REVIEW #1
Since we don’t eat out often, I really look forward to it when we do. I do my hair, put on a little make-up, and get excited inside all day knowing that we get to “GO OUT”. Twas not the case for Kotija Jr, Taco Shop. I admit it, I am a food snob. But we have committed to this project and have to do our diligence by going to every-single-place on the 101. Even the not-so-fancy-ones, like Kotia Jr. Taco Shop. But hey, it is what it is, and I am game! We went early on Easter Sunday night which could explain why we got a parking spot in their teeny tiny parking area.
The sign on the wall boasts “Hands down, the best fish tacos in town!” Who can argue with such a statement? We quickly ordered our fish tacos. My youngest ordered a steak & egg burrito with “NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING else on it!” and we all shared some kind of red soup with shrimp. (I’m also a “Soupie”, so that was a no-brainer for me.) Although the gentleman taking our order was friendly enough, he seemed to come up with a total for our order out of thin air. There was no calculating, no buttons being pressed, and quite honestly, it seemed high for what we ordered. After explaining to him that his number could not possibly be right (we could have eaten SUSHI for that!) he came back with something much more reasonable, maybe not correct, but whatever.
Sitting on the outside patio was lovely and our food arrived quickly, but…oh no….there was something other than steak and egg in our youngest’s burrito! Potatoes?? Ahhhh!! But I have to say, ‘dem fish tacos were really good! I, for one, appreciate the double corn tortilla vessel as opposed to a singular type structure. If you are going to pack your taco full of good stuff like fish (fresh??), cabbage, and yummy, white, creamy stuff, you damn well batter supply something worthy of holding it all together, and they do! Glad we shared food because the portions were very generous. The red fish soup was decent. It had good flavor but the potatoes had the black spots that I always cut out. There was, however, a generous amount of shrimp in there which isn’t always the case. I appreciated that. The hot sauce buffet didn’t disappoint either. Sure, it would be nice to have each one labeled in some way so when you take a bite of the one you thought was more mild, it doesn’t singe everything in your mouth up through your nasal cavity making you want to crawl into a fetal position and cry for your madre, but that’s just nit-picking.
Would I drive far away to come to Kotija Jr. Taco Shop? Nah. But if you live near-by and want some cheap, authentic Mexican grub (and who doesn’t?) this is a very decent choice.
So, we’ve lived in Encinitas for 16 years, less than a mile from the 101. But when friends ask us for advice on where to grab grub in our own hood, we just stare blankly at them. ‘Cause we don’t know. This embarrassment has got to stop. We have decided to make it our mission to try EVERY SINGLE eatery/coffee shop/hole-in-the-wall on the 101 starting at Leucadia Blvd (west side) and heading south through Encinitas. We’ll turn around and head north up the east side somewhere around Swami’s. We expect this to take VERY LONG TIME, but we’re dedicated to the project. We will dine out every Sunday night that we can, and anyone who wants to join us is welcome. We’re going to hit every single restaurant in order, whether we think we want to eat there or not. We’ll give every one of them the chance they deserve, and we’ll give them the review they deserve.
Dining on the 101 