The Ram - Third Chances

I wasn't expecting to write this post. I believe the last we spoke of The Ram my decision was "eff em". The universe apparently had different plans. A professional group that I'm a part of had their officer elections last night, as you may have guessed by now, at The Ram. Dinner included. Essentially free tacos. What can I say? Aside from bah, I thought I was done with these jag bags. Truncated review inbound.

No Facade Pic. Bwa Bwa.

Presentation - Average across the board. Average service, average plating, average interior, average facade. My jaded eyes were not particularly impressed. 3/5

Aroma - Pretty decent nose on these. Chipotle and avocado. It worked. 4/5

Value - Nose dive. $14.50 for two tacos and a side of rice and beans. The lowest so far, Piper Pub, was three normal sized tacos and a small side for $13.29.  The side is bigger here, but not enough to make up for a taco. 2/10

Fish - High point here, I got the battered haddock (ain't got no time for blackened ahi) and it was honestly great. Great breading, perfectly juicy, not a lot of spices or anything, but it didn't need it. My only gripe is that it was one big ass piece, not a few smaller ones. And I suppose that this is my 3rd friggin time trying to get these bloody tacos. 8/10

Not Fish - Tortillas were a bit small for the fish. Otherwise pretty on point, really good slaw, decent salsa, and great avocado crema. One slice of lime per taco. A bit off book but really good. The sides weren't bad, but nothing to write home about. 7/10

Overall Taste - I hate how much I liked these. They were expensive, but delicious. 8/10

Bonus Points - Time to take your lumps, Ram. 2 failed visits, 2 points off. -2

Overall Overall - 30/50

I'm admittedly still cranky about these, and they are expensive. If you are ok with those two facts, try them. They're pretty good.

Twin Peaks - Boob Joke

This one is a bit of an oddity on the list, it falls into the "breastaurant" category along such illustrious venues as Hooters and Tilted Kilt. The banner on the wall claims that Twin Peaks has been around since 2005, which the interwebs confirm. Not sure how long this location has been around, maybe 3 or 4 years? Fun fact, that biker gunfight in Waco, TX a couple years back happened in a Twin Peaks parking lot. True story.

Presentation - I was honestly surprised at the attire, it was revealing but not overly so. Short shorts, a bit of belly, but nothing as egregious as I was expecting. So...kudos? I guess? Anyway, the interior is not fancy, fake wood and fake dead animals plus a buttload of TVs. Functional I suppose. I will say they advertise their beer at 26-29 degrees, which is just too bloody cold for beer, even if it's garbage. The plating was good, 3 tacos surrounded with chips and a ramekin of salsa. Again, functional. 3/5

Aroma - They smelled flavorful, a good bit of chipotle in there. Distinct lack of lime, which was a bummer, but still good. 4/5

Value - High marks here. $9.99 for 3 good sized tacos and a healthy portion of chips and salsa. I was full when I finished, which has been rarer than expected in this tour. 8/10

Fish - I haven't had fried fish in almost a month. I'm craving it, need to address that soon. That said, this was not a bad example of grilled white fish. Good portions, decent seasoning, perhaps a bit on the fishy side, but not enough so to really hurt the flavor. Nice and juicy too. 6/10

Not Fish - Bad things first - flour tortillas and no limes. Bwa bwa. Otherwise pretty much to recipe with a chipotle twist on the sauce. Really nice flavor to the slaw and the sauce, a bit of spice but not enough that I'd call them "spicy". The chips were fine and the salsa was decent enough and unique, not just normal boring restaurant salsa. Plenty of both on the plate. We also had "Billionaire's Bacon" as an appetizer, which was 6 slices of fancy and tasty bacon. Highly recommended. 7/10

Overall Taste - With the bolder flavors in the non-fish fillings, I was a fan. Pretty traditional tasting, but not bland, plenty of flavor in there without being polarizing. Surprisingly good given the locale and reputation. 7/10

Bonus Points - Already made the boob joke in the title. Or at least said "boob joke". So I'll spare another one. They charged an extra dollar for Christine's side of veggies instead of fries, which is some BS. +0

Overall Overall - 35/50

I was not expecting these guys to do so well, so kudos for decent food in a restaurant known for something else. Glad we didn't take the girls. One less awkward conversation to be had.

