Fresh Off The Hook - So Many Choices

I knew this day would come. A truly complicated menu. 3 fish options, each available grilled or fried, and without an obvious "everything" option. One or two tacos, one fish at a time. Not unexpected from a high quality seafood restaurant like Fresh Off The Hook, but difficult all the same. With a little finagling I was able to get a plate with all 3 fish options, which was about all I could fit in my stomach anyway. We'll have to leave the grilled options for another time I suppose.

We ended up at the BoDo location on Saturday night, which ended up being perfect patio weather. A light breeze, low 80's, shade, hard to beat. The location is good, right on the corner of 8th and Broad, good people watching and general entertainment. The server mispronounced cumin, but I'll forgive the mistake, she hooked up the off-the-menu triple taco plate.

Presentation - The patio was great as mentioned above. Service was decent. The interior seating didn't seem quite as inviting, but overall not bad. On the whole, solid experience. The plating was nothing out of the ordinary, functional but not anything visually exciting. From the left; cod, mahi mahi, and halibut. 3/5

Aroma - As usual, mild but good. The salsa and lime-cilantro dressing were appealing, but were not strong. The breading pretty easily overpowered them, luckily it was also good. 4/5

Value - This was actually a fairly contested point with Christine. The 3 taco plate was not cheap at all, $19.99 total. I originally had this as a 4/10, which I feel was being a bit generous, but she thinks it deserves more. Let me fully explain the menu; Regardless of how many tacos you get, you get a salad (or soup for an extra buck), a side of chips and salsa (or fries or coleslaw for $0.75, sweet potato fries for $1.50), and a sherbet. At $7.99 for a single taco (they are not small) this becomes a better deal. Personally a single taco is a bit light for me, but if it's enough for you, solid price. The deal you get is your decision, so we came to a consensus on this and an extra point was earned. 5/10

Fish - Things start to get really good here. Unsurprisingly a seafood specific restaurant has really good fish across the board. I also salute their choices, all 3 are mild flavored and on my arbitrary "good fish" list. High marks before the tacos were even delivered. When they came, they did not disappoint. The fish was plentiful (tortillas were leaning more towards the "burrito" size versus the "taco" size) and perfectly battered. I ate them from left to right, so cod first. It was the best of the three and about impossible to find fault with. Mahi mahi, while good, was a bit dry and lighter on flavor. Halibut was a close second to cod, still a tad dry but seasoned well and oh so tasty. 9/10

Not Fish - Flour tortillas, while not ideal, worked ok here. If nothing else they helped the sizable tacos hold together. Only one lime for the three tacos, but it was juicy. The dressing and pico were simple but tasty. The menu claims guacamole and cheese, neither of which I actually noticed. They could have been there, could have not. Might be getting a bit generous here but I can't find any big faults. 8/10

Overall Taste - Really good, if not a bit on the simple side. A unique sauce or more flavor to the existing ones may up it a bit, but maybe that's not what they're going for. I can see these appealing to a wide range of tastes, as they did to mine. 8/10

Bonus Points - Nothing jumping out at me here. No kids with us this time, so no opportunity there, though their kids menu looks good and decently priced. If I hadn't included the sherbet in the value section it might have earned one. Anyway. +0

Overall Overall - 37/50

37 is a solid score. Depending on where Bittercreek falls it's tied for 1st or 2nd. About what I expected for a true seafood place, but again slightly dinged by the value. I think I'm going to have to have some extra awards at the end, best fish, best value, all that. Anyway, solid tacos, really looking forward to the rest of the real seafood joints.

La Tapatia - 18 Years!?!?

Unless I'm misinterpreting something on their Facebook page, it appears that La Tapatia has been a staple of dining in Boise for 18 years. More than half of my life. Mind blown. I honestly hadn't even heard of it until it showed up on the list earlier this spring.

La Tapatia is on Parkcenter in the same lot as Red Robin and Barbacoa, so I've definitely passed by it, probably hundreds of times. Hell, I lived less than a mile away for a while. Weird. The patio seems decent, if not a bit small. Inside is laid out well enough, quiet and clean. The menu is large, quite a few options. In fact, this was the first time I've run into two separate fish taco entree options. I explained my predicament and they graciously offered to combine the plates and give me two of each.

