Jalapenos - Disappearing Flavor

ADMINISTRATIVE DETAIL: No more Gloria's, I drove by to confirm, the space is vacant. One down, but some searching today added FOUR MORE FREAKING STOPS! We're not done yet folks, I was hoping to finish this week but I don't think that's so doable anymore. Still targeting finish this month.

Jalapenos was a relatively late addition to the list. Not sure why I didn't catch them on the first melee search, but I did later, which is what counts. Or something. They're right around the corner from work, so it's a nice convenient lunch stop. I couldn't even bring myself to drive today, it's just so close. A quick 5 minute walk, and here we are.

Presentation - The patio is skinny and kind of odd shaped, but the inside is just fine. There was a bachelorette party (I think) in one area and it didn't bug me at all. There are a couple slightly separated dining rooms and a high top bar area which was where I ended up. The bartender was my server and kept up just fine with a pretty small lunch crowd. Chips and salsa came out immediately with food pretty quickly behind. The plating was...different. Two large plates, which I think is a first. Large plates for sure, two plates I think. Anyway, one of the higher points of this review. 3/5

Aroma - The first hint of something amiss. There was very little aroma. Not bad, just barely there. Mild citrus and fish. 2/5

Value - First off, LOL at "Mexican Tacos". I was really hoping for Armenian Tacos. Maybe next time. Anyway, $13.99 for 3. More expensive than average, especially considering the quality as I'll detail below. 4/10

Fish - I'm hoping by now that the photo above confuses the reader as it did me. WTF is going on? Three tortillas with fish chunks and lemon wedges. Some iceberg and pico on the side. DIY tacos it seems. I can deal, but odd. Anyway, it does highlight the fish, which almost looks undercooked. It's not, it's just super lacking in any seasoning. It's like the chef just used the fond in the pan from whatever he just cooked, no new seasoning. Surprisingly enough, it tasted like it too. Just nothing there. Not undercooked, but severely underprepared. I don't get it. 2/10

Not Fish - The rice and beans weren't bad. The lettuce was essentially solidified water. The pico had the least amount of flavor I've ever had in pico. The lemon helped a bit, as did some Tapatio hot sauce. But lemon? And flour tortillas? Ummm... 3/10

Overall Taste - Nothing wrong with them, but also nothing to them. I swear they forgot 2-3 ingredients. I finished them for the caloric value alone. And to not upset the bachelorettes or something. 3/10

Bonus Points - They had an unsecured Vizio TV that I could have used to cast something odd from my phone. Super tempting to throw some weird stuff up there. Japanese knockoff Barney or whatever. I did not. I perused a DIY school bus conversion instead, as I am often wont to do. Free wifi FWIW. +0

Overall Overall - 17/50

Well, new last place it seems. I can definitely say skip these. There's just nothing too them, my La Croix has more flavor. Onwards.

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.

Barbacoa - What are these, tacos for ants?

Yet another piece of administrative detail; a friend informed me that Sunrise Cafe has fish tacos. So this is a net zero progress post, knocked one off but added one on. Such is the nature of the tour.

As a lot of Boise residents may know, Barbacoa has an interesting history. It burned to the ground in 2010 and was rebuilt with a notably different layout. I've been to the before and after versions, and I have to say I prefer the new one. The layout is open and unique, with great decor and ambiance. Food and drinks aren't cheap, but aren't egregious either. They could go for a slightly better beer selection, but their liquor selection is impressive.

Presentation - There's a bar upstairs called the Luna Rooftop Bar with a limited menu. The hostess said they'd have tacos, so we went up there first. They do have tacos, but not fish, so we ended up heading back down to the main bar. No matter, the upstairs crowd wasn't quite my bag, I much preferred the folks inside. Solid and attentive bartenders, awesome decor as I mentioned above, and unique platings. I can't find much wrong with the place honestly. 5/5

Aroma - I'm not 100% sure what was on these as the menu isn't explicit. Fish, pico, cilantro, some sort of cheese (I say cotija, Christine says feta), and a white sauce. It smelled pretty good, regardless of what's on it. 4/5

Value - $9 for a "brick" of 5 tacos. A buck eighty per taco isn't bad, but it should be noted that these are tiny. I two-bit the first taco, did the rest in one chomp. With a side of tableside guacamole and one taco to the lady friend, I left pretty full for a late night bonus dinner. Not a deal, not exorbitant. 5/10

Fish - Blackened white fish of some sort with some good seasoning. Blackened is rarely my favorite preparation, but these were a notable exception. Great seasoning, perfect amount per taco, really good. Not as good as they could have been fried, but really good nonetheless. 8/10

Not Fish - Two tiny corn tortillas per, along with pico, cilantro, some tasty crumbly cheese, and a really good white sauce. Oddly enough a lemon on the side. I left that be. The came with a mini-side of coleslaw that was great. I could have gone for a bit more spice and some limes, but pretty good all that said. Unrelated, I cheated and got an Anderson Valley Summer Solstice instead of a Diet Coke. No regrets. 7/10

Overall Taste - Not gonna lie, I wish I got 10 instead of five, they were better than expected. Well balanced, medium fishiness (fishitude?), pretty close to traditional with just enough difference to be unique. Dug em. 8/10

Bonus Points - If the upstairs bar wasn't full of douchiness and empty of fishiness, they may have earned one. But nope. +0

Overall Overall - 37/50

Tied for fourth, not at all bad for a late comer. I'm not surprised they did really well, their kitchen is on point, if not a tad pricey. For a fancy night out, highly recommended. 

