La Bodega – Voodoo Fish Tacos

http://www.bodegatacos.com/

Location:

Price: $6.99, $4 for an additional taco (comes with beans and rice)

Flavor: I was excited because the type of taco I ordered was cooked as blackened. And I still had good memories of the blackened fish tacos from Fish Daddy’s (review below). however all I got was a mouth full of salt. Rice had been sitting under a lamp, might have been been from yesterday. Beans are beans, nothing special.

Overall: A mouth full of salt and bland rice. Really glad I didn’t order another taco because I probably would not have eaten it. Fish was OK, but nothing amazing – very light on the cabbage so those of you who dislike veggies shouldn’t notice any on there. Not really much more to say, very bland and nothing special.

Rating: 3/10
Maybe if I was nearly black out drunk on Northgate and desperately needed a fish taco, I can stumble over and order one here. Otherwise, steering clear.

2019 Update:
I completely forgot this place existed because the food was just that forget-able. At least this fish taco experience has been wiped from BCS existence.

Fuego Tortilla Grill Campeche Fish Tacos

http://www.fuegotortillagrill.com/tacos-de-fuego/


Location:

Price: 3.89 per taco

Flavor: What is advertised as “Mexican slaw” to me tasted like coleslaw infused with tartar sauce, pico de gallo was good and fresh, the fish was breaded and fried but not overcooked – sort of had a herb taste and was quite flaky. I ordered a half pint of their Roasted Poblano Queso which I drizzled on top for some kick.

Overall: Generally, I enjoy my trips to Fuego. I was on the way home and decided to give their fish tacos a try. First thing I noticed, the tacos weren’t assembled. I’ve gone through the drive through dozens of times and have never seen this. Second, the tortillas might as well have been made of toilet paper. They were falling apart as I was adding the taco ingredients and ripped apart as I was picking it up both times. I can only assume the tortillas had been sitting under a lamp and got too moist and fell apart. I’ve never had this happen when eating at Fuego so I was quite surprised. My tacos, thus, had turned into a fish salad, forcing me to fork my way through the meal. Not a fan of the coleslaw, but I stomached it anyway. Just had an odd mix with the queso (which is always to die for) and the pico.

Rating: 4/10
The taste was enjoyable, Fuego rarely upsets in that regard. However the fact that the tacos weren’t tacos brings it down. I’ll drop by again and eat inside to see if the quality is any better when eating in person.

Ninfa’s Mexican Resturant

Location:

Price: 12.99

Flavor: The fish was flaky and well cooked, but by itself it was a little bland. It was served with sauce that added a lot more flavor. The sauce seemed to have a Thousand Island Dressing flavor, and I am not particularly fond of that taste.

Overall: The meal came with a generous portion of rice, and a small bowl of beans. Both the rice and beans were very flavorful and downright tasty. They also provide endless baskets of chips and salsa at the table that were top notch (their green sauce is very good). The restaurant has the “South of the Border” theme with a good selection of frozen drinks. It has an open air decor and was a little noisy, but not a bad place to take friends on the weekend. Unfortunately, I liked everything else about the meal, except the fish tacos. (I would have been happy just eating the chips and salsa….Mmmmm, tasty)

Rating: 5/10

2019 Update:
Guess what? This place closed down. Which just goes to show how “amazing” their food and “service” was. I went here maybe 2 more times to try not-fish-tacos (Crazy right?) And I sat myself and had to wave down a random waiter to get any service while I was there. Good riddance.

Fish Daddy’s Fish Tacos

Location:

Price: $7.49 (comes with your choice of coleslaw or fries)

Flavor: Cayenne tortilla, rich pico de gallo and their custom taco sauce, spicy and savory. I ordered mine grilled (although their blackened is very flavorful as well, a lot more potent).

Overall: I cannot say enough about how much I love these fish tacos. The cayenne tortilla mixed with the pico de gallo and their sauce just really hits your taste buds when you bite into it. The fish was cooked just right, moist and spiced to compliment the other flavors. It is hard to find anything wrong with these tacos, definitely my best experience thus far. Plenty of food and very affordable, a good choice for a first date.

Rating: 10/10

Cheddar’s Fish Tacos

Location:

Price: $6.99, comes with 1 side (I chose red beans and rice)

Flavor: I ordered mine grilled, in which I had the choice of straight grilled, lemon pepper, or blackened. I went ahead with lemon pepper. Bad choice. I want to say whoever was cooking the fish drowned it in lemon pepper and forgot he was cooking it then grabbed it at the last minute before putting it on my plate. Very very bitter.

Overall: Cheddar’s always reminds me of one of those standard “American food” places. Generally these establishments are lacking in the flavor department overall (you’re just there for the company of others and scenery). That being said, these fish tacos were not that amazing. In hindsight, I should have stayed away from the lemon pepper and got them grilled normally with nothing added. However the super bitter taste really ruined the coleslaw/corn relish on the taco. The slaw wasn’t sweet enough to counter-act the lemon and sadly left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Rating: 4/10
At least the red beans and rice was nice. Otherwise I think I will stick to chicken next time I go.

Fried Calamari Tacos by Chef Tai’s

Location:

Price: $9 (no sides/drink)

Flavor: Surprisingly good. I was not expecting slices of mango on a taco along with the onions, tomato and fried calamari. I ordered mine on corn tortillas while my friend got his on flour. (Corn gets 3, flour gets 2 tacos)

Overall: Most people would scoff at the price. $9 for some tacos off a food truck? And before you rant/rave about these not being fish tacos, these were as close as I could get in a bind. Plus according to my co-workers Chef Tai’s is world renowned.
Normally I don’t like fried anything in a taco, but the fried nature of the calamari actually made these quite delectable. As you can tell by the picture, they load up each taco to the brim, so plenty of food. If for some reason you don’t like mango, I would avoid these. The sweetness of the mango really brought out the flavors of the veggies and made the calamari flavor really pop. Plus you get to enjoy these tasty things outside on a nice day.

Rating: 7/10
They were pretty damn good. But of course I had to dock some points for the price, and because they’re not fish tacos. Would definitely order again.

Chimy’s on Northgate

Location:

Price: $6 without a drink

Flavor: The fish was good/alright, nothing amazing. Their pico de gallo is always good though.

Overall: Let me say this first, what you see above and what was served to me are two different things. I was served two tortillas with a piece of grilled fish and cheese on each one. That is it. Oh and that dainty little container of tartar sauce.
No other sauce, no lettuce, nothing. Just fish, tortillas and cheese. I felt a little empty when they handed it to me.
To be fair, they have a bar set up to the side with other toppings you can put on your food, so I threw on some lettuce and pico to give it some flavor.
The problem is, I made my own food. It wasn’t completely prepared for me. I could make this at home.
I’ll give them props for the tartar sauce though. I hate tartar sauce with a passion, but I gave theirs a shot (dabbing slightly onto each “taco”). Wasn’t that bad.
Still kind of bummed it didn’t come with a side (chips? fries? cup of beans?) for $6.

Rating: 2/10 (one point for each piece of fish)
Won’t go back for the fish tacos, but the nachos are worth the trip.

The Corner Bar and Grill

Good flavor…..Great Price….only 1 bone