Rising up from the sands of the Sonoran Desert in a town just east of Phoenix, Arizona, Pablo Reynoso has created a tiny oasis serving up flavors usually only found in taco stands along the beaches of Southern California. With 13 varieties of fish tacos and a beer lineup full of California microbrews, the SoCal Fish Taco Company is all about no-fuss dining, fresh seafood, and high-quality ingredients.
“This is authentic beach food,” Reynoso says. He should know. Reynoso was born in Torrance, California, one of the communities situated along the Pacific in the South Bay near Los Angeles, and his family has been in the seafood business all his life. Even though he now lives in the desert, he maintains those ties to the sea to make sure all the flavors in his restaurant are true to SoCal cuisine.
To do this, Reynoso tops his menu with traditional panko-breaded fried cod, served with shredded cabbage, cotija cheese and his own house-made baja sauce. But the sea offers more than just cod and he takes full advantage of those resources with more exotic fare, such as shark topped with mango salsa. Currently, lobster tacos are his best seller.
It wasn’t until this week that Florida residents could legally fill 64-ounce growlers. In fact, the state didn’t even recognize the word “growler” until Governor Rick Scott signed SB 186 that legalized the container size. Brewery visitors could fill 32-ounce or 128-ounce containers, but nothing in between.
