Fish Tacos

I really love fish tacos.

I mean REALLY love them.

Well, I love them when they are prepared a specific way.

The first time I ever tried a fish taco was at Rubio's, a chain of mostly Southern California fast food joints. I think I was visiting Brian and Allis back when they lived outside San Diego in 1999 or 2000. Granted, a fast food restaurant probably isn't the best place to have been introduced to such a delicious dish, but Rubio's actually has pretty good fish tacos.

In my mind, the perfect fish taco has lightly battered and fried fish, probably mahi mahi or something else light, inside of soft taco shells, covered in freshly shredded cabbage, a creamy sauce, and served with fresh lime. I'm sure that I'm forgetting a key ingredient, but this is the basic framework for, in my mind, the perfect fish taco.

Whenever I see fish tacos on the menu at a Mexican restaurant like we did tonight at Salsa's in Southie, I am immediately drawn to it, almost as much as any dessert that contains chocolate and peanut butter. The problem, however, is that more times than not, the fish tacos are not good. I had some bad fish tacos at Border Cafe in Cambridge recently, some marginal ones at Kalypso Restaurant in Kauai, and the best ones I've tasted recently at, of all places, Picco in the South End.

Tonight's fish tacos were OK, but prepared far differently from how I prefer them. Salsa's serves theirs not lightly battered and fried, but rather broiled with salsa. Instead of the light Pacific Coast feeling I get with my ideal fish tacos, I tasted a tomato-based fish dish, wrapped in a taco shell. Granted, I cleared my plate and did enjoy the entree, it just isn't how I love them.