Best Fish Tacos

I am in search of some good Fish Tacos preferably north/northwest city or burbs. I especially am particularly fond of Tilapia and am interested in hearing your reports.

BAT

I like the ones at Flamingo Seafood in Mt. Prospect. To see a better picture or description look at an earlier thread http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9965&hilit=flamingo+seafood

Actually been there, done that (I live in Mount Prospect) and they are very good. Princess and I like variety and are looking for something just as good if not better.

Thanks for the response,

BAT

I really like the fish tacos at Los Nopales. It may be a little out of your way (but it still qualifies as northern Chicago i guess).

They are tilapia, they are served to you with a good attitude by good people, and they aren't expensive.

The rest of the meal isn't going to blow your mind, but it's a really solid restaurant.

Los Nopales
4544 N. Western Ave
Chicago
(773) 334-3149
Their online menu

It's not north, but, in the interest of completeness, I dare say my favorite item at Xni-Pec (okay, tied with the cochinita pibil...and chiles en nogada) are their fish tacos. The exact preparation changes, but it's lightly battered and fried fish, served on a homemade tortilla, with a little smear of black beans, chopped red (sometimes green) cabbage, topped with a slightly spicy chipotle mayonnaise. I honestly get more cravings for their fish tacos then I do the cochinita pibil. It's prefectly balanced and the light touch of black beans give it a twist I've never encountered before in a fish taco.

Xni-Pec
5135 W. 25th St.
Cicero, IL
(708) 652-8680

The Tacos Ensenada at Mixteco are tilapia, and awesome.

I'm partial to the tilapia fish tacos that they make at La Casa de Isaac in Highland Park.

Here's a link that was started last year. http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=15376&p=150877&hilit=casa+isaac+casa+isaac+fish+tacos#p150877 Their location and phone number are in the third post on that thread.

Please report if you get to Isaac's place and try their fish tacos.

Best regards,
Grandpa Bob

Taqueria Las Cumbres in Crystal Lake, if you ever find yourself on the NW edge of suburbia.

93 Grant St
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
(815) 455-8200

Slim wrote:Taqueria Las Cumbres in Crystal Lake, if you ever find yourself on the NW edge of suburbia.

93 Grant St
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
(815) 455-8200

I'm actually out there quite a bit. Might I ask - what's good about them?

Has anyone ever had the grouper fish tacos at Shaw's? I've always been intriqued yet never pulled the trigger.

Go see Sergio Sanchez @
The Twisted Lizard
Sheffield and Armitage,
lower level.

Ask for his Fish Tacos-
Baja Style.

Lightly fried fish- a cabbage and lettuce mix- sour creme- and a touch of a Chipotle Sauce!
Riquisimo!
and a beautiful presentation.

He says many local papers have voted his Fish Tacos .."The Best"!!

I may be a horrible person for it but i love the ones at Adobo Grill

Kennyz wrote:

Slim wrote:Taqueria Las Cumbres in Crystal Lake, if you ever find yourself on the NW edge of suburbia.

93 Grant St
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
(815) 455-8200

I'm actually out there quite a bit. Might I ask - what's good about them?

I would say just the right amount of seasoning and nice meaty chunks of fish. Squirt a little lime on 'em. Nice.

rmtraut wrote:Has anyone ever had the grouper fish tacos at Shaw's? I've always been intriqued yet never pulled the trigger.

I like the ones at Mixteco, and the fish tacos at Shaw's are fairly good--they're my standby when I get a craving, because I haven't been blown away by the others I've tried...until I went to Xni-Pec, on Binko's rec., last night. Near-perfect. One fish, one shrimp taco, and I also liked the smear of black beans. Next time, I'll order the chipotle-mayo sauce on the side--good flavor, but too drippy.

Casa de Isaac is on my list, too.

hombre wrote:Go see Sergio Sanchez @
The Twisted Lizard
Sheffield and Armitage,
lower level.

Are the fish tacos an off-menu item? Is there a secret handshake involved?

I try not to recommend chain restaurants, especially those tied into celebrity names -- indeed, I usually try not to even go to these places -- but my mom wanted to go to Cheeseburger in Paradise a couple of weeks ago.

I wasn't in the mood for a burger, so I got the fish tacos. OMG, they were incredible! Expertly cooked fish , cabbage with just the right amount of tanginess and a really good sauce.

