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Mariscos El Caracol differs from many small restaurant in Tijuana in that it's housed in a substantial stucco building, and juts out from a combination office building and parking garage. It's located at the busy corner of Bvd. Fundadores and Av. Ramos Millan, in the Zona Madero, not far from the landmark Tijuana Tower, and it's a small, one-guy operation, open to the street, and features a bar-like counter, complete with bar stools, where you can sit and watch the guy cook your food, and ultimately eat what you ordered.
Photo: Mariscos El Charcol is unusual, in that its located in a very substantial stucco building, but its typical in that the restaurant is open to the street, and features counter dining. A sign painted on the side of the restaurant advertises that they sell various types of seafood tacos, including your typical fried fish, marlin, shrimp, and octopus. Octopus tacos? I wasn't really in the mood for a fish taco, but I'd never heard of, much less ever eaten an octopus taco before, so I had to give it a try. So I sat down on a bar stool, told the man running the restaurant that I wanted a taco de pulpo, got out my camera, and started to do what I do best: Ask questions, watch the action, and take lots of digital photos.
Photo: I get a blank stare from the gentleman in the kitchen, as I snap his photo. Neither he nor the other customer appreciated my photos. Although Mariscos El Caracol is housed in a rather permanent building, it's a small operation run by one guy who takes orders, cooks, cleans, makes salsa and everything else that needs to done to keep the restaurant in operation. The kitchen is rather large, but quite Spartan, as it contains a large range, a refrigerator, a small work table, cases of sort drink bottles piled on the floor, and little else. The range dominates the kitchen, and the restaurant's pots and pans are stored underneath the range, along with the obligatory blender. A small television, mounted high on a wall completes the kitchen fixtures; during my visit, the television was tuned to a soccer game. Small mom and pop restaurants in Mexico almost always have a television in operation, which seems to be as common as a blender, and the TVs are always tuned either to a Mexican soap opera, or a soccer game. After I placed my order for the octopus taco, the taco guy opened the refrigerator door, rummaged around a bit, and pulled out a package wrapped in white butcher paper. He opened up the package and pulled out a grayish colored piece of meat, about the size of a fish fillet, with little round things on them - octopus suckers- and placed it on a cutting board. Next, he dipped the octopus fillet into a pan of batter, removed it from the batter, and placed it in a pan of seasoned flour. When the fillet was thoroughly coated with flour, he placed it into a pan of hot oil that had been heating on the kitchen range, and started to let it cook.
Photo: This guy was sitting next to me at the counter, enjoying a Coke and a fish taco. Naturally, he asked why I was taking photos... While the fillet was cooking, he placed a single flour tortilla on a round griddle, known in Mexico as a comal, to toast the tortilla, and reached into the refrigerator and took out a container of shredded lettuce, some chopped cilantro, and a squeeze bottle that appeared to contain mayonnaise or salad dressing. This particular gentleman wasn't at all talkative, and just sort of grunted when I asked questions, so I finally gave up and just watched. A nearby customer seemed quite amused at all the photos I took, and the questions that I asked, and asked me why I was taking so many photos. (Many people ask why I take so many photos... I'm used to it!) I began to explain about the Internet, but he didn't really seem to know, or care, so I just told him that I was doing a restaurant review for a San Diego newspaper, which seemed to perk up the cook's interest a little, but not enough to engage me in conversation or answer any of my question.
Photo: One octopus taco is on the counter, ready to eat, as the cook prepares another one upon my request. The tortilla and the octopus fillet finished cooking at the same time, thanks to excellent timing on the part of the taco guy in the kitchen. He removed the toasted tortilla from the comal, placed it on a plate, then with a pair of tongs, lifted the cooked octopus fillet from the pan of hot oil and placed it on the tortilla. With his fingers, he reached into the container of shredded lettuce and grabbed a handful, and dropped on the taco, followed by some diced cilantro in the same manner. He finished the taco by squeezing salad dressing or mayonnaise onto the taco, and placed the plate on the counter in front of me. I love to try new culinary adventures and an octopus taco was an entirely new experience for me. I have to admit that the adventure was quite unremarkable, as if I didn't know better, I'd have thought that I was eating a fish taco, instead of a taco de pulpo. Because of the cooked batter, I couldn't see the little round suckers, and as I chewed the fillet, I couldn't even tell they were present... the taco was cooked perfectly, as the meat was white, tender and juicy, and the batter was cooked to a golden brown. Oh yes, the salad dressing wasn't salad dressing, it was chipotle mayonnaise, which is a orange-pink color, and resembles thousand island dressing. At the price of MEX $15.00, the taco was a bargain.
Photo: Now you know what an octopus taco looks like... The guy running the restaurant may not be particularly friendly or talkative, but the tacos are great, and you can't beat the price. If you want an out-of-the-ordinary taco experience, make a trip to Mariscos El Caracol and enjoy a delicious octopus taco. Mariscos
El Caracol Copyright(c) 2012 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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