My first encounter with the dish at the center of this
investigation—tacos pescados, a lovely Spanish phrase
demoted in English to the snickerworthy “fish taco”—occurred on a
night I’ll never forget: November 4, 2008. While making my way from the
election-night party at Tini Bigs to the one at the downtown
Westin—soon after Pennsylvania was called for Obama, with Ohio on
the horizon—I realized the type of drinking the night demanded
required some food. I ventured into Flying Fish, where there were no
TVs, no wireless connection, and little acknowledgement of the sea
change under way in the nation. Instead, I found a nice Tuesday-night
crowd, seats still available for walk-ins, and a platter of grilled
fish tacos so good and satisfying they rank as one of the highlights of
a night that would prove to be one monolithic highlight.
Some context: I am not a lifelong fish eater. After 20 years of
ovo-lacto vegetarianism, I started eating seafood a couple of years ago
and discovered that well-cooked fish (or, as PETA is currently calling
it, sea kitten) was what the best tofu aspired to be. I still have
little affinity for most seafood—the wet, the shelled, the
fishy—but I am a freshly minted connoisseur of a particular brand
of whitefish: thoroughly cooked, on the drier side of moist, and
thoroughly, wonderfully mellow. The fish at the center of Flying Fish’s
grilled fish tacos platter ($19.95 small/$24.95 large, both meant to be
shared) is a perfect model of the form, served in inch-wide cubes
charred deliciously in spots, with crispy outer streaks covering tender
inner streaks—all of the perfectly firm flakiness that fuels
those tofu-apotheosis rhapsodies. Accompanying
the fish are two
well-selected garnishes (tangy charred-tomato salsa, cool and creamy
guacamole) and, most importantly, handmade corn tortillas.
More context: I was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, where I
learned to love New Mexico–style Mexican food and hate corn
tortillas. Maybe it was my unsophisticated palate, but as a kid, corn
tortillas were the sickly cousins of
far-superior flour tortillas
and seemingly designed to be as rough and flavorless as possible. If
flour tortillas were chocolate, corn tortillas were carob. But all my
corn-tortilla biases were upended by the tortillas on the Flying Fish
taco platter, which came from a different galaxy than the thin, bland
sandpaper discs I learned to dread as a kid. The Flying Fish’s corn
tortillas, with their moist thickness and near-sponginess, were closer
in texture to an Ethiopian flat bread. (I might’ve credited the whole
thing to a usually successful yuppie-fusion experiment if I hadn’t
encountered an almost identical tortilla at another
restaurant—Broadway’s short-lived El Tajin, an authentic Mexican
joint whose homemade corn tortillas I ate once and never forgot.) The
right corn tortilla—substantial, quietly flavorful—is a
beautiful thing. Live and learn!
My guy Jake shared both the platter and my love for the platter on
election night, and he urged immediate comparison with what he hailed
as equally amazing fish tacos at La Carta de Oaxaca. Only
recently did I follow through, sitting myself down in the stylish and
charming Ballard Avenue room for a plate of halibut tacos (three for
$10 at lunch). The good-sized chunks of grilled halibut came with
nicely crispy bits drizzled in smoked-chipotle sauce, to be augmented
at will with offerings from the self-serve salsa bar. (Among many other
delights here: a perfectly contentious pico de gallo—the
jalapeño kicking the ass of the onion, which takes out its anger
on the tomato.)
But again, the most remarkable component of the meal was the corn
tortillas, which trounced the dry beige punishments of my youth in an
entirely different way than Flying Fish’s meaty corn sponges. Instead,
La Carta de Oaxaca offered up thin tortillas (made before your eyes
behind the counter), flash-fried to chiplike crispiness around the
edges while retaining a sturdy softness on the insides. In their own
way, the La Carta de Oaxaca fish tacos were exactly as satisfying as
those at Flying Fish, but the experience of eating at the latter easily
trumped the experience of eating at the former. Flying Fish’s
build-’em-yourself fish tacos allow trial-and-error experimentation
that brings you, leisurely, eventually, to your own ultimate fish taco.
