Fish Fridays at Rubio’s Coastal Grill

Growing up Catholic meant that Fridays during Lent we had to abstain from meat and if my family wanted to go out to eat we had two options – McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish and Long John Silvers. It was slim pickin’s back in the day. Though I’m not the most observant Catholic I still abstain from meat on Lenten Friday’s. Luckily the restaurant industry has changed quite a bit and meatless options abound. One of my favorite Friday spots is Rubio’s Coastal Grill. This year they introduced a new Panko-Crusted Crispy Shrimp option to the menu and invited me to give it a whirl.

Currently you can order the Panko-Crusted Crispy Shrimp in tacos or a burrito. On my first visit I opted for the tacos. As you can see they were stuffed with the freshly fried shrimp. Topped with cilantro, onion, cabbage, sweet chili aioli and salsa verde they are a flavorful and filling lunch option. Th shrimp is fresh and perfectly cooked and the aioli has just the right amount of spice. My only complaint would be that there’s a bit too much of it and it overwhelmed the dish.

When I returned to Rubio’s I tried the burrito which contains all the taco ingredients plus citrus rice. This time I asked them to hold the chili aioli. The burrito is massive and I could barely finish it. It’s also chock full of the tasty shrimp and makes for a tasty meal. Unfortunately, I think I made a mistake in skipping the aioli entirely as I missed the hint of spice. I think next time I’ll just ask for it on the side and portion it to my liking.

I’m so glad Rubio’s has so many options for Lenten Fridays (not to mention the rest of the year). I haven’t had a Filet-O- Fish once!