Mariscos Monday: Mariscos Godoy

I guess it's about time I did a post on Mariscos Godoy. Among the places Masa Assassin recommended to us when we ran into him a couple years back was Mariscos Godoy. Still, until late last year, we'd pass Mariscos Godoy every so often, always say, "man, we gotta check that place out one of these days." Finally, last fall, the Missus was craving Pescado Zarandeado, so we decided to drop by Godoy.......

 
And haven't stopped....... It was always, "well, I'll do a post on this place on another day", until I just stopped taking photos because I had so many. And while not every meal was stellar, we've always enjoyed ourselves, in spite of mariachi band and the one time there was a real band, and we were on the table right in front......

The restaurant itself looks much larger than it is. You'll realize that when there's a live band playing.

 

We prefer coming for an early dinner, when the place is less hectic.

The menu itself is humongous...... it rivals some Chinese Restaurants in size and scope.

Everything here starts with Chips and Salsa.

 

On the occasions when the chips arrive hot, I really enjoy them. To the point that the Missus has to force me to stop.... but I can't eat just one. It is also served with a ceviche that seems to be made with bone scrapings. The Missus loves this.

And of course you can't forget the little cup of consomme.

 
The flavor fluctuates from day to day, but on most visits it just soothes me and puts me in a better place. Honestly, if you were a cheapskate and just wanted a taco, this could be a meal.

Anyway, in trying to organize all of this stuff, I realized that I could probably be typing 'til sometime next week. Not everything is been great, but there are a few things I noticed. For coctele's, ceviche, aguachile, and tacos, go somewhere else. For us, it's mostly the grilled and fried that keep us coming back. I'm going to try to be as concise as possible, so here goes.

First there was the Pescado Zarandeado, ordered by the pound. I have personally witnessed the Missus finish off a 2 pounder with a couple servings of corn tortillas solo.....

 

If you order this, go with the snapper if it's available. Nothing else is quite as good. Lightly marinated, then broiled under high heat, the snapper is moist, there some chile flavor, but you can still make out the flavor of the fish. Those grilled tortillas with frijoles are good when grilled right; but I've had a few that was like eating toasted cardboard.

This is what the end result usually is after the Missus has had at it.

 

When we bring friends to Godoy, we usually order the Langostinos Aji Ajillo, a chili-garlic-butter preparation.

 

I think the photos speak for themselves.

Grilled creatures they call Squat Lobsters. As with the fish, this is what things look like in the end.

 

It's not cheap at close to $25 bucks, but most folks who've we've taken to Godoy have this when the go back.

There was one dish I really wanted to order at Godoy. The Pulpo Zarandeado ($14.50), the grilled octopus. The Missus however, is not a big fan of pulpo, tako, or whatever you want to call it. This dish however, has changed Her mind.

 

She now craves this; and we have to make trips down to Chula Vista just for this. There have been occasions when the pulpo has been very tough, and once it wasn't cooked properly, the marinade still a bit pasty. But most times it's mildly smokey, salty, with a touch of sweetness and spice. The texture is toothsome without being tough. We ignore the sauce, which just over-powers the flavor of the pulpo.

One of my favorite dishes is a recommendation from FOY (Friend of yoso) Candice Woo. She told me that I just had to have the Toritos ($8.95).

 

Think of these as glorified jalapaneo "poppers" if you will. Yellow waxy peppers, not usually spicy, but you'll get a surprise once in a while, are stuffed with smoked fish (Marlyn), breaded, and deep fried. No need for the tartar sauce on this. Salty and smokey, a nice savory front, combined with the crunch of the breading...... man this is good.

So I found it odd that I didn't care too much for the Tacos de Marlyn.... the smoked fish taco.

 

It was too salty for me.

One day, the Missus decided to take advantage of the 99 cent taco Tuesday and order two tacos. The first, the fish taco wasn't very good.

 

The fish had a mealy and dry texture, and tasted fishy.

On the other hand, the other 99 cent taco was the Manta Ray Machaca.

 
Though on the salty side, there was a nice oceany-savory flavor that was very pleasant.

Thus, on our next visit, I ordered the Manta Ray Machaca plate ($11.95):

 

Though I'm not a big fan frioles refrito, refried beans, in this case a smear of the beans in a corn tortilla helped to smooth out the flavor of the I assume dried and re-hydrated manta ray. A squeeze of lime was the perfect cure to any saltiness. The flavor of the green peppers and a bit of tomato added nice layers of flavor to the dish. Still, I couldn't finish this dish.... and it tasted even better the next day!

We didn't care as much for the Pescado Frito. Think of it as Fish McNuggets if you will.

 

The batter on this version of "make your own fish tacos" was very crunchy, but there was a large amount of "dark" portions, and the fish tasted a bit muddy.

When we first visited Godoy, we were enamored with all the photos of aguachile.

 

But try as we might, we've never found a version we enjoy here. There's not enough heat, and not enough acid for my taste.

 

 

 

 

It's not like we never tried......

And I've had my share of Cocteles and Campechana, and found them to have too much clamato, and not enough acid for my taste.

 

I enjoyed the smoked fish stuffed potato more than those dishes.

 

And we've really only scratched the surface of the menu at Godoy.

One of the other reasons we keep coming back, is that even on the busiest days, the folks here are as nice as can be. I guess it's now on the rotation as I never know when the Missus will want some pulpo....

Mariscos Godoy
651 Palomar St
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Comments

[Dennis]

Great looking spread Kirk! I heard once the meat of female octopus are much more tender than males. And that you can distinguish the sexes by observing their suckers - uniform size and placement suckers = female. Random mix of large and small size suckers = male. I Can't seem to confirm it anywhere on the net though.

[kat]

that tako looked good!

[Kirk]

Hi Dennis - You should check this place out. I'm surprised CC didn't take you here.

Hi Kat - Yes, on that occasion it was!

[ed (from Yuma)]

Amazing looking stuff. Pescado zarandeado is one of my favs. And the pulpo looked good enough to eat.

[MikeW]

Wow those langostinos look tasty. I've been running down to CV on business lately and looking for places to eat so this is perfect. Tried Los Arcos (good ceviche) just last weekend and stumbled onto a Pho Convoy so far.

[Kirk]

Hi Ed - That pulpo has become a favorite of the Missus

Hi MikeW - Los Arcos is pretty good as was Hector's during my one visit a couple of years back. Enjoy your explorations!

[Faye]

Aguachile - is that raw shrimp w/ some sort of tomatillo sauce on top? Looks really good! Is there a restaurant like this in North County you could recommend?

[Chris]

I would like to have that octopus over for dinner sometime. I'm thinking a nice Chiante, with some savory pinto beans (light on the cumin) Tsut-sut-sut-sut-sut-sut-su

[Kirk]

Hi Faye - Yes, basically aguachile is raw shrimp (I've also seen scallops) in a spicy, citrus marinade. Actually, my favorite versions are from the Mariscos German truck. There are tons of Mariscos Restaurants in Escondido and the like, but I haven't been to any of them so I have to apologize and say I can't make a recommendation.

Hi Chris - Fava beans too expensive?? he-he-he.... ;o)