It’s a goddamn revelation.
If you’re now craving tacos pescados, but the economy’s got you
hurting, Taco Del Mar sells a perfectly good fish taco for $2.
The whitefish is breaded and lightly fried (bad for healthiness, good
for deliciousness) and laced with fresh cabbage, tomatoes, and salsa,
as well as Taco Del Mar’s signature mysterious white sauce (optional
according to them, mandatory according to your mouth). It is cheap, and
it is good. 
FYI, Rosita’s in Greenlake has delicious corn tortillas too.
Beacon Hill’s La Benedicion, Oaxacan grocery, sells fresh corn tortillas made in the back. On Beacon Avenue across from the Red Apple.
The fish tacos at Agua Verde. Not authentic, but damned delish. It’s the avocado aioli.
You can’t really Mexican places, usuall filthy, they generally spit in your food if you don’t speak Spanglish. Taco Bell is about as far South as I’ll go because they usually have white guys working there.
David??, I can’t believe you missed the best fish tacos on Capital Hill! El Gallito on Madison & 20th.
There is no such thing as a good fish taco.
Kip, yer fucked, paranoid, or deserving of spit in your food.
But to the point, someone who doesn’t like fish and has been eating fish tacos for 4 months shouldn’t be writing this review. Taco Del Mar is dog shit. Two words: steamed tortillas. And “tacos pescados” is plural (“fish tacos”), and is not particularly lovely a phrase.
I’m with Terrence on this one. David, I love Last Days, but the food reviews seem to be lacking in depth a little bit. Reviewing fish tacos when you don’t like fish seems problematic to me.
And just how dry/moist is the “drier side of moist?”
I had a fish taco once. And then I gave her to all my buddies.
In defense of Mr. Schmader, he probably didn’t write the headline for this piece, so it likely isn’t his fault that it says it is about Seattle’s best fish taco. Whoever wrote the headline should have said it was about discovering fish tacos… my husband is a writer, and editors are forever putting misleading headlines on his articles which then causes him to get angry letters.
Agreeing with Terrence and Food? Not usually my role, but also gotta agree. First off, TDM fish tacos are as good as anything else from TDM – shitty pseudo-mex. They are palatable, but have no place in a review (a positive one anyway). Eating fish for 4 months doesn’t disqualify you but it doesn’t recommend you for this job either. Fish shouldn’t be fishy, but most white fish has little to no flavor. Cooking it properly (moist and flaky is ok. Dry or well-done is herasy) is extremely important. Coming from Southern California I have a hard time recommending any other than Agua Verde. I love Seattle, but it’s not the place for mexican food.
yes indeed. my ex wife had a taco that turned fish then dead moose!
Best fish tacos are at Columbia City Ale house.
we decided to be adventurous and try this list of alleged delicious mexican food and set out to do so today.
closed. closed. closed.
all of them..
we ended up at taco bell.
it was delicous.
I like the fish tacos (and not much else) at Chinooks.
Taco del Mar’s fish tacos deserve mention only in that they are the only edible thing there. (How can rice and beans go so wrong?!)
Mmm, now I’m craving Oaxaca’s pico. So damn good.
Blue Water Bistro in Lower Queen Anne has good fish tacos. Tacos Guaymas in Fremont isn’t bad either.
La Carta de Oaxaca has good fish tacos, but you are wasting an opportunity to eat perfect pork if you order fish tacos there. Instead, get their Tacos al Pastor or Mole Negro de Oaxqueño, which are both vastly superior choices.
Dammit, comment vanished. I was saying that Taco del Mar’s fish tacos deserve comment if only because they’re the only edible thing on the menu. (How can rice and beans go so wrong?!)
Furthermore, La Carta de Oaxaca’s pico de gallo is god.
ARRRRGH vanishing and reappearing comments!!
Oops … I meant Blue Water Tacos in LQA, not Blue Water Bistro.
Agua Verde’s have been the best I’ve tasted, while dining out. The best fish tacos in town are made in my own kitchen.