Presentation - Good, simple decor, not too flashy. Enough to feel like a Mexican restaurant without smooshing your face in it. Service was great, glasses were never empty and chips and salsa showed up shortly after we sat down. The plating was fairly traditional, though I will say that the plate was damn near on fire for a few minutes. I brushed my arm against it a few times shortly after it was delivered and I sure felt it. The bare corn tortillas are the Tacos Mexicanos, the spiced ones are Tacos Al Comal. 4/5

Aroma - Something about the smell was just fantastic. As usual, hard to tell why, but it was about perfect. Citrus, spice, all that, spot on. First perfect score here. 5/5

Value - The online menu I found puts these at $10.75-11.50, which is not bad. However, the actual current menu price for either is $13.99, a pretty sizable jump. They were nice enough to give me 4, entrees are usually only 3. The low point of this review, just not a great deal. I did leave full, so it's still a good sized meal, but a below average deal. 4/10

Fish - In former reviews for places with multiple options I've reviewed the better of the two. Here that's hard to nail down, they were both pretty good. Tacotatorship, I will review both! The Al Comal were grilled and spiced really well. A good bit of bite, garlic, maybe some chipotle in there. The description is vague, so those are a guess, but the flavor was great. The Mexicanos were fried, medium-heavy batter and a really nice lime flavor to them. If there's one fault to find here, the fried were a bit on the bland side, well flavored but pretty mild, especially compared to the Al Comal. However, minor gripe at most. Both had plenty of fish per taco. Two for two. 8/10

Not Fish - Tacotatorship, double double review! Corn tortillas for both, though just one per taco and they did fall apart a bit. The Al Comal tortillas had a spice or sauce on them that added to the overall spiciness. Non-traditional, but I liked it. The Mexicanos had lettuce and pico de gallo in them, the Al Comal had tomatoes, onions, and a few other things that are slipping my mind. The guacamole was good and a nice addition to both tacos and the sauce had a nice spiciness to it. The side of rice and beans was mild, but good. I cleaned my plate without issue. One gripe as usual, no limes. 7/10

Overall Taste - Triple double? Triple double! The Mexicanos were, as mentioned, a bit on the mild side. More traditional, the sauce and guac did a good job of filling them out a bit. The Al Comal edged out the win, non-traditional and it really works. I wish they had a slightly more filled out menu description so I could remember what the hell was on them. 8/10

Bonus Points - Kids meals were fine, Christine's enchiladas were well reviewed, all around solid meal that came in at $50 with a tip, about average for us anymore. I'm almost tempted to give them one for the bonus taco, but that doesn't seem fair. Oh well. +0

Overall Overall - 36/50

The value torpedoed this one. Currently tied for 3rd with The Reef, but at the price advertised online I think they'd be a strong 2nd behind Bittercreek (whose future still remains up in the air). The rules of Tour de Fish Taco are unflinchingly rigid and divisive, and thus, on we go!

Pollo Rey - New Ownership, New Experience

Pollo Rey has been around for over 20 years at this point, though I don't recall going before last fall. We went in for a meal and left overall unimpressed. Food wasn't great, prices were high, I don't remember all of the specifics but just not a good time. I was expecting the same this time, however I did recall something about Bittercreek Ale House buying them a while back, which could prove beneficial. Google confirmed when I got home, changed hands in December. Potential.

I should preface this by saying I just came back from 4 days of the best food I've ever had. I'm a bit worried this might sway my ranking, but on we go. Walking in the ambiance hadn't changed much. Open floorplan, fast casual feel, same menu and all that. However the service seemed improved, I recall a fairly grumpy server last time, this one was way more cheerful. Could have just been an off night for the first one, but this was a welcome start.

Presentation - The decor is fine, not fancy but does the job and fits the Mexican restaurant vibe. The menu doesn't explicitly state it, but it seems like everything comes with chips, at least everything that we ordered did, kids meals included. Tacos are sold ala carte, so per the rules I got two of them, skipped the beans and rice because of the aforementioned chips. There's a salsa bar with a couple options and as many limes as you want. Food comes in lined baskets, nothing fancy, but fits the bill. 3/5

Aroma - The chipotle comes through, there's also a bit of citrus. Nothing too strong, fairly balanced. 3/5

Value - $6.90 for two tacos, $1.59 for a drink, $8.49 total. Not a bad price, not a great deal for counter service. 5/10

Fish - Grilled, so starting at a disadvantage. That said, damn, really solid. About the perfect amount, a nice spice/marinade, and the crispiness from the grill worked great. Not quite all the way to blackened, but crunchier than usual grilled fish. Great flavor, my fried preference stands but there's nothing wrong with these. 7/10

Not Fish - The trend follows here, simple but effective. Two corn tortillas that are done as good as I've ever seen. Slightly blackened like the fish and it seems like they grilled both together as they aren't quite aligned but are stuck together. Hard to explain but for some reason it works great. The sauce was on point, the veggies were great, really good on all fronts. 9/10

Overall Taste - These hit the spot. I almost went back and got a third. Very balanced, perfect size. Not much more to say, just really good. 8/10

Bonus Points - If there was a "most improved" category this would get it. Worth a point? Nah, but worth noting. +0

Overall Overall - 35/50

This is another one that I feel is better than the score indicates. 35 is not far from the top, but regardless of the outcome, Pollo Rey is worth a visit. Seems the new ownership is doing things right.