Touring the many fish taco tastes of Petaluma
Summer is the perfect time to sidle on up to your favorite food truck or outdoor dining patio to enjoy Petaluma's great weather, along with some freshly made fish tacos. With more than 50 fish taco options to choose from, Petaluma has an option to satiate every taste, whether you prefer sea bass or Mahi Mahi, or prefer to keep it simple with one of the many white fish.
Before taking on this endeavor, the first order of business was to post an inquiry to the Petaluma Foodies page on Facebook, in order to see which fish tacos were favored by locals. Plenty of opinions were voiced in favor of the expected spots like Café Zazzle, 4th & C, El Roy's and What a Chicken, but there were also suggestions of some lesser known fish taco venues like Seared, TAPS and Pub Republic.
We then whittled the list down a bit, because we simply could not visit every fish taco vendor in town, although we got pretty darn close.
Although “Tradition” is a catchy tune in the musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” our West Coast menus have little room for the concept when it comes to fish tacos. We Californians tend to be a bit more experimental, especially with cuisine, which means our chefs pay homage to tradition, but are not bound by it. Although “California cuisine” is primarily focused on local and sustainable sourcing, it is chef driven, meaning that they take inspiration from traditional recipes and methods, but tweak in whatever way they see fit. This was evident across the abundance of fish tacos we tried, few of which could be described as “traditional.”
That being said, fish tacos originated in Baja California and of course are “traditionally” called tacos de pescado and consist of either fried or grilled fish on a corn or flour tortilla topped with lettuce or cabbage, pico de gallo and either sour cream or citrus mayonnaise sauce. Tacos de camarones (shrimp tacos) also originated in Baja and are prepared just like their fishy cousins.
In the US, the popularity is attributed to the fast-casual chain Rubio's Coastal Grill, which first opened in 1983 in San Diego. Since then, fish tacos have become a staple of most Mexican restaurants and food trucks throughout the West Coast and into places with a healthy mix of both American and Mexican cultures, like Colorado.
During the course of our research, we visited roughly two dozen fish taco vendors, and including several shrimp and poké tacos, sampled nearly four dozen pescatarian options.
In regard to fish quality, we discovered two things while conducting this research. The first was that most places use very cheap fish, which explains the price point. The second was that some of these places did a great job at making that cheap fish taste good, which explains why a lot of diners are not too concerned with what kind of fish they are consuming. However, so long as diners are willing to shell out a few more clams for high-quality fish, there are plenty of options to try.
From grilled to griddled to fried to raw, we tasted for flavor, keeping in mind what kind of fish was featured and how that affected the bill. With several people tasting alongside me, including chef/owner Juan Gutierrez of Quinua Cocina Peruana, there were no winners or loser, as everyone has their own preferences. But some certainly rose to the top of the list.
Poké me
The crème de la crème were the poké tacos. Poké originated in Hawaii and consists of diced and seasoned raw fish, usually from some sort of fancy tuna, which means higher-than-normal prices. However, places that specialize in fish dishes can often keep their poké prices at a reasonable level because they are dealing with larger quantities of quality fish than other restaurants.
This is the case with Seared, where award-winning chef Joe O'Donnell creates a phenomenal poké taco on occasion for the happy hour menu. These tacos were the clear winner, both based on flavor and price ($6 for two). We ordered two more servings, even though we had already spent the entire afternoon trying more than two dozen fish tacos all over town.
Pub Republic also offers poké tacos ($12.50), as well as a ceviche taco plate ($12.50), but I am told that regular fish tacos are also available by request, using whichever market fish they have that day, which is often an excellent salmon.
McNear's cooks up seared ahi tuna tacos (ala carte $13; full dish $15), in crispy wonton shells, topped with spicy slaw and Sriracha-lime crema, along with two different types of Rock Cod fish tacos (ala carte $10.50; full dish $12.50). One is sesame grilled while the other is panko crusted but both are topped with pineapple salsa, Asian slaw and chipotle lime crema. Although it should not surprise us anymore, McNear's always turns out tasty food, with an expansive beer and wine selection, as well as an inviting outdoor patio.
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