The Funky Taco - HIPPIES!

The Funky Taco has been on my radar for a bit, but they seem to emphasize the vegetarian and vegan options. Nothing wrong with that, but fish are decidedly alive. Before they're murdered and made into tacos for me that is. Point is, I thought The Funky Taco and The Tour de Fish Tacos were a venn diagram with no overlapping middle part. I was wrong.

It appears the fish options are occasional at best, but kismet put them at The Boise Farmers Market from 9-1PM today with ahi tacos on the menu, and me returning from a 10k in Eagle right around 9AM. It was a sign from above, eat some damn tacos.

Presentation - Ambiance is a bit odd, it's a trailer in a parking lot. A pretty bitchin Airstream for what that's worth, but they only control a pretty narrow radius around the trailer, so I won't fault them on anything outside their control. Cash only, which is irritating, but there is an ATM at the market so it was a minor delay at most. Tacos come in a tub, one per (they're big). Limited beverage selection, water and La Croix (more different fizzy water), so I opted for a coffee kombucha from the Idaho Kombucha tent right next to them. No diet soda that I could find, I had to improvise. I regret nothing. 3/5

No inside picture. The inside of the trailer appeared to be crowded with cooks. I didn't ask to go inside. Side note though, this is stop number 50 on the tour, and holy balls do I have a lot of fish taco related pictures.

Aroma - Honestly a little light given the oddball ingredients. Not bad, but I didn't get much wasabi. Oh, that togarashi though, that was something. I think. I don't actually know that I smelled it. Google says it's a Japanese chili pepper. If it was there, it was light. 2/5

Value - One taco is eight bucks. That caught me off guard. Luckily they're pretty giant, on 8" tortillas. I wasn't crazy hungry and two would have probably been too much. I'd equate it to about two average tacos, so call it 4 bucks per with premium fish. About average. 5/10

Fish - Ahi again! You can see in the picture, it's cooked through more than the McGrath's version. Some of the small pieces didn't actually have any pink, I'd call it more pan fried rare than seared. Still just fine. If there was togarashi, it was part of the fish seasoning, and was a bit light. Above average by just a bit. 6/10

Not Fish - Hat tip for all the bolditude. Fresh scratch-made corn tortilla, guac, wasabi, and some crazy ass veggies. All things considered the combo was way milder than I expected. I think these were legitimately healthy, which is not always the case. I can dig. 7/10

Overall Taste - They came together pretty well. I could have done with a bit more flavor, but they tasted like hippy tacos, which is exactly what they are. A distinct left turn from the norm for fish tacos, and not quite a home run, but plenty tasty. 7/10

Bonus Points - Nothing comes to mind, tough to get these if your're a food truck. +0

Overall Overall - 30/50

These guys occasionally have other fish options, they tend to announce them at least a day beforehand and are at the Boise Farmer's Market all summer. If I go back I'm going to try something else, they have some very unique ingredients and flavors. Funky, some might say...

Casa Mexico - Subterranean

Another piece of administrative detail to knock out. There's a food truck called The Funky Taco that is normally a vegan joint. However, they had a facebook post today indicating that they would be at the Farmer's Market in the morning with tuna tacos, which coincides nicely with me driving by after a 10k in Eagle, surely hungry for tacos. So they're now on the list. Still no word on Gloria's.

We've been in the North End for over two years now, and have been to most restaurants in Hyde Park. Sun Ray, 13th St. Pub and Grill, Parrilla, etc. But never Casa Mexico, until tonight that is. Getting down to the wire on this thing, and since the wife was off cosplaying some Harry Potter bologna, the girls and I went down to get some tacos.

Presentation - I had no idea this place was in the basement. Honestly, on a scorcher of a day like today, no qualms with that, it was a welcome respite from the heat. We got in early (5:30ish) and were the only customers until we left maybe 45 minutes later. Rather quiet for a Friday. Service was good, plating was pretty meh. But all in all fine for family dining. 3/5

Aroma - The white sauce and cilantro dominated, not a lot of fish. But not bad smelling. 3/5

Value - $11.25 for two tacos and rice and beans. If the side was better, it would be about average, however the rice and beans were pretty boring. And/or not good. 4/10

Fish - A pretty solid portion of grilled tilapia. Tilapia is a solid fish because it's a blank slate, leaving a lot of room for creativity for the chef. This chef didn't really take that opportunity. It was bland and boring, nothing wrong with it per say, but not enough seasoning or flavor. Bummer, could have done a lot better. 4/10

Not Fish - A lot of my fish comments carry over. The pico was onion heavy and under-spiced. Too much cilantro. Two corn tortillas, but no limes. Decent white sauce. Rice hiding down in the bottom. And the sides were blah. Not great. 3/10

Overall Taste - All of the above said, they were not bad, they were just entirely forgettable. Even triangle fish portions from Lorena's were more memorable. 4/10

Bonus Points - Kids meals were nothing to write home about. Nothing else of note. +0

Overall Overall - 21/50

Tied for second to last, but they got to the score by being entirely boring, not bad. I can't say I'd recommend them, but I wouldn't say don't get them either. Just don't expect much.

