| Unique Mexican seafood restaurant experience |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 10/16/2007
Rating: 8.5
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My co-workers Sean and the rest of my team have been taunting me about Dia De Pesca for almost a month. They've been 3 times and each time they come back from lunch...oh you missed it, we had blah blah blah blah blah and blah blah blah. With a combination of me missing mexican food and Dia De Pesca on the wish list, we headed out for a jatbar investigation.
Dia de Pesca isn't your typical restaurant but a converted taco truck, meals on wheels, taqueria type of establishment. You walk up to the front, browse their fresh fish selection menu, and place your order. I'm thoroughly impressed with the fish selection. They must have had 6 different fishes to choose and from what Sean tells me, he saw a shipment directly from Race Street Seafood. Talk about fresh fish! I ordered the halibut fish taco and chickenitza taco with a side of guacamole. Orders took about 10 minutes to land at the stylish tables.
side of guac and chips/salsa (images 7,8) - $2 might seem expensive for guacamole but if you've been to a supermarket lately, they charge up to $3 for 1 avocado. The side of guac is an good purchase. It's mostly guac with regular suspects like lime, tomato, and onions?. They give you plenty for your tacos and burritos. The chips and salsa are addictingly good. Not exactly restaurant style chips but for a taqueria, some of the best stuff you can get. Their salsa had excellent seasonings and could have used more heat.
chickenitza taco (image 11) - it's the house special taco where chicken is the star of the dish. It's a skinless chicken breast marinated in their secret orange and cilantro sauce. The big surprise is the peanut sauce topping that closely resembles the same stuff you'd get at thai restaurants but not as sweet. Also mixed was an interesting tasting bright green tomatillo avocado sauce. There's a lot of flavors going on in this taco. Combination of sweet, tangy, mildly spiced ingredients. It was good and would have no problems ordering again but my complaints would be use of lettuce for a chicken taco and tortillas weren't too warm. They lacked a good grilling and were falling apart. Price was $2.50 and tacos are large, 2 tacos should be more than adequate.
halibut taco (image 12) - presentation of the taco was beautiful. 2 corn tortillas laid on its side with chucks of halibut smothered in lettuce, tomatillo sauce, and fish taco orange sauce. Fish appeared to be cooked on a flat grill and cut into small pieces. Every bite had the right amount of fish and it was wonderfully fresh. Seasonings on the fish were light and one hell of a healthy tasting taco. My minor gripe is the temperature of the taco. Like the chickenitza taco, it could have been served warmer. I guess that's what happens when you have tons of orders going through the small kitchen.
Having lived in SoCal and San Diego area for 20+ years, I had the luxury of eating many fish tacos in my life. Every beach city would have their 1 taco shop and every local would line up. In the bay area, fish taco places are scarce and at the top of my head, I can't think of another fish taco stand that offers the selection Dia de Pesca has. They are probably the best you can get in the area with food achieving a solid 8. If they added a flame grill to their arsenal, we'd be hitting 9 territory. It's just my preference, I enjoy fire to steel grills 90% of the time. Maybe mix it up and add battered fish tacos, hmmmmmmmm.....fried fish.
Overall, I'd bump the score to 8.5 for the freshness of the fish and selection. Interesting flavors to the dishes you'd find at sit down mexican restaurants but at taqueria prices. I don't think it will be long before you see Dia de Pesca blossom into a full sit down Mexican restaurant. Be sure to try them now so you can brag to your friends...
"I remember when they used to cook out of a taco truck"
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RETURN VISIT for Jason! 5/22/2008 - 9 Rating: I agree with Forcella, I've been 4 times in the last 3 months and every visit has been completely solid. The enchiladas del mar is my favorite item on the menu. I've tried the fish, crab, and shrimp and its soooooo good. |
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Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 738
Reviewed: 10/16/2007
Rating: 8
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As Jason mentions, this was a place he had heard of, so I didn't know what to expect other than mexican food. I was pretty hungry on this late lunch run so was anxious to wolf down some quality mexican. The fact that this place was a wishlist request gave me a bit of hope that things might be decent.
We arrive and the place is a bit odd for a mexican restaurant. Its almost entirely outdoor, except for the kitchen which is in a taco truck. The order taking, and seats (thankfully there are plenty) is all outdoor. Cool.
The menu is surprisingly large with a healthy selection of seafood. I am not particular this afternoon, so check with Jason and order whatever he doesn't. So today that means I got a scallop burrito. Gawd, that sounds so rich, eh? Anyway, the wait was actually fairly long, so not a place to come to if you are in a hurry. If taking to go, you would be wise to call your order in ahead of time so you can get it and go.
While waiting, we munched on the chips and salsa provided. Wow these are pretty good. I know Jason's review is probably a little skewed since he was itching for Mexican food after 3 weeks out of the country, but these were actually pretty good. You need to order the guacamole (if you like guac that is). It was very fresh and richly flavored. This is a must for me on my next visit.
The scallop burrito arrived and it was a bit more girth than length, but was still stuffed LIBERALLY with scallops to my surprise. The rice was white, ewwww, and the burrito overall was very unspicy. Thankfully they supply a decent selection of hot sauces on the table to give my burrito some flavor. The scallops had a nice fresh flavor, and was truly an indulgence, but to be honest, without them the review would be significantly lower. The rest of their burrito is a bit disappointing. You come here for the seafood, (and the guac!) and thats about it. But the parts they do well, they do very well, so I will give them an 8.
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Reviewer: takeru
Total Reviews: 27
Reviewed: 6/22/2009
Rating: 9
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Been itching to try this place for a long time, and today was in the area around lunch time so dropping by was a no brainer.
Am glad to report that:
- the fish tacos still ROCK
- they've addressed Jason's minor gripe, my tacos were fresh off the grill and piping hot, I even had to wait a few minutes before I could dig in.
I'd read about DDP being a converted taco truck, so was expecting to eat in my car or sitting on the curb. However, the 'truck' was actually surrounded by many shaded tables, which made for pleasant outdoor dining.
For tacos, there were about 8 enticing seafood choices. After some deliberation, I went with:
halibut - wow! this has to be the most succulent fish taco I've ever had. Bite sized, grilled chunks of extremely fresh halibut with fresh, crisp cabbage, accented w/ a mild green and orange sauce. From now on I'll consider this the standard by which other fish tacos are judged.
octopus - double wow! I rarely eat octopus and have never had it in a taco. But I'm really glad I chose this, it has to one of the most delicious treats I've had in a long time. Small chunks of blackened, seared, slightly chewy and extremely savory octopus mixed w/ fresh, crisp bell peppers, snap peas, and cabbage. Reminded me of the yummy takoyaki that makes a once a year appearance at mitsuwa.
Both were absolute winners and definitely worth ordering again.
So, if you happen to be in the valley fair area, instead of chowing down at some snooty ritzy joint at santana row, give this place a whirl, you won't be sorry! Or better yet, do a jatbar fave double dip - hit up DDP, then walk around the corner and hit up Falafel Drive In (or vice versa). You just might run into me! ;-) |
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