The Piper Pub - Potential Dashed

The Piper Pub has long been one of my favorite downtown restaurants. The location and patio are hard to beat and they sell schooners (32oz) of beer that are hilariously fun to drink. Haven't partaken much as of late, but I love me a good schooner glass. Today is Addie's birthday and she requested corn dogs for dinner, which left us with either Piper or The Ram, and an unexplained 45 minute wait time at The Ram made it an easy choice.

See what I mean? Awesome location, even though recent construction has given it a bit less of a view. We chose to sit inside, but still a nice atmosphere. Addie particularly liked the belt driven ceiling fans.

Presentation - Awful dead for a Saturday night, eh? Doesn't hurt the layout of the place, though the vibe suffers a bit. Good service, enough so that I left a 20% tip even though I wasn't particularly happy about the amount (more on that later). The tacos were also presented nicely, the first I've had that came with a side dish of toppings. A small gripe here, they put a napkin under the taco holder, which normally wouldn't be an issue, however when coupled with a small side of macaroni salad, left a small bit of inedible mushy paper/macaroni slush. 4/5

Aroma - Nothing to report, they smelled like tacos. The mahi was a bit on the fishy side, decent amount of citrus too. 3/5

Value - This is where things start to go sideways. Three tacos and a small bit of macaroni salad is a $11 meal, maybe $12 if the servings were generous. They were not. I remember Piper being relatively cheap, so it was extra upsetting. Gotta be divisive here, worst value yet. 2/10

Fish - Grilled, not a great start. Well spiced, I'll give them that. A tad dry, but tasty. Not a lot of it in the tacos. Something's keeping me from hitting them too hard here. 5/10

Not Fish - The potential was there. I liked the toppings on the side, they allowed for great customization. I had the first taco naked, the second with everything on it. The guac and salsa were pretty mild, as were the already installed toppings. Same goes for the macaroni salad (still not sure what to make of that as a side though). Nothing offensive. Until I found a nice long hair under one of the tacos. Nope. 3/10

Overall Taste - I didn't hate them, not bad, just not memorable. Maybe they'd be better fried? Or hairless? 5/10

Bonus Points - I'm tempted to give them a negative here, but I already hit them for the hair in Not Fish. +0

Overall Overall - 22/50

Bummed about the failed potential here. I really liked this place, but after tonight don't expect we'll return any time soon. It could have been worse overall, just didn't live up to my expectations. Bwa bwa.

The Lift - Fond Memories

The Lift holds a lot of fond memories for me. During college and shortly thereafter they had a doozy of a special, $0.50 cans of Olympia (It's The Water!) and $2 fish tacos on Tuesdays. $10 was enough to have a really solid evening. We were often the recipients of eye rolls from the staff as our Oly can pyramid grew ever higher. Collapse was inevitable, and in some sense foreshadowing. After a long hiatus from taco tuesdays we returned last year to find the special had ended. It was surprisingly upsetting news, enough so that I didn't return again until this week.

I must have spent 4-6 minutes waiting to turn left into their lot. The driver in front of me was not local, obviously didn't have a clue as to where they were going, and was thoroughly flummoxed by the combination of traffic and construction. I snapped this picture, honked at them, and finally made it into the lot. Some guy named Bryan was there too. I vaguely recall drinking gallons of Oly there over the years with him. May have been some other weird red headed guy though, hard to recall.

Presentation - The layout of the bar here is odd, it has a few "fingers" that extend maybe 4-6 feet out, which create three or four U-shaped seating areas that make a lot of sense. Good design, worth some points consideration. The tacos are served rather plainly, two in a paper lined tub with chips and salsa. Nothing wrong with simplicity, works just fine here and fits the place well enough. 3/5

Aroma - Things blend nicely here, cohesive, aromatic, and enticing. 4/5

Value - $8.00 for two tacos, chips and salsa. I don't recall what the drink cost, but it wasn't bad. Pretty decent for a bar. $2 each would have pushed this number up towards 10. Not quite there, but above average. 6/10

Fish - Something about this just works. The breading is perfectly greasy, it's bar food, but really good. They don't skimp either, good sized portions in each taco. Not sure what type of fish, but the flavor is nicely balanced. All around on the money. 8/10

Not Fish - Non-traditional here, pineapple and cilantro lime sauce instead of the traditional white sauce. No limes on the side, though they do have cabbage and two corn tortillas each, so not too far off the formula. Similar to the fish, they're generous. I was worried two tacos wouldn't fill me up, and I was wrong. I did get a large order of tots (only $3) after the meal, but that's mostly just because I dig tater tots. Chips and salsa aren't half bad either. 7/10

Overall Taste - I remember why I ate so many of these during college, they're damn good. Balanced, unique enough to stand out but still satisfy the want for a fish taco, just a nice simple example of the dish. Making my way through this tour they don't stand out quite as much, but still, no big complaints. 7/10

Bonus Points - Nothing standing out. +0

Overall Overall - 35/50

I'm sure the disappointment that comes with losing a special I used to love has tainted this score a bit, and thus, it could never win. Perhaps at $2 each they'd be a strong enough candidate to come out on top, but no dice at $8 a pair. Onwards.

