If you drive by the northwest corner of Inglewood and Artesia, you’re likely to see something that is remarkable: a restaurant with a full parking lot. This might not be unusual in most locations, but this has been a spectacularly bad place to open a restaurant – there have been five of them, all serving Mexican food, in the last five years. One of my readers called it “the Corner of Doom,” and if you were an investor in most of those eateries, that was probably accurate.
The restaurant that has broken the curse is called Baja California Fish Tacos, and from the name you can tell that they have a sharper focus than their predecessors. Those establishments seemed deliberately generic, while this one is very focused on Mexican seafood, and that makes a difference. You know when you see the sign that there’s a reason to come inside.
The interior of the restaurant is a bit worn, but you don’t come here for the décor. Service is basic too – decide what you want, order and pay at the counter, and wait for your number to be called. That said, the people who work here are nicer than they need to be – there are smiles and greetings for regulars, and when the place isn’t busy the servers will linger a moment at your table to ask what you liked or explain an unusual item.
When a place has a specialty in the name, you order it, so on my first visit I got a pair of fish tacos, one fried and one grilled. I’m not a fanatic for fish tacos, but have to admit that these were a cut above average. The fish tasted fresh and the fried version had a nice crisp batter, and though they were served with lettuce rather than the traditional cabbage there was a dash of mild sauce that added a little zip. I was impressed by the friendliness of the people and the fact that a good lunch ran less than ten bucks, so went back with my wife about a week later. We might have stopped in sooner, but one item is served only on weekends and I wanted to try it.
That item was stingray, which is available in tacos or a soup, and it’s an up-and-coming item on menus because there is currently a population explosion of the bat-winged critters. Someone had told me that unscrupulous restaurants sometimes cut discs of stingray and sell it as scallops, which gave me an idea about how they probably tasted. A completely wrong idea, as it turned out – this kind of fakery probably only works if someone is using a strong sauce, because stingray has only a faint echo of the sweet richness of a scallop. It’s worth trying and makes a good fish taco, but so does fish.
On that visit we also ordered a shrimp quesadilla, fried whole fish, and a bowl of seafood soup. The quesadilla was packed with shrimp but could have used a little spice, something to add zip, so I asked for some salsa to perk it up. They have a good salsa here, but it’s behind the counter and they don’t give it out automatically. As nothing I have had here was highly spiced, it’s at least even odds you’ll want some with something you order.
The seafood soup had plenty of flavor even if the broth only hit 3 or 4 on a scale of 10 for heat. The tomato-based broth had a nice background of herbs and garlic, which played well with the carrots, onions, fish, shrimp, octopus, and mussels. Cilantro and a rice and corn mixture are provided on the side and both add to the flavor. This soup is made to order and takes about fifteen minutes, and if you’re not in a tearing hurry you should consider it, because it’s worth the wait. At eleven bucks for a large bowl, it’s a bargain.
The fried whole fish was large and crisp, a simple cooking method well executed. The fish makes a brief acquaintance with garlic, lime, salt, and pepper before hitting the fryer, and that’s all. There was plenty of crispy meat on the big tilapia, and although you need to watch for bones, it’s delightful finger or fork food. It was served with rice, beans, and a little salad, and was plenty for one person at the bargain price of ten bucks.
It’s hard to go to this place and not order fish, but I did stop in again to try a barbacoa burrito. Though usually made with goat, they use pork here, and the result is like a mildly spiced and very juicy pulled pork. It’s decent, but when I return it will be for the fish.
Baja California Fish Tacos doesn’t serve alcohol, just Mexican juices and the standard soft drinks. It’s not a place to lounge over a beer or glass of wine anyway – their business is to feed people fast, well, and inexpensively, and they do that superbly. This corner has a tenant with staying power, and the South Bay has a new Mexican seafood destination.
Baja California Fish Taco is at 4749 Artesia in Redondo Beach. Open daily 10 a.m.. – 9 p.m.., parking lot, no alcohol served. No online menu, phone 310-793-9073.
