Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Foods Go Fish Tacos
Posted by Carrington Fox on Tue, Jul 8, 2008 at 10:15 AM
In this week's review of Aquarium, the family-friendly edu-eater-tainment spectacle of sea life and seafood at Opry Mills, I mention a beautiful but disappointing entrée of fish tacos. Presented playfully like street food—in festive foil wraps—and garnished with grilled lime and julienned jicama, the tacos made a great first impression, but they sank in the taste department, drowning in a bready tidal wave of batter and thick double-layered tortillas.
While fish tacos have become increasingly popular in our landlocked city, surfacing on menus from Rosario's to Radius10, very few taco traders have found a successful balance of fish and filling.
In my book, Baja Burrito still reigns supreme, with its glorious combination of freshly fried fish, raw cabbage, citrus-tinged creamy sauce and lime slices in warm corn tortillas. In the last few months, La Hacienda has come on strong with the addition of fish tacos to the menu. Just this weekend, on our weekly family Hacienda outing, I realized that fish tacos have replaced beef tacos as my regular lunch order. (Two fish tacos, one tostada ceviche and a Diet Coke, por favor.) The triumph of the Hacienda version is the delicate homemade corn tortillas, which don't overwhelm the small chunks of sweet grilled fish. While there's no creamy sauce, the squeeze bottle of green sauce on the table provides plenty of brightness and moisture.
La Hacienda and Baja Burrito price their fish tacos similarly, with three tacos and chips for $6—and Baja Burrito throws in a drink. Compare that to a platter of fish tacos with rice and beans for $12 at Aquarium.
(Of course, Aquarium offers phenomenal entertainment, with sharks, rays and guitarfish circling in the 200,000-gallon tank at the center of the restaurant. Compare that to Univision at Hacienda and Baja's panoramic view of traffic on Thompson Lane.)
Comments (8)
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12 South Tap Room serve up some good mahi mahi (called Dorado where I come from) tacos for around $11...not always on the menu but tasty.
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Chile Burrito (downtown) serves up some great fish tacos, too. Two tacos, chips and a drink for around $6.
I'll second Garcia's in Franklin. Grilled fish, cabbage, a slice of avocado and sauce in corn tortillas. You can order them a la carte or served with rice and black beans.
Had 'em once at Judge Bean's and they were great all the way down to the last fresh, flaky bite of fish. Had 'em there a second time and they were nauseating. Nobody should even attempt a fish taco without firm standards of quality control.
