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Early Wednesday evening, October 1, 2008 found me strolling along San Felipe's malecón, admiring the gorgeous scenery, but natural and cultural, and looking for a place to enjoy a fish taco or two. In San Felipe, finding a restaurant that serves seafood tacos is an easy thing to do, as there's a three block stretch of Av. Malecón that is lined wall-to-wall with small restaurants that serve mariscos, seafood dishes, and fish tacos. Yet, which place to choose? So many choices, so little time!
Photo: The employees who's job it is to promote the restaurant, and entice pedestrians into the place pose in front of Mariscos La Morena, after I'd agreed to go in and enjoy a couple of their fish tacos. I was looking for a restaurant, as walking around town, I'd worked up an appetite, but up to now, no restaurant had "spoken" to me, although there were many to choose from. As I approached the corner of Av. Malecón Sur and Calle Ensenada, I noticed a man and a woman lounging in front of La Morena, and I thought to myself, "Here we go again..." as they appeared to be bored staff, who in their down time were strategically placed in front of the restaurant, to lure customers in. True to form, by hunch was correct, as I drew near, both of them started rapidly telling me the virtues of La Morena, in broken English. Normally, I avoid this kind of hype, but I was in the mood for food, and their prices and selection looked good, so I said "OK" and sat down at a table, and ordered a beer.
Photo: Mariscos La Morena has their menu posted as you walk into the dining area. The restaurant, and San Felipe in general, was quite dead on this Wednesday evening. La Morena is a very attractive restaurant, as its very clean, and practically everything is painted bright red. The restaurant features outdoor dining, under a large, shady patio, and on this 104 degree day, large fans kept the air moving and the temperature bearable. Their menu is posted above the kitchen, using painted pictures, and the name of the item appears in both English and Spanish. Unlike other restaurants, their prices aren't posted, so you have to ask. In my case, I was quoted MEX $15.00 for a beer, and MEX $20.00 for two fish tacos. A little bit on the steep side for the beer, but in-line with other restaurants for the fish tacos... so I took the bait, so to speak.
Photo: The dining area is covered, paved with bricks, and is quite clean and comfortable. The outdoor dining is very clean, comfortable, and offers a good view of the beach, and the Sea of Cortez, but its all on ground level, as the restaurant doesn't have a second story. I was impressed with the fact that all of the tables and chairs match, and the floor is paved with bricks, which is quite attractive. This Wednesday night was dead, as there were only a handful of customers besides myself. In talking with some of the locals, they complained that the high cost of gas, and the poor economy north of the border was keeping tourists home.
Photo: These girls are enjoying a meal near the entrance to the restaurant, with the blue Sea of Cortez in the background of the photo. My two fish tacos arrived in a timely manner, but with a different twist: Condiments placed on the plate, beside the tacos. Backtracking a bit, when I ordered my tacos, the waitress asked me what condiments I wanted, as I replied "todo," which is standard operating procedure for me. I had assumed that they would bring a plate of condiments like most restaurants do, but instead, the condiments were served on the edge of the plate. Ok, but the fish was cooked perfectly, battered, crispy on the outside, tender and white on the inside, in the manner that I've become accustomed to during visits to San Felipe. Each taco included two pieces of deep fried fish, served on two corn tortillas. The condiments included salsa cruda, diced white onions, shredded cabbage, and key lines, cut in half. I paid MEX $35.00 for two tacos, condiments and a Pacifico beer.
Photo: Tortillas are cooking on the griddle, as the gal cooks my fish tacos. I can't resist kitchen shots! The tacos were great, the beer was cold, and all in all the meal was a decent value, but nothing to compare to the outstanding meals, with much greater value that I enjoyed at Mariscos Conchita, two blocks up the street.
Photo: My dinner of two fish tacos, with salsa cruda, shredded cabbage, diced white onion, and key lime halves. I also noted that Mariscos La Morena's menu offers breakfast, but I've never seen them open for breakfast, or serve breakfast food.
Photo: The workers who's job it was to turn pedestrians, like me, into customers. This guy offered to find me a working girl for the evening, and I declined his offer. Then he offered to pimp to me his co-worker, which is the gal in this photo. I declined his kind offer. After I'd declined him twice, he profusely thanked me for dining at Mariscos La Morena. An interesting side note is that when I'd finished my meal and was about ready to leave, the guy that was outside the restaurant attempting entice people in, took me aside and profusely thanked me for patronizing the restaurant. He then asked me if I was in need of a woman for the night, and if I was, he'd be able to fix me up with one. I politely declined, and then to my surprise, he offered me the services of his co-worker, who was working with him enticing potential diners into the restaurant! I though he was joking, until she giggled, rolled her eyes at me, and asked me if I wanted to come to her room with her! What??? The last thing that I'd expected was to encounter an offer of illicit sex with a part-time, matronly hooker! I guess I must have looked skeptical, as she giggled some more, and promised that she'd show me a good time. Needless to say, I was quite surprised, and I declined the kind offer. Mariscos
La Morena Copyright(c) 2008 eRench Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since January 19, 2005. Web page design has been created by eRench Productions, Inc., custom photography for any occasion...
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