I felt I needed to re-review South Beach because I've had variable experiences there; sometimes really great and sometimes not so much. This last experience was of the latter kind. I previously submitted that I like South Beach’s food and atmosphere in general. And I still do. Sort of. I am sorry to say to all you South Beach fanatics out there that when it comes to fish tacos, that place is hit or miss. And this last visit was definitely a swing and a miss.
The lowdown.
I took my neighbor there because she’d never been before and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Enough people talk about it, even as far inland as North Park, that any self-respecting San Diegan is compelled to visit at least once. Just to say they’ve been there. Peer pressure? Sure.
Too much cabbage!!!
Like last time, there was too much cabbage. Waaayyy too much, in fact. When you have to shovel off half the cabbage to see whether or not there’s even fish in there, then that’s too much. Also, and this is a biggie, the tortilla was stale. Yep, you read that. Even everyone’s beloved South Beach can be reckless. A little overly confident, I think. Cocky, even. And unfortunately they only serve flour tortillas. So, it’s not like you can re-order your tacos with corn tortillas, which generally taste okay even when slightly stale. There was also a tad too much white sauce, which created a big white puddle in my plate and caused my tortilla to disintegrate half way through eating it. And if you’re like me, your reaction to food falling apart in your hands is to shove it in your mouth much faster than you normally would. Why do we do that? It caused me to wonder momentarily where my first taco went… oh, right, I just inhaled it because it was falling apart in my hands while creating an even larger mound of cabbage on top of the second taco, now thoroughly buried completely in white sauce-coated purple strips.
Wahoo... Mahi... Who knows?
I ordered a wahoo and a mahi mahi taco, both grilled. But alas, there was so much extraneous cabbage and white sauce that I couldn’t tell one from the other. And because there was such a mess on top of taco number two, I simply attacked it with a fork instead of picking it up. I also didn’t bother with the second tortilla fearing it was also stale - and I didn't want to get too full so I could finish the calamari we ordered as well. So, my second taco was more like a cabbage and fish salad. The fish, by the way, was fine for what it was. Not excellent, just fine. About average.
What brought this experience to a below average rating for me was that their ATM machine wasn't working (a common problem for them) and I had to cross the street to use the sketchy machine in the taco hut - which appeared on my bank statement the next day as a $3 charge. Woah!
Get the calamari appetizer and stop there.
The calamari appetizer, on the other hand, was excellent. It's one thing they can’t screw up (as far as I know). Oh, and it's a huge portion! We're talkin' giant strips of baddered yumminess. You can get that as your meal alone and just stop ordering right there. It has never been a miss and probably never will be unless they drastically change that recipe, which I hope they leave as is. And that’s a good thing, because I will henceforth recommend that all who go to South Beach do so for the calamari, not the fish tacos. Unless you like gambling.
New Rating:
DARREN: 5.
CHRIS: go there soon.
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