Many years ago, I found myself somewhere in the bowels of Northglenn, and while waiting for something at American Furniture Warehouse to plug a temporary hole in my then rapidly-deteriorating marriage, I went through the drive-through at Taco Star. I order a fish taco, I usually order a fish taco, that's my food of choice. It was outstanding, enough to let me forget things for a bit and enjoy a really well-made fish taco.
There are basically three kinds of fish tacos; the kind that use fresh fish and are made really carefully, and with expense. Wahoo's makes a good version of this, though it seems it might be hard for them to keep the prices from going up too much for high-quality fish. And then there are fast-food versions of the fish taco, like at Del Taco, where presumably frozen fish is fried. And then there is the third kind ...
Legend has it that in Southern California, a hungry lady or gentleman could buy a fresh fish taco grilled to perfection for just a couple bucks from a place along the beach. But this is Colorado, and when our budget is $5 or so for lunch, our beachside stand is a place like Del Taco or Taco Star. These places have a secret weapon though that the California-styled taco huts like Wahoo's don't have ... they have knowledge from the birthplace of the fish taco, they have experts from Baja, Mexico, who have learned the ancient art of turning a half-decent piece of fish into a meal fit for the most proficient of Snake Pilot.
I remembered that outstanding fish taco from Taco Star so many years ago, when I accidentally found myself at the Aurora version of this restaurant yesterday, while helping a hottie to a replacement battery for her Vulva ... err, Volvo. Wait, Outtie? Innie? Audi? No, it was a Volvo, definitely a Volvo. I remembered that shining beacon of perfection from my afternoon in Northglenn and I ordered the fish taco. It was Taco Tuesday by chance, so I got a whole net full of them for a price so low that I should be embarrassed to have taken a hottie there, just indebted for the price of a Volvo battery, with core replacement of course.
It was everything I remembered. I have no idea what the rest of their food was, I only ordered the fish tacos, and that is all I will ever likely order here. If they changed the name of their restaurant to Fish Taco Star, I'm not even sure that I would notice. The hottie with the Volvo ordered something, but once she tasted the fish taco, she seemed to have lost interest in whatever meat tostada thing she had, and then like me, she became a drooling fish taco devouring zombie, with knowledge of only Fish Taco Star's fish taco.
A fish taco is the taco equivalent of a sonnet. It has to be done simply to be done right. The template is two corn tortillas with grilled fish, chunks of white cabbage, and spicy mayo. No other ingredients are needed. BUT ... to expect fresh grilled fish from a fast food joint would be unreasonable, so the experts at Taco Star have apparently modified the architecture of the fish taco so that it works with the fried and breaded fish. They use different tortillas, and they add some other sauces. It's as perfect as the kind of the beach in SoCal, just in a different way.
They'll give you some sauce with it, a green one which is a little like Huacatay, and a brown one that's kind of smokey. You won't need it, but you should smuggle them home for something else. Their fish tacos -- as made yesterday are perfect without adding any of that.
If management finally forces them to use less perfection with making these, they might still be great, but I hope they give some of that money they save to the employees here, because without a cook staff of this level of skill, their fish taco wouldn't have a chance. With their skill, it's a masterpiece.
One small issue ... a fish taco as perfect as this, needs a perfect drink. They have the pineapple and the manadarin Jarritos, which are okay, but not really built to accompany fish tacos as god as what they make here. They need the lime flavor and even better, the plain Mineragua soda, which might be the best accompany to one of these fish tacos.
They do include a couple limes which are helpful, At a lesser place, you would squeeze them on the fish. But at Fish Taco Star, you will save them for the end of the meal. Because after you finish the fish tacos, your immediate impulse will be to go buy more Fish Taco Star fish tacos, and you will continue this cycle until you either run out of money or explode. After you finish your last fish taco, remember that lime. In your daze, grab it, suck on it. Yes, it will damage your dentin, but they will allow you to forget the taste of that perfect fish taco, and thus save you from the endless fish-taco cycle of which there is no escape. read more