Tacos Ensenada

A couple months back, Los Angeles Magazine listed the "Top 10 Mexican Restaurants" in Los Angeles. Such lists are of course subjective, perhaps no list more so than tacos. I have had hundreds, perhaps thousands of conversations with friends over the years on the subject of food and restaurants. Everyone has their favorite taco joint; if you asked my twenty closest friends you would probably get twenty different answers.

Crammed in amongst the list of usual suspects like La Huasteca, Loteria Grill and Guelaguetza was a place in Duarte called Tacos Ensenada. "The tiny Duarte restaurant is essentially a Baja taco stand backed against the San Gabriel Mountains" begins the first line of the magazine's description. How could I not try that?

My friend Tim and I headed over there around 1 in the afternoon. At the end of a tiny strip mall on Route 66, you could easily miss the joint if you're not paying close attention. Every table was full when we walked in, with a couple people milling about outside waiting for to-go orders, but by the time we both had ordered (which only took a couple minutes) three tables had opened up.

I ordered a fish taco, a shrimp taco and an al pastor; upon being told they were out of al pastor I changed it to a carne asada. Tim ordered the same fish and shrimp tacos as I and added a fish ceviche tostada as well. It took more than ten minutes for the food to be ready but that was no big deal - there were customers coming in every minute and placing orders, and besides, we sat at a table by the window and I enjoyed the sun from the first warm day of the year. (Plus I had time to eat pickled red onions and decide which of the hot sauces on the table I wanted to use.)

The fish taco was fantastic. The batter was perfect: light, airy, and crispy. The fish underneath was moist and flavorful, and the crema was mild, the perfect condiment to pair with the seafood hot sauce, which I drizzled on the last couple bites. It's not the best fish taco I have ever had - the fish tacos I have been enjoying lately at La Estrella are better. But it was great. (And, at $1.49, half the price of those La Estrella tacos.)

The shrimp taco was even better than the fish. The batter was just as good and a touch crispier, and the shrimp was perfect, tender and tasty. (Tim had a shrimp on his plate with the batter broken open, revealing a beautiful white and pink shrimp, but just as a I reached for my camera to document it he took a bite. Oh well.) Imagine the best popcorn shrimp you've ever had, thrown into a taco. That's about what this was.

The carne asada was average. It was lean but incredibly salty. This was not a big deal to me; Tacos Ensenada is known for their seafood. I only ordered this because they were out of al pastor, and I only ordered that just to try something other than seafood. I would never order one of these again, but I am not sorry I did and I ate the whole thing, loaded with pickled onions and Tapatio sauce.

Tim enjoyed his ceviche and offered me some, but it was too loaded with tomatoes - not to mention topped with avocado - for me to try it. But I'm still posting the photo.

I really liked Tacos Ensenada. My three tacos were $5.34 and they filled me up nicely. I would not hesitate to return if I was nearby, but I won't be rushing back. There are still far too many fish taco joints I have to try that are closer to me.