Cheap Eats: Sarasota Fish Taco Tour 2013

Fish tacos at Lido Beach Restaurant.

Since taking on this column some 16 months ago, I’ve become my friends’ go-to guy for recommendations for affordable, reasonably tasty grinds—not a day go by that I don’t get a text or email asking where to go for a slice of pizza in Gulf Gate, or where to get a real, true Philly, or decent Chinese place downtown.

It feels a little like them saying, “No, Google, I want you to come to me.” So, from time to time I will interrupt Eating Companion’s (EC) and my grazing to offer up some recommendations for specific things at local eateries. Your suggestions are eagerly requested: What do you want to know?

We will open this with something near and dear to my heart, a desert island meal for sure: fish tacos.

Simple as fish tacos should be, they are often done very, very poorly – often with mushy, slimy white fish, or with poorly curated accompaniments, or too many accompaniments. They are a sensitive matter, and should be treated seriously and carefully. There are people like myself out there who consider themselves fish taco people. This is for them.
(Quickly: all fish tacos should be served with Mexican or Caribbean beers — Tecate, Modelo, Corona, Sol, Kalik, whatever. Trust me.)

My first real euphoric, epiphanic fish taco experience in the greater Sarasota area came on a Friday afternoon in Venice, at the Lucky Dog Diner (602 Tamiami Trail S., Venice, 483-4840), more or less a roadside trailer specializing in hot dogs, a place one would never expect to find just terrific tacos. Every Friday, you’ll find Lucky Dog packed full of diners noshing tacos stuffed full of deep-fried basa buried in a cabbage slaw, with cilantro, chopped jalapenos and a vaguely spicy, creamy Baja-style sauce. I don’t know if they sell-out, but it’s definitely worth getting there early to beat wait.

Right across the street, the Blu’ Island Bistro (625 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice, 485-8200, bluislandbistro.com) recently opened up, offering their own take, though theirs are grilled, and come with a house-made cilantro-lime slaw, pico de gallo, hunks of fresh, ripe avocado and a really zingy remoulade. Ask for the chef’ss special hot sauces if you are feeling risky. It’s honestly one of the spiciest sauces I’ve ever had.

For a little more upscale experience head out onto Siesta Key, where two of the more well-loved joints in the Village, Siesta Key Oyster Bar (5238 Ocean Blvd., Siesta Key, 346-5443, skob.com) and Sun Garden Café (210 Avenida Madera, Siesta Key, 346-7170, sol-food.net) do inspired variations. SKOB lets you pick your protein – Gulf grouper, mahi-mahi, shrimp, or the catch of the day – and then tops it with lettuce, tomato, and a cilantro cream sauce. They are a little pricey at $13, but you’re getting top-shelf seafood, and surely the people-watching at SKOB is worth the extra dough. For lunch, head around the corner, grab a seat outside, and enjoy Sun Garden’s Yucatan tacos – charred mahi-mahi with the essence of lime, served them with pico de gallo, lettuce and guacamole.

If you’re downtown, head upstairs at Eat Here (1888 Main St., Sarasota, 365-8700, eatheresarasota.com) – Sean Murphy’s populist little cousin of the Beach Bistro – for its chef’s pick tacos, with grilled or pan-seared fresh fish, a crunchy slaw and a drizzle of aioli. Simple, but superb, what one has come to expect from any restaurant Murphy has his hands in. The Caragiulo family’s Old Florida joint, Owen’s Fish Camp (516 Burns Court, Sarasota, 951-6936, owensfishcamp.com) does a great job as well, serving them with a green salsa and Baja sauce, with a side of shoestring fries.

Out on Lido Key, the Lido Beach Restaurant (at the public beach, 400 Ben Franklin Dr., Lido Key, 388-0400) does terrific twice-weekly fish taco specials, on Friday and Saturday, serving three massive tacos stuffed with what is rumored to be fresh swai, a flaky, white fish from Vietnam not unlike catfish. They are simply done, but hard to beat considering the location, the price, and the fact that they also have cheap ice-cold beer, as well.

Try these out (some are definitely better than others), let me know what you think, and please, send me some recommendations if I’ve somehow missed some crucial spot. I know you’re out there, Fish Taco People. Get in touch.

And in the spirit of democracy, I ask that you make your requests heard for future roundups like this one. We’ll be doing this often.