Bardenay - National Taco Day!

Another administrative detail point; 13th Street Pub did not have fish tacos. They did have a pretty decent veggie burger. But alas, off the list they go.

Speaking of off the list, let's talk about The Ram. I gave them a shot. Two shots in fact. First we were greeted with an hour wait on a Thursday with no explanation. I'll give them a break there. However, they also decided that for the Blink 182 concert last month, they would only offer a limited menu. As you can guess, no tacos on there. BECAUSE TRAVIS BARKER HATES TACOS! OR SO I'VE CHOSEN TO BELIEVE! So two strikes. I put it to a vote on Facebook and got a mixed bag of "EFF EM!" and give them another chance. I gave them another (half) shot and tried to get in touch with the manager. He got back to me, not with an apology, but with a "Yep, our tacos are good, come try them." So it has come to this. EFF 'EM!

Presentation - 1/5

Aroma - 1/5

Value - 1/5

Fish - 1/10

Not Fish - 1/10

Overall Taste - 1/10

Bonus Points - NEGATIVE A THOUSAND! (+0)

Overall Overall - 6/50

EAT BUTTS THE RAM!

Anyway, back to business. Today is National Taco Day. It is also Feel Sick and Grumpy Day. Still, we had to celebrate, so we headed down to Bardenay for dinner. I've always been a fan of Bardenay, great location and a solid menu with a good vibe. Good booze too if you partake. I had pretty high hopes.

Presentation - See? Such a nice facade. Really hard to beat on a summer night. The interior is great too, the distillery is front and center and well kept. Good decor, nice layout. On par with Bittercreek/Red Feather. The tacos were decent, well presented with a holder. A bit boring without a side, but clean. So close to perfect, but I have to dock a bit for kind of meh service. Not a lot of enthusiasm, not bad just not as good as it could have been. 4/5

Aroma - A lot of green on there, heavy on the tomatillos and cucumbers. Neither of these are particularly aromatic, and thus the tacos weren't either. Just a bit meh. 3/5

Value - $9.95 for two tacos is rough, especially without a side. To their credit, the tacos were not small, not quite enough for a meal for me, but not bad. Also, they were marked on the receipt as an appetizer. Not on the menu, and not really priced as such. 4/10

Fish - The menu said grilled, but first glance didn't look like it. Closer examination and I think they're heavily basted, almost to a fried texture. A bit dry and honestly, the ancho chili was pretty bland. It looked so promising, and wasn't bad, but didn't live up to appearances. 5/10

Not Fish - Another unique one. Red radish and cucumber salsa, cotija cheese, tomatillo and cilantro sauce. So much promise, but again, just underwhelming. I'll give them credit for trying, and like the fish, not bad tasting, just not as much to it as you'd expect from the description. They did get the tortillas and lime right, which is something. 5/10

Overall Taste - Right down the middle of the road, hard to find fault, but bland plus bland equals, unsurprisingly, bland. I could eat like 11 of these without complaint, but I wouldn't seek them out, especially at $5/ea. A forgettable edible. I should trademark that. 5/10

Bonus Points - Not enough to earn one, but good kids meals at $5 each. +0

Overall Overall - 26/50

High hopes dashed. On the plus side, this is one of the few misses on the menu, plenty of other good options on there. Choose one of them and enjoy that patio. Vaya con dios!

Parrilla - Fridays Only

Managed to sneak in a third for the week! Unexpected trip to Parrilla! This one was tough, they only offer fish tacos on Friday, doesn't always fit with the schedule. A parent visit made it work. We've been fans of Parrilla since moving to the North End, they have a solid menu with a surprising variety. Some is more traditional Mexican restaurant fare, some the requisite hipster food for the neighborhood. So far, all solid.

