Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Date: Cabo Fish Taco

Since we heard that Cabo Fish Taco was on Triple D, Chad and I have been dying to go. Good Baja-style Mexican in Charlotte is a rarity, and it also happens to be the one of our favorite types of food. However, Cabo Fish Taco is a good half hour drive from our house, so we just never took the time to go. We finally went there for a date over Christmas break, and we were not disappointed.

Well, I take that back. We were disappointed with their chips and corn salsa. Fresh tortilla chips can be one of my favorite things in the world, and these were hit and miss, all in the same basket. The corn salsa was tasty by itself, but on corn tortilla chips? Just wasn't quite right.

Chad got the BBQ Mahi Tacos - "Grilled mango BBQ Mahi-Mahi tacos stuffed with Cabo slaw, tomato, avocado, mixed cheeses & finished with our cilantro white sauce." Oh my. A lot of different flavors were stuffed into those tacos, and the pay-off is a taco unlike any taco you will ever have. And can I just tell you that the tortillas were the most perfect I have had in North Carolina? Here is a clip from Triple D about these very tacos.

I ordered the beer-battered shrimp tacos. My tacos were much simpler in taste, but the taste and textures together were perfection. The shrimp were cooked perfectly, and the batter had just the right crisp to it. There was a lot less going on, but I they were still just as delicious as Chad's. By the way, we each had one of each of the tacos - one more thing I love about my husband is eagerness to try new food right along with me, and we almost always trade plates half-way through.

The sides were pretty mediocre, but it it really didn't matter. If those tacos were good enought to make me forgive the chips, I can certainly forgive the sides.

Chad and I haven't been this excited about a new restaurant find in a long time. We have talked about it over and over again since going and even though it is half an hour away and we have no coupons for it, we will be back. SOON.

Cabo Fish Taco, located in the NoDa neighborhood.

Also forgiven? The hipster-doofus neighborhood. Tell me where the phrase "hipster-doofus" comes from and you get some brownie points from me.

Our own food network experience

Do you watch Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (or Triple D, as Guy likes to call it)?

We do - so we were pretty pumped when Chad's brother Bill let us know a few months ago that he saw an episode featuring a restaurant in Charlotte. We knew we had to make a pilgrimage to the holy ground on which Mr. Fieri trod. The Saturday before Father's Day was the perfect occasion for such a trip. We headed downtown to visit....

....what was truly a "dive"....

Penguin Drive-In (which actually isn't a drive-in)

Finding parking on a Saturday in this somewhat seedy neighborhood was our first challenge. The next challenge is getting a seat. The seating area is not large at all. As soon as you open the door, the hostess ushers you in, asking you to shut the door quickly. There is no foyer or waiting area so you smash yourself up against the wall with the thirty or so other people who are waiting ahead of you. After we put our name on the list, I took the already restless kids and sat in the car while Chad waited inside. It was amazing to sit out there, watch more and more people pile in, and wonder where everyone is waiting. By the time we got a seat, there were thick lines of people inside along one wall and between the bar and tables.

We were excited to order our food to see if it was"out of bounds" or "off the hook." Everything on the menu was very reasonably priced (so reasonably priced, in fact, that Chad was a little ticked off - why not raise your prices a little if you have lines out the door? - he was dumbfounded).

Chad got the "Hemi" - three hamburger patties on a bun with the usual fixin's.

Colin and Gabe got the corndogs - huge, greasy, and freshly made.

It looks large-but Chad had no problem eating it, though it completely fell apart half-way through. The taste? Basically like regular ol' ground beef. Not exactly "money."

I got the pork chop sandwich - it was good, but pretty bland. I really wanted some kind of tasty kick -some sweetness like coleslaw or some acid, but it was just basically what you see in the picture with a little bit of mayo on it.

The onion rings were the best part of the meal - generous, flavorful, with a light batter that was far from typical. Even Colin, who normally won't go near onions, liked them. We also got the hush puppies, which were good, but not the best we have had in the four years since we first tried this southern appetizers.

Would we go again? - the price was right and the food was about what you expect from a greasy dive (I felt sick for the rest of the day, and Gabe later lost his lunch in the Target parking lot -after we piled Chick-fil-A on top of this). If we had friends who were fans of the show who wanted to go, we would probably go again, hopefully on a weekday this time!

Not sure when the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Penguin Drive-In airs again, but the title of the episode is "Blue Plate Special" if you want to keep your eyes open for it!