Amigos - Location, Location, Location

As the crow flies (and driving actually), Amigos is the closest tour stop to home. Just under a mile, honestly I would have walked if it wasn't bloody freezing out. Stupid winter...

For a close restaurant, the place isn't super accessible. It's next to a toy store in a tiny strip mall on the south side of State St. We had to make an odd little jog from 28th to get there and the parking lot is rather tiny. Bad zoning?

Presentation - Pretty bland interior. Fine wall decor, cafeteria tables. Not fancy. Decent plating though, something about it gave me really high hopes for the tacos. Averages out to a solid...average. 3/5

Aroma - The smell went with the look, promising. Nice citrus, spice, all that. Potential. 4/5

Value - The fish is tilapia, so nothing too fancy. $11.50 for a pair of well stuffed tacos and nice sized sides of rice and beans. An extra point for the traditional chips, salsa, and refried beans that came with the meal. I left full. 6/10

Fish - Grilled tilapia, and man it looked good. Not quite blackened, ample spices, on the right track. Unfortunately, a bit on the dry side. Bwa bwa. The spices were solid, good flavor without too much heat. Plenty in each taco. All around ok, not great. 5/10

Not Fish - To the recipe. Double corn tortillas, pico, white sauce, lime. The sauce was just a tad light and mild. Not a lot to fault. 7/10

Overall Taste - I think the dry fish and the light sauce ended up making them a bit dry overall. The flavor was good, just not quite enough to be memorable. Minimal complaints but no obvious reason to choose them over another option. 6/10

Bonus Points - I did an hour on the trainer later in the evening, which hurt. I can arbitrarily blame it on them, but obviously that was my own dumb choice. On the flip side, the kids meal had some good options that were plenty big and only $3.50 a pop. That's worth a point. +1

Overall Overall - 32/50

Again, no major complaints, if you're hungry and driving down State street, it's a fine place to have a meal. Just not a stand out. Middle of the pack.

Eureka! - Newcomers

Been a bit again. Travel and holidays. I actually had some phenomenal tacos on the Oregon and California coasts, The Good Harvest Cafe in Crescent City, CA and Shark Bites in Coos Bay, OR. Both would have ranked high on this list, but neither was cheap. Or remotely local. Anyway, upon return, a coworker told me to check out Eureka! They opened up in the last couple months and fish tacos are on the menu, so on Friday night we headed down to check them out.

Presentation - They're on 8th right across from Red Feather, pretty much under Fatty's. I had no idea what to expect, but it's a nice layout, a wrap around bar with a mix of high tops, booths, and picnic style tables. The beer selection was on point, multiple sours on tap which is no joke. Service was great, we had a very attentive server that was kind enough to bring the girls some snacks before our meal arrived to keep them happy. Basic plating but a nice taco holder and a decent serving of fries. Everything really came together here, and thus, they earn the new high water mark. 5/5

Aroma - I feel like this one was a bit easier than others, the spices they used were nice and aromatic, as was the mango salsa. Non-traditional but they smelled pretty good. 4/5

Value - Perhaps the low point of the review, though not unexpected. Downtown just isn't cheap, and our dinner wasn't either. The tacos were actually the more reasonable side of the menu, and I'll judge on that, because the kids menu was kind of ridiculous. These were $10.50 for a pair and a side of fries. You could upgrade that side for another buck or two, and they had good options but I stuck with the plate as delivered. It could be worse, but it wasn't particularly good, so middle of the road. 5/10

Fish - Grilled, but nicely seasoned. Between the blackening (they were actually blackened, not just in name like some others) and the spices, pretty tasty. Lots of it too, in small pieces so nicely distributed. Perfectly moist. Approaching as good as it gets for grilled. 7/10

Not Fish - As I said, not traditional. Single corn tortilla, though it was different for a reason I can't put my finger on. I don't recall a lot of avocado tomatillo flavor, but the mango salsa was pretty good, and I'm not usually a fruit salsa kind of guy. I could have done for just a bit more...something. 7/10

Overall Taste - An attempt at something different that went over well. I can respect taking the risk and would recommend these, nice and flavorful. 7/10

Bonus Points - On the plus side, great service and like I mentioned, bonus appetizer for the kids. However, kids meals are $7. Seven. Credit for unique options (lollipop corndogs, onion rings, avocado and watermelon) but that is knocked down by the price. So nope. +0

Overall Overall - 35/50

35 puts them up there with some big hitters. Solid performance for a newb. Stop by, I doubt you'll be disappointed.