Willowcreek Grill - New Downtown Location

Sprint stop part deux! I love double taco days! Taco Tues...err...Thursday! I've legitimately had five fish tacos today.  Three to go...

Did you know Willowcreek Grill has a downtown location now? I don't hate Vista Avenue, but 10th and Bannock is so much closer to home. I did have to pay fifteen cents to park, but I suppose it was worth it.

Presentation - The location is pretty awesome, kind of on the edge of downtown with a unique but nice layout. There's a bar area, a sushi bar, a patio, an upstairs, and a nice "standard" dining area. Really anything you can ask for, except maybe a swim-up salsa bar. But you'd have to be pretty weird to ask for that. They had the patio door open but the AC cranked, so it was pleasant, even in 100 degree temps. Good service and a nice plating with the taco holder that I've come to love. 4/5

Aroma - The seasoning plus the chipotle aioli made for a nice smell. 4/5

Value - Two tacos and a choice of chips & salsa, twigs (fries), soup, or salad for $10. Really not bad for a decent sit-down restaurant, and plenty of food. I didn't have room to finish Rylie's grilled ham & cheese, which is saying something. 6/10

Fish - Grilled seasoned cod, which was not particularly bold but not at all bad. It blended with the other ingredients well, but after nomming some on the side, definitely tasty. Not in short supply either. 6/10

Not Fish - A bit cabbage heavy, but good. Corn tortillas, one lime slice per taco, and the chipotle aioli was solid. Ended up adding some to each taco and dipped the mix of regular and sweet potato fries in the rest. 6/10

Overall Taste - The aioli tied it all together and made for a solid pair of tacos. Well balanced, and oddly enough the most "standard" of the taco options. The others are carnitas, pork belly, and asian style chicken, all of which sound super tasty. Next time... 7/10

Bonus Points - Solid performance here with two high points. The first is a good kids menu with unique choices for both the side and entree. Ample portions too, both kids brought home leftovers. The second is one I'm usually not fond of; live music. They had a guitar player on the patio and from the center of the restaurant the volume was perfect. Loud enough to hear and follow, but easy to have a conversation over. Great cover of Fire and Rain too. +2

Overall Overall - 35/50

High middle of the pack, right where it belongs. Worth a stop if you're downtown and want to try something new. Or on Vista for that matter. Free parking there, leave your nickles at home. FIVE TO GO!

Lorena's - Fish Triangles

A couple administrative details to knock out up front. I contacted both The Refuge and Solid, who were maybes on the list. Both don't have tacos, and thus both are off the tour. Bwa bwa. Gloria's is still a maybe, haven't gotten a hold of anyone there yet. We'll know soon. On the opposite side a stop over at Barbacoa for an anniversary drink revealed another stop. They serve them by the "brick". Looking forward to another visit there shortly.

With a net minus one on the remaining stops, we're getting down to the last of them. In fact, I'm considering a sprint to the finish, so expect many stops in short succession. Lorena's is the first in this whirlwind and made for a fine lunch break at work today.

Presentation - Lorena's is essentially a semi-permanent food truck behind the Jack in the Box at Fairview and Maple Grove. I can honestly say I had no idea it was there until today. That said, it's got a nice little seating area and an overall pleasant vibe. The plating was a paper plate. Covered with aluminum foil to go. A little to be desired, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for being a stand out food truck. 3/5

Aroma - Though the toppings were a bit odd, they didn't smell bad. Not stand out great either, but not bad. 3/5

Value - $2.50 a piece isn't bad. I had three, could have gotten by with two if I went with a side. $7.95 with tax. For reasons explained below, that's good, not great. 6/10

Fish - Can you see it in the pic? Something fishy (lol). That fish is in a triangle shape, not unlike Gorton's Fish Fillets. One might say it is in fact one Gorton's Fish Fillet per taco. I may say that. I do say that. I think they threw them in the fryer, because they didn't taste bad, but that's cheater fish. I'm being generous here. 3/10

Not Fish - The tomato is a weird choice, kind of out of place. Just sitting there suspicious like. It's trying to blend in and failing. The lettuce, cheese, and red sauce are just fine, two corn tortillas, and a slice of lime. Plus an orange for some reason. And a little tub of green sauce, which was actually solid. I put it on the last taco, should have put it on all three. 6/10

Overall Taste - I chucked the tomato slices right in the trash. Yuck. Without those the tacos were honestly pretty good, even with supermarket freezer fish. 6/10

Bonus Points - No points for you fish cheaters! +0

Overall Overall - 27/50

If you happen to be nearby and want a fish taco, I guess it's worth a stop here. Actually, nah, drive a little further and go to El Habanero. Or get something else at Lorena's, the reviews I've read have been very complimentary, so I may have just found a meh item on an otherwise decent menu.