I forgot to get a facade picture. Bwa bwa. It looks like a restaurant.

Presentation - The inside is as eclectic as the menu, a strip of booths down one wall, a high bar that sort of divides up the place, and a number of picnic tables in the bar area.  Kind of odd decor, mish mash of TV's and art I suppose. They also have a nice big garage door that opens the place up to 13th street and gives a great vibe. The presentation was basic, three tacos in a cardboard tub. Fine for counter service but nothing to write home about. 3/5

Aroma - They smelled like tacos. I suppose with a bit of pineapple in there. Yup. 3/5

Value - Note no price on the sign. They're $2.12 a pop, really solid deal in my opinion. I think they come with chips too if you want, though we ordered nachos already so I didn't ask for any more. 4 adults and 2 kids ate well for $44. Pretty good prices all around. 7/10

Fish - Unique in the fact that they cook to order. Order 3 tacos, 3 pieces of fish go on the grill. Cooked in the blackened style, no mention of what kind. A bit dry, mild seasoning but some citrus there. Only the one piece per taco, but that seemed to be enough. As usual, I wish they were fried. 5/10

Not Fish - I was worried about the lack of a white sauce, I expected them to be pretty dry. The pico and pineapple ended up being enough, my worries were unfounded. The cotija cheese really made the taste, it was present in every bite and it was really good. Unique ingredients, and unlike Bonefish, they came together well. No limes though... 7/10

Overall Taste - I dug them. Like the rest of their menu they're unique and solid, pretty obvious some thought went into them. They do allow you to customize with a number of toppings, so change them up as you'd like, but I'd recommend leaving them be. 7/10

Bonus Points - Nothing I can think of. I think we accidentally stole a soda, but that's not worth a point. Peanut butter honey tacos almost earn one, but they were a bit off tonight. +0

Overall Overall - 32/50

Decent enough score, not exceptional but solidly in the middle. About right. I won't go out of my way for them, but if I'm eating at Parrilla on a future Friday, I'll probably get at least one.

Bonefish Grill - Shhhhhhhhh!!!

First up, some administrative detail. Costa Vida was originally on the list and was the planned stop tonight. However, upon calling them, I discovered they no longer serve fish tacos. So off the list they go, one more down.

Plan B then, just across the street to Bonefish Grill. They are a chain, though I've never been so I wasn't sure what to expect. Walking in, it was quiet. Fancier than expected. A bit much for a Thursday out with the girls, but so be it, we're here. They sat us in the back where I got the stink eye from a goober with a goofy mustache more times than I'd prefer. I think we were too loud for his geriatric ears or something.

We told the girls it was a whisper restaurant, which they were surprisingly accepting of. We were a nice quiet table, at least until the waiter stopped by and let out a veritable wail of a greeting. OK then, rule's off.

Presentation - I like the location, right at Broad and 9th with a nice patio and a well designed facade that lets you see downstairs too. The girls loved it. The inside was good too, nice consistent fish theme and a good ambiance, if not a bit dark. See the interior pics for evidence. The taco plating was simple but decent. Always a fan of the taco stand. 4/5

Aroma - Different. Between the mango and whatever the green stuff was (cilantro?) they were a little more pungent than I'm used to. Mild, but good, and pretty unique. 4/5

Value - In two words, not great. $13.30 for 3 tacos and some fries. $2.99 for drinks. Their fish strips (sticks?) kids meal was $7.90! I honestly don't recall seeing a kids menu that expensive ever before. Two of the "cheaper" ($6.30) kids meals, two entrees, and two drinks plus tax and tip and we were well over $50. Not great. 3/10

Fish - Nothing wrong with it. Nothing memorable either. Well prepared but overly mild, no seasoning to speak of. There was a decent amount of it. 4/10

