Veggie nachos to start. Loaded with seasoned chips, fresh jalapeños, pico, black beans, queso and cilantro. (We skipped the sour cream.) Good good good.
This place opens at 1pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in October. They offer to-go drinks in coconuts or pineapples. What makes them really special is the food. There was line at 1pm and we waited in it. (For only about 60 seconds.) We enjoy sitting at the bar top looking out to the water.
The people watching and view are entertaining enough for the visit alone.
I went for tempura soft crab tacos in a soft corn shell, Baja fish in a soft corn shell, and a traditional ground beef taco in a hard shell. Rebe ordered all shrimp in hard shells, tempura and grilled.
Thumbs up to the Baja! Simple and focused on the fish. Breading is flavorful but not overpowering. I would eat the fish for an entire meal.
The soft crab was good. A little heavy on the breading. Being from Maryland I am a soft crab snob. This was good, but a little over done. Sorry Florida, but I’ll stick to Maryland for soft crab right now. Preparation was similar to the Baja taco. Emphasis of these tacos are definitely on the protein. This is a good thing and why we like this place.
The ground beef taco was everything I like about a gringo hard shell taco. It has a light crispy shell, lots of flavor on the meat, and simple in preparation.
Rebe thought the grilled shrimp was the better of her two. The shrimp was well cooked and flavorful without being overwhelming. The mildly spicy sauce and slaw were perfectly balanced.
The tempura shrimp was less satisfying. The tempura was heavy. It was tasty, but too much. The hard shell was still nice as were the slaw and pico. Rebe would default to the grilled in the future and go back to the mushroom as a second.
The message…you must come here and experience the view and food. Get crunchy for the tacos, get one less taco than you normally would, avoid the tempura and enjoy! Oh.. and don’t forget those seasoned chips.
PS: The Taco Joint down the boardwalk is not the same place. There is some controversy about how they became a place. We will stick to the original.
180 Days a Year 