wrapped with 2 flour tortillas. No cheese, no sour cream, no sauce (truthfully, I typically order FTs with the sauce on the side and I remained true to this here).

The fish was very lightly battered and fried, but light and fresh. However, the fish tasted very plain and, in my mind, needed a little somethin' somethin'. Furthermore, without the sauce (basic tarter sauce) the tacos were on the dry side. Fortunately for me, I love Avila's salsa (chalk full of white and green onions) and proceeded to add a heap to each taco. This made the meal. The salsa added flavor and moistness (is this a word?) and drove my lunch over the finish line. I gobbled them up with the same passion and determination that Larry H. Parker has for delivering settlements to his clients.

Overall, Avila's FTs are simple and slightly plain unless, that is, you take matters into your own hands.

B

27941 La Paz Road, Suite E

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

949.349.9100

http://www.avilaelranchito.com/

Lazy Dog Cafe

The Lazy Dog Cafe recently opened up in the former spot of French 75 at the Irvine Marketplace. The restaurant is a concept from the son of the founder of Mimi's Cafe (Chris Simms, son of Tom) and, like Mimi's the menu has a huge array of options (from lamb shanks to pizza to burgers to chicken and hummus salad).

The decor is a sort of Western ski lodge with dog pictures and themes everywhere. From the menu out front which is posted in the middle of an oversized fire hydrant to the beer taps which are dog bones hanging off of a fire hydrant.

I went on a Sunday morning with a friend, my wife, and our son. I was very tempted to order something from the brunch list, but in the name of academic honesty, decided to try the fish tacos.

The menu reads: AHI FISH TACOS
Seared Ahi tuna in warm corn tortillas with shredded cabbage, Island Salsa, and Horseradish Tartar Sauce. Served with steamed rice and black beans $9.95.

When the tacos arrived, they appeared rather large. Two big tacos with grilled ahi cubes, with the sauce, a healthy serving of shredded cabbage, and the salsa on the side. The steamed rice was just that and the black beans had grilled onions mixed in with them.

The tacos were relatively bland. The ahi was good, but rather bland. Rather than seared, it was fairly cooked through and there was no spice or detectable seasoning on the fish. The tartar sauce was very mild for having horseradish in it and with the amount of cabbage served in the tortilla, the taco was pretty boring. Not bad, just boring. The amount of "island salsa" given was barely enough to cover one of the tacos. I suppose that I could have asked for more, but I was caught up in the conversation and trying to take mental notes of the tacos.

A good salsa with some kick would definitely improve the tacos. After reading an industry news article about the menu, it appears that the tacos are a way to get more use out of the ahi which they buy for the Hawaiian ahi poke appetizer and Asian ahi tuna burger. While that is good food economics, it doesn't mean that the ahi cubes shouldn't be dressed up with some seasoning.

I will probably go back with the family because it is a solid, family-friendly, slightly upscale, casual dining place, but I will not be ordering the fish tacos again.

The Lazy Dog Cafe
Six locations in California with a Seventh coming soon to The Promenade in Temecula.
Website
13290 Jamboree Rd
Irvine CA 92602

Discovery

My experience today at Papa's Tacos in South Laguna Beach was the type of experience I imagined I would have when we started this blog. For me, this blog is as much about discovering new places to eat, as much as it is to find the perfect FT. And I feel like I found a great little "discovery" in Papa's Tacos.

For my entire life , I have driven through South Laguna and passed by Papa's Tacos, located along the eastern side of PCH. It has a very small and unassuming storefront, marked only by a relatively small rectangular sign. I noticed for the last 10 years or so, which I interpret to mean that it must be doing something right. Especially since it is not located along a heavy pedestrian portion of PCH and survived with only metered street parking. Many times have I wanted to stop to peek in and sample, but I had never done so...until today. With my daughter in hand I adventured in to Papa's for a Saturday lunch.

The first thing you notice when you walk in is how small it is. The entire place was about the size of a NYC hotel room (read: small). The counter and kitchen make up 2/3 of the entire store with enough room for 4 worn, wooden stools that were positioned along the large windows facing PCH. The menu offered the standard mexican faire: burritos, enchiladas, tacos, tortas, etc. So I ordered a fish taco, a carne asada taco and rice & beans and settled in with my daughter on one of the stools go wait for our order.

The FTs arrived in a strofoam to-go container. They were healthy in size and consisted of sliced mahi-mahi fish wrapped in 2 medium sized corn tortillas. Melted cheese, cabbage and a small amount of chopped onions (which likely made their way from the carne asada taco) topped off my FT. It was fantastic! The melted cheese on the mahi-mahi along with the errant chooped onions made for a great taste. The fish was very light and flakey but hearty, if that is possible. I saved the hot salsa to the second half of my FT which turned out to complement the FT quite well. The rice and beans (and carne asada taco) rounded out what was a great lunch.

After lunch, I chatted up the owner. He told me that Papa's Tacos has been there for 19 years but he had recently taken over ownership and management. It must have been very recent given that when I was there the cook was "training" him on using the register.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience, from the food to the dining experience in the restuarant (my daughter even behaved well eating lunch on my lap!). I highly recommend Papa's Tacos and I know I will be back.

Papa's Tacos

31622 Coast Highway

Laguna Beach, CA 92651

(949) 499-9822

www.papastacos.com

Vegas Roadtrip Report

Road Trip. Las Vegas.

Enough to strike fear into the hearts of most mortals, however, an opportunity to experience new things. When those things are of the fish taco variety, you can come home to your spouse with a clear conscience.

I traveled along with a group of about twenty for a Bachelor Party in Las Vegas. I will spare you (and me) stories of the rest of the weekend and focus solely on Friday night's dinner at the Pink Taco in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. You've heard of it, you've laughed at the name, how was the food?

The fish tacos were very good for Las Vegas. Nothing earth shattering compared to SoCal, but a solid effort nonetheless. Fresh tortillas, battered and fried fish (it only says fish on the menu and the drinking blocked any memory I may have had of the type of fish), a great serrano-cilantro salsa, cabbage, and pico de gallo. A solid effort and no disappointment considering the environment.

I am glad that the table doesn't show the number of empty beer, margarita, and tequila shot glasses on the table so that this entry is not completely ignored. Next time you are in Vegas and want a fish taco, you won't go wrong with the Pink Taco.


Website
Pink Taco
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, NV

A great fish taco story and recipe...

The OC Weekly blog has a great story (and recipe) about catching endangered species for fish tacos.

Read the article (and recipe) here...

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