300 Pacific Coast Hwy Ste 201.
Huntington Beach, CA 92648.
(714)374-TACO.
Fred’s is an upstairs restaurant that overlooks the Huntington Beach pier on the corner of Main Street and PCH. It’s seen predominantly as a tourist trap so naturally I was a skeptic as to how the food was going to be. The first thing you notice when you step inside this place is the set up of the place. It’s very picturesque in regard to what you would imagine a little beach front bar to be. Colorful walls, a huge bar in the middle, attractive waitresses. Nice. This is one of those places that converts into a full on bar at night, much like most of the downtown area joints, though the full menu is served until a ripe midnight. Anyway, on to the taco! I chose to come out on a Tuesday evening, and as anyone in Southern California knows, that means TACO TUESDAY! Naturally I got my fish taco, but I decided to delve into the world of steak and chicken as well. Hey, we all know you have to get a grip of tacos when your out on this day… Anyway, the place was bustling and it did take a few minutes for my food to come, I can understand this because the kitchen, which contains a viewing window, appeared to be rather small for the size of the restaurant. The kitchen staff was cranking those bad out though, I’ll bet time flies for those guys back there, they looked BUSY. My taco came and it was nice and hearty looking. A flour tortilla with a descent slice of grilled fish, cabbage, pico de gallo and this creamy tomatillo sauce. I must say, the taco was delicious. In fact, all of the tacos were delicious. The steak was rare, just like I like, and the chicken was… well chicken is chicken, and it’s hard to mess up. Three tacos and I was stuffed. The fish was grilled perfectly so it had a delicate crunch on the outside, almost blackened I’d say and the creamy sauce really made the taco. As of right now, I feel that Fred’s has the tastiest grilled taco, and previously reviewed Normita’s takes the trophy of best fried taco… The never-ending quest, however, continues…
This little hole in the wall spot is located just a few blocks from PCH on Beach Blvd. It always seems to me that the little hole in the wall places tend to have the best food. I attribute part of this to the fact that they are more often family run, thus all the recipes are from scratch. Less use of stuff from places like Sysco foods. Well, Surf City Tacos is no exception. Though its always a bit cooped up and warm inside, and they only take cash (the liquor store next door has an ATM machine for ya), you are sure to leave this place feeling satisfied. Norma, the owner, is there every single day taking orders and handing out delicate sarcasm that’ll make you feel right at home… at least my home, hyuk hyuk. Now on to the taco…. The standard here is fried, though they will make a grilled taco for you should you ask. This is another one of the places that makes your taco right there in front of you. The piece of fish that comes on the double layered tortilla is friggin gargantuan. Seriously, two of these bad boys and some rice and beans and you won’t be needing food again for a day. The fish is piping hot, something to be weary of, but I wouldn’t recommend taking this to go (actually I wouldn’t recommend taking any fish tacos to go EVER. The fish will always get soggy and the tortilla will always disintegrate if you get a legitimate fish taco to go). The sauce is creamy and the veggies are fresh. What differentiates Normitas from other fish tacos is that golden batter they use. It’s one of the best fried tacos I’ve had in OC. It’s probably why such a small, hard to find place that only accepts cash is able to thrive in a place where rent ain’t cheap and tourism reigns. Enough locals know about this sweet spot to keep it cookin’. Give it a whirl, tell your friends…. The never-ending quest, however, continues…. 