Not Fish - I'll give them credit for trying something different. The "mango salsa" is pretty much just mangos. Not a lot of the white sauce. Lettuce, not cabbage. Mystery green stuff. Flour tortillas, one lime slice total. Swing and a miss. 3/10

Overall Taste - The aroma lied. Plenty edible, but not much more. Just nothing to them. Calories. Protein. Carbs. An acceptable meal. So on. 4/10

Bonus Points - Nope. +0

Overall Overall - 22/50

Been a bit since I could confidently say "skip it". I'll say it now. Skip Bonefish, at least for fish tacos. They probably have better items on the menu (the girls popcorn shrimp was solid), but this one isn't worth it.

Cafe Ole - Mall Tacos

Another hiatus. This one has a bit more explanation and was not for lack of trying. More details soon enough. Either way, it ended last night with a trip to (*shudder*) the mall. I read through the list, Cafe Ole is definitely the closest in proximity to the nightmarish hellscape that is the Boise Town Square. Oddly enough I actually ventured inside this past weekend, took Addie down there to use up an almost expired Eddie Bauer reward. She got a flashlight, I got reassurance that carrying a pocket knife at all times is not a bad idea.

Oddly enough the ambiance of this little place is completely removed from the suckfest of the mall. Walk past the fountain and through the doors and it's a nice joint. I preferred the old downtown location a bit more (if for nothing more than the location) but this is by no means bad. Quiet, well laid out, plus an indoor fountain! I don't get it, but the girls love it. The decor seems fairly authentic, even with a very tex-mex menu, and the place is sort of divided into rooms which keeps it from feeling super full.

Presentation - As mentioned above, nice atmosphere. My small gripe was our benches were awful tight to the table, but it didn't really cause any issues. The plating was good, I like the separate dish for the rice and beans to keep things nice and tidy. The sauce on the side was a nice bonus too, made it easy to customize tacos as you ate. 4/5

Aroma - Nice and citrusy, the fish was marinated in something simple but appealing. I'm factoring in the great smelling salsa options too since you have the ability to add it at your leisure. 4/5

Value - This continues to be a tough category to remain consistent on, but I will try. Three tacos with rice and beans for $11.99, average to high for a sit down restaurant. However it really helps that they start you off with chips, salsa, and refried beans. I can't confirm, but these seem to be bottomless as they refilled them for us with no charge on the bill. They also have a salsa bar with a great variety of options to complement the already included ones. I'd say this is normally a $4-6 appetizer at a restaurant, and one I'd typically order. I was also completely stuffed after my meal, so the portions were generous. 7/10

Fish - The waiter didn't bat an eye when I asked for one grilled and two fried, which was nice, let me try both options. The fried is definitely pan fried, not a lot of breading. You can see it in the picture above, probably closer to blackened than fried. The pan frying dried it out a bit and killed off some of the seasoning, so surprisingly enough, I preferred the grilled. The flavor came through a lot better, it was nicely juicy, and just overall tasted better. Not amazing, but solid. Instead of one or two large pieces they are smaller chunks that are plentiful and well distributed. 6/10

Not fish - Some oddities here. The corn tortillas are pan fried and relatively greasy. Not enough to offend, but different. This helps them hold together well enough, even with just one per taco. There's also melted cheese hiding under the ingredients, uncommon for fish tacos. The tacos came relatively naked, I tried the first one with just a squeeze of lime (one on the plate but I think there were more available at the salsa bar) and it was a bit bland. Adding the sauce and some salsa made it much better. Cabbage and pico were solid, sides were good, I like that they default to black beans instead of pinto or refried. 7/10

Overall Taste - These came together well, just enough off the normal recipe to stand out, but still undeniably identifiable as fish tacos. 7/10

Bonus Points - I really like the kids menu, $3.99 for a wide variety of tex-mex or boring options, all of which are plenty big for kids. Counterpoint, drinks aren't cheap, $2.99 for soda, $1.95 for chocolate milk, almost $10 total in beverages at the table. Counter-counterpoint, kids eat free on Mondays. Tipping point, our server (sorry man, forgot your name entirely) was great. +1

Overall Overall - 36/50

36 is getting a bit crowded. I'm 22 stops in and I have 4 of them. Only 6 under 30, seems like I'm a bit positively biased at this point. Either way, worth a stop in to try these.