Baja Fresh - The Choice Dilemma

For some reason I wasn't a fan of Baja Fresh growing up. I think it was because the food seemed decidedly...healthy. Don't get me wrong, you can make a high calorie meal here, but for the most part it's many steps above something like Taco Bell. Not a lot of cheese, lighter sauces and breadings, the like. Maybe not what I preferred at 16, but 10+ years on I see the benefits and can certainly appreciate them. They also seem to take more care and pride in food prep, the wait times increase accordingly, but it's a small price to pay for something that's cooked fresh versus sitting under a heat lamp all day. This stop was not random, but a request from my dad, so off to a late Father's Day lunch we go!

This stop represents a first; both grilled and fried on the menu. The rules have a provision for this, which I followed by ordering one of each. It does however, pose a small dilemma in how to score them. To me the logical choice is to score the better of the two since they are independent on the menu. You don't have to get a grilled taco to get a fried one and vice versa. Spoiler alert - I prefer the fried one, though my dad likes grilled. He's getting old, something's probably broken in his brain, I'll forgive him for that misguided preference. Anyway, if you think there's a better way to score, feel free to let me know. I'll probably ignore you as this is a taco dictatorship (tactatorship) not a taco democracy (tacmocracy), but you can feel like you were heard.

Presentation - I just realized that the floor here is identical to the one in our old Colorado house. I miss that diner feel. The place is simple, clean, not much to it but it works fine for a fast casual. I like the salsa bar and free chips as well, makes it easier to wait for your food to cook. The plating was simple but adequate, no complaints and no undue praise. 3/5

Aroma - The sauce on the fried taco had a nice nose, otherwise pretty much par for the course. I've yet to find an exceptional smelling taco. Maybe my nose is broken. 3/5

Value - $8.29 for two tacos, rice and beans, and chips and salsa (though the latter is advertised as free), really about right for a fast casual. The total for two identical meals was a bit over $20, so drinks were about a buck fifty each. On par, not a deal, not a rip off. 5/10

Fish - We'll start with the grilled wahoo (ono, which is apparently a Hawaiian and Caribbean fish) as it wasn't my favorite.  Good flavor and simple, no obvious marinade or spice, just fish. Honestly a bit dry, but a good sized portion. The fried piece was larger (one piece per taco as seen in the photo above, though the single piece is not small) and a lot more flavorful.  I don't think it was spiced, but the breading kept it from drying out. Good breading, both in flavor and quantity, and just the right amount of unhealthyness. 7/10

Not Fish - I'm still trying to make sense of the menu. I believe the ones I got were in the lower section under "Seafood Tacos", however it appears you can also do them "Baja" or "Americano" style as shown in the "Classic Tacos" section towards the top. I didn't specify and was a bit surprised that the grilled and fried were different. The grilled was a bit basic, not bad but not overly flavorful. The fried was better, tasty salsa that is rightly described as tangy. I wish there was avocado on that one too. Both had the proper two corn tortillas and while they only included one lime, more were available at the salsa bar. 6/10

Overall Taste - Good, not great. On the mild side, unoffensive, not too spicy, well rounded to appeal to a wide audience. I'm sure I could have spiced them up a bit with salsa, but they're decent as is. 6/10

Bonus Points - Nothing to report, fairly standard fast casual with no gripes. +0

Overall Overall - 30/50

I think the center bias is continuing, probably because I haven't found any that are really bad yet. It would take a lot for me to rank something in the bottom 20-30%. Maybe I just need to arbitrarily knock everything down 10 points or something. Time will tell.

The Reef - Hiatus Broken

I apologize for the delay in posting, been a crazy couple weeks. Camping, working, various other shenanigans, you know the drill. Back in the saddle, looks like this is going to be a good week for fish tacos. Tonight sent us to The Reef, my memories here have their ups and downs but it's a solid enough restaurant with an awesome rooftop patio. 95 degrees when we went so we were inside, but still a nice venue.

