mmm-yoso!!! It's a Blog O' Food. Kirk is resting today after our week or so of crazy heat. ed (from Yuma) is also relaxing with his local temperatures being 'only' in the 90°'s, in the evening. Cathy did manage to head South and eat, photograph, download and is now checking in with a short report.
Last week, The Mister and I happened to be in Chula Vista and we were hungry. I vaguely remembered Kirk's visit to a Mariscos food truck that had it's own parking space in a lot on Main Street so turned West from Third Avenue on to Main. Before the next corner, we saw this sign.
I passed by. Cars were parked in front and on the side street (Fresno). At the next corner, I turned and drove back around the block. I had to. This was the side view of the building from the crumbling parking lot:
Parking lot was full at 12:30 pm. It was a Thursday. I figured this must be good. The mariscos truck could wait.
We walked in and seated ourselves kitty corner from the front door. We had a view of both televisions (showing soccer games) and of the kitchen area across the bar. No air conditioning. We were handed two menus- one in Spanish and one in English. Great atmosphere.
A basket of crackers and tostadas, some limes and the container with spoon of hot sauce (which pretty much was Sriracha) was brought to the table.
We ordered and soon items were brought out as they were ready. The marlin taco ($4).
A fresh cooked (large) corn tortilla that had a layer of melted Mexican cheese filled with the warmed smoked fish which was sauteed with onion and mild chile. Perfect. Not too salty (as I have grown to dislike) and with a mild smokiness. We both really liked this.
The 99¢ fish taco was excellent. A large piece of fresh flaky white fish dipped in egg batter and fried to a light and perfectly crispy/not at all greasy crust. Topped with cabbage and chopped tomatoes and a bit of sauce. Our waitress seemed surprised we ordered only one. But we were trying a bit of everything.
Here's everything else we ordered...
The fish ceviche tostadas were advertised on the walls and doors and almost every table as 'buy one get one', so for $2.50, we got the fresh made fish ceviche overflowing on two small tostadas. Really fresh and with just enough touch of heat in the sauce.
This was the medium shrimp coctele. ($9). Fresh made with cucumber and mild onion, topped with avocado. It was good, the shrimp were pretty large. I am spoiled by the $8 salad bowl of shrimp cocktail I can get from my local taco shop in Santee. Let's just say there were not 23, 20 or 15 shrimp in the cup. (That Corona was $3.50)
This. $2. Looks like machaca- because it is. A manta ray machaca taco. That's what was written on the menu. Since machaca is traditionally made with dried beef or pork, I assume this devilfish was dried then rehydrated. Or maybe it wasn't. It was soft and had a nice 'tooth'. Not fishy. It was stir fried up with some egg, onion and green pepper- or maybe a mild green chili. It had a really good flavor and almost pork belly texture for me.
The sign out front, the receipt below and the name listings online are all different. You'll be able to find the place. When we left and headed West, we saw the La Prieta Mariscos truck on the left, about three blocks West. Next time...
Seafood Bar Tijuana 100% 3120 Main Street Chula Vista 91911 (619) 422-2287
I just tried this place recently also. The fish tacos there are a buck and the El Prieto truck is now 1.25.
I think the truck gives you little more toppings, the fish are close to the same size. for a buck it is a great deal.
The truck still does a ton of business and may even outsell this place.
This place seems like you are in mexico with its spartan interior.
Posted by: Buddha | Tuesday, 12 July 2011 at 09:11 PM
hi cathy
that's it! i'm going to finally try that out especially for the buy one get one ceviche tostada! and the marlin taco and the manta ray machaca taco! i see this place whenever i go down south but have never been in there, always wondering how good it is...great post!
Posted by: caninecologne | Tuesday, 12 July 2011 at 10:01 PM
You scored, girl! I can't find mantaralla machaca anywhere in Yuma currently. And smoked marlin, too. Color me jealous.
Posted by: ed (from Yuma) | Wednesday, 13 July 2011 at 09:54 AM
That street is pretty busy, Buddha. The 99¢ tacos and toppings seemed good; I will have to compare though. It does seem like you are in a foreign country; I ordered in English and every word spoken to us in there was in Spanish.
Definitely stop in cc. Signage like this draws me in. The food will draw me back.
You have places in Yuma which make me jealous, ed. This was a very lucky stop. We want to go back to try the plates.
Posted by: Cathy | Wednesday, 13 July 2011 at 12:03 PM
This sounds interesting. But were there any crab dishes on the menu? I love all seafood but I really go for crab so anything that involves crabs or crab meat is all good.
Posted by: Darryl Brooks | Monday, 18 July 2011 at 01:38 PM
I did not see cangrejos on the menu, Darryl. The two pages showed variations of items (tacos, burritos, quesedillas) using fish, shrimp, octopus and clams as well as some House Specialties involving fish and shrimp and "gallo" (rooster). I can't say I have seen crab on any mariscos menu. Welcome to our blog.
Posted by: Cathy | Monday, 18 July 2011 at 01:50 PM