Senor Fish

Tonight, my friend, Andrew, came by to look at my new house. He liked it. As a reward for his driving way the hell out here, I took him to Senor Fish (though he paid). Senor Fish is a family owned taco joint with locations in South Pasadena, Downtown and Eagle Rock and it does have the best fish tacos in town. They have a fish taco sampler that includes a salmon, swordfish and tuna taco, all grilled, with slices of avocado on top. The plate also includes a piquant side of ceviche. It's a sublime feast that is unparalleled. And they also have deep-fried Baja-style fish tacos, which are also fantastic served with a mayonnaise sauce and cabbage. I have yet to have better fish tacos. Next time I'm going to try the famed scallop tacos.

We brought in a six-pack of Orchard Street Brewery Pale Ale, which was surprisingly good. It's at Trader Joe's for $4.99 and it's crisp and hoppy. The hops have a nice floralness to them, which I love. Fresh-tasting, bitter and refreshing, it was the perfect companion for the fish.

Tonight's was a far cry from last night's desperate seafood meal. It was after the Superbowl, which I watched while I painted the dining room. I was starving but I had no food in the house except for a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese and some frozen scallops from Trader Joe's. So I did what any normal person would do. I added the scallops to the mac & cheese. I'll just say this: adding the scallops did not elevate the Kraft dish to any sort of gustatory heights. I'll also add that I'll never buy Kraft mac & cheese again. I used to eat it as a youngun, and after seeing The Pianist I bought a few boxes for comfort food (when you see The Pianist, you become preoccupied with food). But it brought little comfort. Salty, gooey, bland and not at all satisfying - scallops or no scallops. I could argue that I was trying to add class to a meal that comes out of a cardboard box, but in reality, I was just desperate to get calories in my body. It was a new culinary low for me. Please don't tell anyone.