Starting to get into the less familiar area of the list. There are a bunch on there I haven't been to in years, even more that I've never patronized. Horizons unknown or something like that. Onwards.

Rumbi Island Grill - Short Straw Saturday

This was an unplanned stop. It was supposed to be a day of building a little Hulk at Lowes with the girls, Comicon at the library, and rearranging the house a bit. It ended up taking a bit of a turn, and instead I'm at work making sure the contractors moving giant steel plates don't die. Best laid plans. As such I set my alarm for roughly 25 minutes before I needed to be here this morning and didn't pack a lunch. Luckily work is right around the corner from two of the stops on Tour De Fish Taco. Tough choice, but Rumbi won out.

Funny story about this Rumbi, its contents used to belong to a now closed location in Longmont, Colorado. I went to that Rumbi numerous times when I worked at Micron. It followed me home. Decor and all I believe, the themed interior feels a bit too familiar.

Despite those visits (and the previous visits I made to this location) I don't believe I've ever had their fish tacos. Plenty of different varieties of bowls, but no tacos, so I didn't know what to expect.

Presentation - Interior is par for the course, simple island decor, nothing fancy, does the job. The waiting area for to-go food is awkward, a tightly grouped "L" of chairs. Luckily I was the only one. The tacos were surprisingly good for fast casual to-go, they essentially matched the menu picture. Even the Stonehenge of chips was intact when I got back to the office. Kudos to the kitchen, this plastic clamshell presented better than a lot of the sit down restaurants I've visited. 4/5

Aroma - Something had coconut in it. Either the salsa or the ranch. I usually don't care for coconut, but for some reason it really worked here. Solid smelling tacos. 4/5

Value - $8.99 for two tacos and a side of rice and beans. $1.99 for a drink. $11.64 out the door for lunch. Initially this wasn't going to score well, however after eating them, I am pretty full. That rarely happens with a two taco plate. They were generously filled and the side of rice and beans was not small. Additionally there is always a coupon floating around. If I had some foresight I would have brought one, but eating solo it probably wouldn't have helped (coupons are usually buy one, get one for $1). Overall a bit above average. 6/10

Fish - I wish I knew what the fish was, it's on the menu as simply "seasonal fish". It was good, nice little chunks with a mild spice and great texture. Not fried, but not bad. 6/10

Not Fish - I wasn't expecting much from the side of rice and beans, it ended up being great though. Nice flavor, not boring, and it was filling while still feeling healthy-ish. However, the non-fish taco filling was the real star. As mentioned above I'm not a coconut fan, and there was definitely a heavy dose of coconut flavor here, but I really enjoyed it. Mild spice from the jalapeno ranch, nice sweetness from the pineapple, great consistency and balance. I'm guessing this is the best a flour tortilla can do in this tour. 8/10

Overall Taste - Unique. These tasted decidedly Hawaiian and surprisingly different from the more traditional flavor I've come to enjoy. They were great, top to bottom, including the runoff sauce that I mashed the rice and beans into. Just really enjoyable. 8/10

Bonus Points - Nothing jumps out, solid tacos, expectedly decent experience, but nothing above and beyond. +0

Overall Overall - 36/50

Not counting the one-off Bittercreek tires (still deciding their fate, or rather ignoring them until I have to) a 36 puts these tied for 2nd place. Sort of, there are two 37's, so I guess they could be tied for 3rd. Never fully understood how that should work. Regardless, very respectable with 21 stops down. I expect these will become my new go-to at Rumbi, they're solid. Cheers.