The place was dead when we got there, but at 5:45 on a Monday, not too surprising. We snuck in before happy hour finished, which meant half priced appetizers and drinks, not bad at all. Service wasn't amazing, but such is the corner of 6th and Main, probably the best of the bars in that area.

Presentation - Nice interior, great patio, solid all around. As I said, service was a bit lacking at first, but picked up after we ordered. The plating was solid, full and well presented. A soft 4, but a 4 all the same. 4/5

Aroma - Again, not sure about this category. Smelled just fine, but mild compared to their flavor. Not bad, not memorable. 3/5

Value - Solid deal here. That pile of fried was almost too much for me, and despite the small tortillas, the tacos were stuffed full and quite filling. $10 is a decent deal for this much food. 7/10

Fish - Big portions of mahi mahi, well marinated and prepared. Obviously grilled isn't my thing, but these hit the spot. Just fishy enough, good texture, can't complain too much. 7/10

Not Fish - A nice blend of traditional and unique. Two corn tortillas each, only one lime total but it was a juicy one. The mango cumin vinaigrette had a bite, combined with the voodoo fries it was a fairly spicy dinner. Everything tasted very fresh and the sweet and spice balanced well. 8/10

Overall Taste - The spice of everything was almost too much, but toed the line well. Nice and balanced overall, no complaints. Nothing too memorable but above average. 7/10

Bonus Points - Nice kids meal selection, but not quite enough to justify any bonuses. +0

Overall Overall - 36/50

Top 20% or so, worth the visit. Spicy, so be prepared, but they'd pair great with a shared fishbowl on the patio.

Taphouse - No Sides Required

Back to the wonderful random number generator at random.org, tonight's output was 54, which equates to Taphouse. Onto the bikes to brave the early heat wave and off we go! Taphouse, as the name suggests, is home to 44 draft beer options with a few oddball packaged beers in the cooler too. They offer pints of PBR as side dishes, which is kind of baller. Good kids meal choices, decent food from previous visits, I was looking forward to this one.

Taphouse is off Main street between 8th and Capitol and has a particularly unassuming storefront. I wasn't sure how long they'd last when they first opened, but they have stuck around and done well enough it seems. The interior is well laid out, relatively family friendly, and the TVs are a nice distraction for the girls. They watched some tennis and baseball tonight and were quite happy with it.

Presentation - As I said, nice interior and layout and good service all night. I liked the taco holder, basic but effective, although the use of metal rod instead of plate means they're less useful as the tacos get smaller. Engineer complaint. No side (more on that later), so nice symmetry on the plate I guess. Just fine, though not great. 3/5

Aroma - I liked it, couldn't pinpoint why, but well balanced. Citrus, pineapple sweetness, spice, all good. 4/5

Value - Tougher one here, $8.99 for three tacos is pretty good for a sit down restaurant, but no side. Add in chips and salsa (a sizable portion FWIW, full appetizer size) and you're at $12.98. About right for the food you get, and thus, average score. 5/10

Fish - Tough as well. There was a lot of it and it wasn't terrible, but the spice was very one dimensional. Seems like the chef just threw some cayenne pepper on it and called it a day. Come on, show some initiative. Some lime, garlic, something to add a little more flavor. I think I'm coming to a general theory on grilled fish; if spiced right it can be pretty damn good. Fried has the umami of the breading and grease, which can make even mediocre fish pretty tasty. Grilled needs more creativity and thought and is theoretically a better indicator of the chef's talent. Something to ponder. Anyway, back to the task at hand. 5/10

Not Fish - Flour tortillas again, but well prepared, not crumbly. Only one lime wedge for all three, but luckily a juicy one. Good slaw, just the right amount of pineapple. Decent sauce. Not a standout, but not bad. Perhaps being a bit generous here. 6/10

Overall Taste - Good, not great. Balanced, filling, overall decent for grilled fish. Above average, but not really anything to break away from the crowd. 6/10

Bonus Points - Nothing quite good enough to stand out. All around solid experience, but I can't pin a point to any particular thing. Close, no cigar. +0

Overall Overall - 29/50

Slightly above average, but nothing to write home about. For the record, their menu is solid. Christine had the Tin Shed Turkey sandwich and devoured it. The kids meals (mac and cheese for Rylie, chicken strips for Addie) were priced well, sized generously, and were also eaten in full. No leftovers for anyone, which is saying something. Great beer taster tray options too if you like that sort of thing. Worth the trip, but there are better menu items than the fish tacos.