Review: Rubio's

After tasting my first authentic Baja-style fish taco in San Diego on January 6, 2007 (a momentous day that just happened to coincide w/my brother and sister-in-law's wedding), I was hooked. Upon leaving San Diego and returning to DC, I shed a melancholy tear, elated to have sampled such pleasure, yet disappointed to leave it.

Whoever thought to combine fish, shredded cabbage, and a creamy, mayo-based sauce was a genius. Slightly crazy to throw such diverse ingredients together, but still a genius.

The recipe for Rubio's fish tacos fell into my hands last year by some glorious twist of fate. The Pacific Coast-based restaurant chain is famous for their fish tacos, made from fresh, vibrant ingredients. Although I'd never eaten at Rubio's, I liked their recipe, one I've made at home many times.

So imagine my delight when a Rubio's franchise opened just down the street from my parents' house in Phoenix. At long last I'd be able to taste a glorious Rubio's fish taco, as legendary as Excalibur.

Since Rubio's opened three or four weeks ago, I've been there four or five times. I probably wouldn't have gone so much had I not had so many coupons, but I have no regrets about the frequency of my visits. These multiple visits have allowed me to sample a few menu items, including a carnitas taco and chips w/guac. Both contained fresh, juicy ingredients, from the plump, ripe chunks of tomato to the tender shredded pork.

But the standout at Rubio's is--of course!--the fish. Slap a piece of that fried, golden deliciousness on a corn or flour tortilla, a bed of lettuce, a mound of rice, or anything else, and prepare your mouth for a partaaaay. I'm convinced that fried fish would taste good on, like, a sundae.

While the fish tacos at Rubio's are fantastic, it takes at least two or three to fill up a normal-sized adult. Each taco, served on your choice of corn or flour tortilla, contains a piece of crispy fish, a swath of white sauce, and a hefty pinch of shredded cabbage. Sometimes I've found little bits of tomato in the tacos, turning the white sauce a pale shade of salmon. The inconsistency regarding the tomato confuses me.

My solution to the gotta-eat-sixteen-fish-tacos-in-order-to-be-sated problem is to order a fish burrito. The burrito contains the same great fish, but more of it. Served on a flour tortilla, the hot fish is accompanied by beans (refried or black--your choice--which I decline completely), shredded cabbage, and white sauce. Depending on who makes your burrito, you may end up with tomato and/or guac. Again, the consistency here is lacking. I'd like to know if my burrito will always have guac, as my first burrito there had it, but my second did not. In contrast, my second burrito there had tomato (or some sort of pico de gallo), but my first did not. I like both toppings, but what I'd like even more is to know that I'll be getting the same burrito every time, as I'd expect.

Costing only slightly more than twice as much as a sole taco, the fish burrito is about three times the size of a taco. See?

Burritos come w/a serving of warm, fresh tortilla chips, too, meaning you can use the chips to scoop up the burrito innards that are sure to fall out. If the innards don't fall out by some strange miracle, you can always use the chips to transport some of Rubio's salsas directly into your mouth. The regular, spicy, smoky chipotle, and tomatillo salsas available at the salsa bar can be chunkified by adding some of the onion/cilantro mixture, also found at the salsa bar. My favorite combo is 1 part regular + 1 part chipotle + 2 parts onion/cilantro. Ooh baby.

Here's a cross-section of a fish burrito. You can see many strata, including the crunchy coating on the fish, the flaky flesh, the white sauce, and the shredded cabbage.

While I've enjoyed many a fish taco both at Rubio's and at home, I think I'm a fish burrito convert. The sheer enormity of the thing is superb, but the taste is what clinches the deal. But w/a move back to the Midwest in my near future, my days of $1 Fish Taco Tuesdays and $4 anytime fish burritos at Rubio's are numbered.

Good thing I have their recipe.