This is what I'm sayin', yo

A model citizen of the Siete Mares fish taco community:


(credit to marc for letting the world see the beauty of Siete Mares!)

Note the healthy piles of tomato and onion, the substantial shredded cabbage and that lovely white sauce peeking out from under the cabbage. The limes and pickled carrots and peppers complete the plate, rounding out a truly excellent taco experience. One might say that the amount of vegetables is a bit much, but I figure in the case of veggies it's better to load it on and easily pick off yourself than scrimp or not serve at all. Remember, the tacos at Greensboro's Mexico Restaurant were simply scant meat, sad lettuce and drownage of cheese. Once the cheese came off, it was a practically naked tortilla.

Speaking of Mexico, the best taco I've ever had was in the tiny town of Ensenada on the Baja Coast. In a dusty street stood this open-air stand surrounded by a diner-style counter. There was an enormous, wok-shaped pot of bubbling frying oil behind the counter, and every few minutes a woman would dip fat strips of fish in a tempura-style batter and drop them one by one into the oil, which crisped and fried to a golden-brown perfection.

(At least that's how I remember it. Maybe I'm making up the dusty street part. Sounds romantic, though, yes?)

The tacos were juicy, crispy, and just the right amount of veggies. Even though each was served on standard-sized corn tortillas, they were stacked high, four for five bucks. I (of generally large appetite) barely made it through taco number three before I had to take a slump-in-your-chair-and-hit-your-chest-til-you-burp break. It was that good.

Now I'll be the first to say that I am hardly a taco expert, but I'd venture to say that Siete Mares is better than, ohhh, say, this:



(At least that's how I felt when I ate the tacos from Mexico Restaurant.)

Good Greensboro tacos, I know you're out there, and I'm comin' to get you...