Mariscos Monday! - Negro Durazo - a revisit

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog and sometimes Kirk writes, sometimes ed(from Yuma) writes and sometimes Cathy writes here.  Today, Cathy is writing.

Background of this post: The Mister and I were born seven days apart.  This year, those days were on a Monday.  He gets to choose what he wants to eat the first three days, we have to agree on what to eat the middle two days and then I get the last three days.  No discussion, just a statement of what or where and for which meal. This year, we each chose Negro Durazo- for three meals. Because we really like it here.

Yes, I wrote about Negro Durazo earlier this year. Great mariscos in Lemon Grove, right off the 94 freeway. It's convenient for us when we are out that way and the food is really good. 

Here is a close up of some of the outside signage.

Standard of what is brought out to the table before ordering: fresh salsa, fresh chips and cut limes.

The interior here is quite large, has menu specials displayed along the walls, has televisions and music and can get very loud at dinnertime and on weekends. 

Standard tabletop condiments include an array of hot sauces, tostadas in packages and saltine crackers. 

As with Mexican seafood (even mariscos trucks) your meal is preceded with a cup of seafood broth.

The Mister ordered the whole charbroiled fish ($10.95). It is a white bass (not tilapia, which is fried), cut in half, seasoned mildly and charbroiled, served with the salad. The fish is fresh, moist, flaky, smokey (in a good way) and extremely good.

I ordered the Negro Durazo tostada($6.95)...piled high on this salad plate.

Really- a lot of seafood. Raw shrimp (sliced in half), octopus, squid and cooked shrimp - marinated and cooked fresh in lime juice and mixed with tomato, cilantro and onion. So fresh and so good on a hot day.

We went back, in the same week, and ordered essentially the same items- the whole charbroiled bass (better photo)(there is a head, cut perfectly in half under the salad)...just as good...so fresh and quite large.

and the Negro Durazo coctele ($13.95)

Octopus, squid and shrimp in this... more (a lot more) seafood than on the tostada...and in a lime-ketchup(by that I mean sweet)-spicy sauce, which also had cucumber (and no onions) along with the tomatoes, cilantro and avocado.  A little different and also very refreshing...excellent birthday meals.

I did say three visits during our birthday week.   As you can see, there is a breakfast menu at the front door. I'll save that post for later.

Negro Durazo 6954 Federal (at Broadway and the 94) Lemon Grove 91945 (619)240-7148

Website

Comments

[caninecologne]

hi cathy - happy bday to you and your hubby! i've always wondered about this place - the seafood tostada and the coctele both look quite filling. i am craving octopus!

[Cathy]

Thanks, cc! We seem to be on a mariscos kick lately and *really* like it here. (There are Chula Vista and Tijuana locations).

[ed (from Yuma)]

Happy birthdays. Wow I'm impressed by that restaurant. Pescado Zarandeado (that smoky charbroiled fish)is a fav of mine.

[Alyssa]

Three meals here in 7 days? That's quite an endorsement! The charbroiled fish looks great. I would like to try their fried tilapia.

[Cathy]

Thanks ed! The Zarandeado is done very well here.
Hi Alyssa! The fried tilapia is very good, served with rice and beans...which are very good. A toss up as to which is better, comparing with El Faro...(and yes, there are very few places we return to the same week- or day. Tender Greens is one, Sammoon and Sultan are others...)

[foodhoe]

Yum, and happy birthday! I love those seafood cocteles... found a place nearby that serves a great spicy and hot seafood soup that I switch over to when it's chilly out. The fish looks just fabulous.

[Cathy]

Thanks, FH. Soup is my favorite food and it is that time of year. I really like Autumn for so many reasons.

[Tia G]

Happy Birthday! Soups for me, too! I had soup three times today already! Seriously!

[Carol]

Oh dang, how did I miss this post? Happy belated b-days to you and the Mister!

[cathy]

Thank you, Carol. We do celebrate with food a lot each year...Negro Durazo was unusual with the multiple visits.