Fish on Fridays in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget
I like to rotate my family’s fish on Fridays tradition between fish and chips and Baja fish tacos in Salinas, California where I live.
For fish and chips, my family orders from North Main Fish and Chips by Boronda Road. You can choose one, two, or three pieces of batter-dipped, deep-fried cod as part of your combination meal, which comes with an ample amount of French fries.
For a Salinas touch, I order an extra side of coleslaw (non-authentic, but healthy) made with shredded cabbage and onions. North Main Fish and Chips uses a creamy, mild dressing that is a nice finish to the crunchy and warm meal.
I looked up the history of fish and chips in the Encyclopedia Britannica online and learned that it is considered a working class meal in the United Kingdom. Deep-fried, battered fish is believed to have come to England in the 1490s with Sephardic Jews who were fleeing expulsion and the Inquisition in Portugal.
Britannica writes that a Jewish immigrant from Belgium named Joseph Malin is thought to have combined deep-fried fish with French fries to make the first fish and chip meal in 1863 in East London. (French fries are called chips in the United Kingdom.)
When my family wants to add some variety to our family’s Friday night fish routine, we order fish taco combination platters from Super Pollo TaquerÃa on South Main, which come with two soft shell corn tortillas filled with chunks of cod, shredded cabbage, shredded onions, creamy sauce, and pico de gallo salsa to add made with chopped peppers, tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.
The sides that come with the combination platter are refried beans and Mexican rice. Mexican rice is made with chicken broth and tomato juice, which gives it a beautiful orange color and tangy and savory flavor.
Both North Main Fish and Chips and Super Pollo offer more elaborate menu items with seafood, but fish and chips and fish tacos are a pretty good deal; these meals for three with tip and delivery fees are about $60.
I like living in Salinas, California for the Friday night fish options, which make a fish meal affordable for families and provide an international dining experience for children as well.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