The location we ate at was in Des Plaines, so that would probably meet your north or NW parameter. I know there is another in Downers Grove.

The fish tacos at Xni-pec are incredible. I always order 2 fish and 1 shrimp, perfect dinner. I also like the smear of beans.

Mixteco's are great. I also like them at Bon Bon Cafe when they have them - they are similar to the tacos at Mixteco.

jmc wrote:Mixteco's are great. I also like them at Bon Bon Cafe when they have them - they are similar to the tacos at Mixteco.

The one time I tried 'em at BomBon, they were tiny and spendy. Around $10 for 2 tacos, and the piece of fried fish was no bigger than my index finger. I will say they were good, but the portion...not so much.

Xni-Pec's taco easily blows the slaw off of BomBon's.

you are right, they are small, but yummy. get some tamales & soup w/them and bring your wallet!

I have recently become addicted to the fish tacos at Old Oak Tap. They are lightly fried, with a delicious sauce, crunchy cabbage, and pico de gallo. Really craveable.

Old Oak Tap
2109 W Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 772-0406
www.theoldoaktap.com

crrush wrote:Xni-Pec's taco easily blows the slaw off of BomBon's.

I don't know how I missed this comment earlier! I love the imagery as much as the sentiment.

In addition to Xni-Pec, I had a remarkably good fish taco at Maya del Sol (not the recently-described Mayan Sol, I have no idea why restaurant names are converging) in Oak Park, on special. Right balance, right toppings, big cuts of fish on tiny homemade tortillas. I haven't frequented Maya except for brunch since things seem to be held-and-warmed at other times of day, but this type of experience will get me back.

Did anyone ever work out the Twisted Lizard protocol?

They aren't on the regular menu, but Chuck's has fabulous fish tacos. I ordered them Friday night as one of his lenten specials. He won't have them every Friday, but they were so good I had to fight my husband for them. We ended up splitting my dinner and bringing his home (he ordered something else). I'm hoping Chuck makes them a regular part of his menu as I would happily order them over and over again. Fried grouper with a spicy slaw on corn tortillas, they really hit the spot!

Suzy

As was mentioned in another thread http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=8499&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a,
Chicks 'n Salsa in Glen Ellyn's fish tacos got a nod from the Tribune a while back.

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2007/nov/01/food/chi-1101_c_fishtaco_jpnov01

I really love their fish tacos. But I haven't had them at many other places, so I can't say how they compare.

Chicks 'n Salsa
Baker Hill Shopping Center
874 Roosevelt Road
Glen Ellyn, IL 60138
(630) 790-1100

Tim

I came back from Cabo San Lucas several years back craving the same thing.

I was happy with Tacos del Pacifico on 106th until they closed.

Now I like -
El Abuelo y Yo
3752 S. Kedzie
Chicago, IL
773-247-9110

While not a place you'd expect to have good ones, the Local Option on Webster in Lincoln Park has pretty good ones (swordfish or tuna). They used to have a sister seafood restaurant called The Local Shack. They migrated a lot of the dishes from the Shack to the Option upon the Shack closing. That said, I'll say that their steak tacos there are my favorite. Wonderfully marinated skirt steak.

Very bad fish taco(s):

Carbon, on 26th. "Tortilla-crusted tilapia with tequila-lime sauce" turned out to be "burnt corn flakes-crusted Gorton's fishstick with water-thinned Miracle Whip."

NY Times has an article on doing it yourself, with a recipe:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/magaz ... t-000.html

I saw Alton Brown's "Frying" episode on Good Eats the other nite. He made fish and chips, but I picked up alot of really useful tips on fish-frying.

I was shocked to find out that it's not a good idea to fry in cast iron--something about the iron (sulfides?) funk-i-fying certain types of frying oils.

Also, why it's important to dredge the fish in corn starch (or flour) before battering. If the fish is dry-dry before battering, the batter sticks better. Say that 5 times real fast.

Thanks for the link!

crrush wrote:I was shocked to find out that it's not a good idea to fry in cast iron--something about the iron (sulfides?) funk-i-fying certain types of frying oils.

Tell that to generations of Grandmas. They'll be surprised to learn that all that chicken coming out of their kitchens was done wrong. (or is that just for fish?)

I should've been more clear. The way I understood it, if you want to get the longest lifespan/re-use out of your polyunsaturated oil, don't fry in cast iron. The oil absorbs iron oxide (not sulfide), which makes it turn rancid faster.