For tast Fish Tacos, don’t forget Roy’s BB! – Columbia City and Baja Bistro – Beacon Hill
ahi tacos at elliott bay are pretty delicious, i was pretty obsessed with them in my brief foray into pescatarianism.
i mean, not genuine, of course, but so good!
ha, to specify: brewery, not books. doy.
I followed Emily Hall’s 2004 review from this very paper to Malena’s on Queen Anne. Mmm-mmm, good.
Taco Del Mar’s fish tacos are lame at best. It is a fucking FISH STICK in a taco. Barf.
La Carta is overrated.
I am no longer a fan of Gordito’s (not previously mentioned here) as, over the years their food has morphed so that there seems to one pot in the back containing “filling” which is then packaged into burritos, tacos, enchiladas, etc. In other words, it’s pretty much all the same. Blah. Their fish taco, however, is quite good, the only thing they serve that doesn’t seem to come out of that pot. At least, last time I checked this was the case.
Since Sloggers won’t go to a place like Mukilteo without a reason, here’s your reason: Tin Fish. You get to actually choose what kind of fish you get and whether grilled/fried. If you’re ever stuck in I-5 traffic (in either direction), make a detour.
taco del mars fish tacos are fucking nasty and gave me food poisoning.
fail.
You can’t talk about fish tacos in Seattle without mentioning Melena’s Taco Shop on Queen Anne. How or why the fish tacos taste like they are bacon wrapped is a mystery – a wonderful, magical mystery.
The fish tacos at Chinook’s are indeed good, as are their fish & chips. They can also be found at the Anthony’s stand in Sea-Tac Airport, and surprisingly the quality is just as good. Bonus: the time it takes for a checked bag to show up at the baggage claim is the same time it takes to stop at the Anthony’s stand and grab a quick bite.
Not really Seattle, but within vicinity- Matts’ Rotisserie & Oyster Lounge in redmond.
Amazing Halibut and salmon tacos….
I agree with Terrence also…about Kip (burn in hell), Taco Del Mar (disgusting), and the fact that a newbie fish eater shouldn’t be writing this review. The fish taco is an important and delectable dish. It is definitely deserving of a more in depth exploration!
Tenoch in Pioneer Square/the ID! Have lunch there and you’ll be ruined for any other fish tacos.
Great review. How about one for fish sandwiches? Which place has the best in your opinion? The national chains like McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, Jack In The Box, Carl’s Jr and Dairy Queen. Or the local places like Ivar’s, Kidd Valley and Pike Street Fish Fry. Thanks!
Is there not enough Mexicans around so that you can say fish tacos right? its tacos de pescado, otherwise it makes no sense. And really that one guy does deserve some spit in his food, and I’m sure he gets a side of it often.
I have noticed a lot of this in the various free papers around the country. There seems to be a wealth of reviews written by people that admit to not liking the thing they are reviewing. It happens in the movie reviews, the restaurant reviews, the music reviews, etc. Surely they can find someone more qualified to write up these reviews.
Mama’s in Belltown has the best fish tacos
For those of you who do not already know, Kip Schoning is just another balding unsuccessful middle aged loser spewing his bitterness over his failures out onto strangers. Schoning has lost 20 properties in bank auctions in the past couple of months and has almost 40 more in foreclosure. He actually can’t even afford to eat at Taco Bell. If his current downward spiral continues he might just have to move out of his fancy pants yuppie house and into one of the crap hole he rents… then he can call himself a lazy “bum”. How funny would that be?
Kip, I heard you were hiding out in Mexico? Just a rumor? Where ever you are I hope someone SHITS in your food on a daily basis and you get a bad case of dysentery. Amebic or bacillary, it doesn’t matter which, as long as you bleed out of your ignorant lily white asshole.
Report as off-topic, spam, false, or abusive.
Listen to Kip, he know everything!
Read more about Kip Schoning, a ledgend in his own mind. Google him! It will be fun! There are at least 4 pages of hits (all good reads). Then come back here to vote. Is he in a position to review anything?