Sunrise Cafe - Books, covers, etc.

Less than a day from learning about these tacos to eating them at the Overland Sunrise Cafe. Pretty sure that's a record for this blog, but in a sprint to the finish, no holds barred.

I'll preface this by saying a friend manages the Sunrise Cafe chain in the valley and their breakfast is on point. This doesn't mean I got a discount or anything, but I do hope he reads this feedback and maybe tweaks them a bit. A few changes could go a long way here to bring them up to par with the rest of the menu.

Presentation - The inside is pretty standard for a breakfast focused place with some nice variety in seating. There's a bar by the kitchen, another around what looks to be a small fireplace against the front wall, and a nice mix of benches and tables. Service was good, never had an empty glass and the staff was all around nice. The plating was pretty bad, maybe a taco stand would have helped but they looked pretty sad and the pico definitely doesn't look fresh. Iceberg lettuce too, which is kind of floppy vs. a nice cabbage. Almost dropped it to a two, but the service just barely snuck it up a point. 3/5

Aroma - Another one that's not particularly good, but still appetizing. They smelled like tacos. 3/5

Value - $12.99 is not crazy for mahi mahi, but that's provided it's backed up with a nice not-fish set of ingredients. These were lacking in that category, as is I'd say they're a <$10 plate. Also, the menu wording implied a choice of french fries, which defaulted to...french fries. The other tacos had rice and beans, wish these had that option too. 3/10

Fish - It's hiding in there, but there's a nice layer of shredded blackened mahi mahi under that bed of lettuce. It was honestly decent, could have gone for a little more but the seasoning was solid and the shredding actually worked well to keep it evenly distributed. 6/10

Not Fish - Low point here. Single corn tortilla per taco, but they were pretty greasy. More sketchy taco truck than nice breakfast/lunch joint. No limes and the cheese mentioned on the menu doesn't appear to have made it onto mine. The pico was not great looking, but didn't taste bad. Iceberg is a no-go in my opinion, replace that with cabbage. The lime aioli was hidden (right on top of the fish) but had a good flavor. All in all a couple decent things mixed with some not so decent ones, below average. 3/10

Overall Taste - They were greasy, definitely fast food or taco truck style, but they didn't suck. Don't get me wrong, they weren't great, but they tasted better than they looked by a good margin. 5/10

Bonus Points - Nothing of note really. +0

Overall Overall - 23/50

Since there's a chance that someone that can change things will read this, my advice for making them much better:
-Drop the iceberg lettuce, replace with red or green cabbage
-1x lime slice per taco
-Less oil to fry the tortillas, I've found you can do it with almost none on a griddle if you're paying close attention
-Make or buy fresh pico with nice big chunks of onion and tomato
-A bit more fish per taco
-If you're going to include cheese, do so right up top
-Taco holders on the plate
-A side of the lime aioli
-Choice of sides, including rice and beans, chips and salsa, and since you're a breakfast place, something fun like homestyle potatoes or an egg
Incorporate those and I think these would bump an easy 10 points.