Wahoo's Citrus Slaw Tacos

Tomorrow and the next day, May 25th and 26th, Wahoo's Fish Taco will start offering their tacos with an optional citrus slaw (cabbage, cilantro, onions and carrots tossed with lime juice & olive oil) added. It's during these first two days that if you get this option on your combo plate you will also get a free fountain drink. I got to taste these a few nights ago at a blogger event at their Fashion Island location. The citrus slaw is bright and tangy and complements the meat well. I tried it with chicken, fish and shrimp. We also got to meet with one of the Wahoo's founders, Mingo Lee, who told us all about how the chain began and about Mr. Lee's chili sauce and the saga of their stores being "stickered up" and lots more. Other food bloggers wrote about this event at Griffin Eats OC and Much Ado About Fooding.

Click here to view our complete Wahoo's photo album (59 photos so far) at flickr.

Wahoo's relocating at Fashion Island

Image used with permission from Belinda Dao

Pretty sure I recently read that Wahoo's Fish Tacos was closing at Fashion Island but I just got this press release saying they are coming back, or, more accurately, just moving to a bigger spot there (UPDATE: found out it was never anything but a relocation and rumors that Wahoo's there was "closing down" were unfounded):

FIVE RESTAURANTS OPENING IN FASHION ISLAND’S ATRIUM CAFES

New Wahoo's Flagship Will Feature First Bar in California

Newport Beach, California, March 4, 2011 – Fashion Island has announced that five casual restaurants will open or relocate to the Atrium Cafés this spring and summer. The new eateries will include a flagship location for the popular Wahoo’s Fish Taco, which will become the company's largest restaurant and feature a full bar.

The new Wahoo's, which will occupy a 4,500 sq. ft. space with indoor and outdoor seating, is fifty percent larger than its existing location upstairs near the Edwards Island Cinemas. The restaurant, which opens this summer, will also boast a patio overlooking the beautiful Atrium Court Garden with a 24 ft. water wall, as well as the first Wahoo's bar in California, offering favorite cocktails from Margaritas and Bloody Marys to wine and beer on tap.

Wahoo's is known for its fusion menu with Mexican, Brazilian and Asian influences. There are a variety of grilled meat, fish or veggie tacos, burritos, enchiladas and salads, all which can be accompanied with ahi rice and mild or spicy beans.

Hana Grill, featuring Japanese cuisine, recently opened in the Atrium Cafés. Hana Grill serves a variety of Teriyaki Bowls, Sushi Rolls, and Combinations served with a choice of mixed vegetables or market salad, steamed rice and miso soup. Many menu items are prepared to order on a teppan grill in front of the customer. Specialty dishes include Teriyaki Chicken Bowl and Teppan Yaki as well as sushi rolls.

Slated to open this spring is Stone Oven, which will serve gourmet sandwiches made with flatbread baked fresh on the premises, along with fresh tossed salads. An assortment of sandwiches will include Garden Vegetable, Spicy Chicken, BBQ Beef Brisket, Santa Fe Hot Ham and more. The salad selection will include Asian Chicken, Mediterranean Chicken, Walnut & Green Apple, Southwest Chicken Caesar, and others.

Also opening in the Atrium Cafés is Subway, which will relocate from its current space in the spring. Subway, the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise, has made "Eat Fresh" a way of life for millions of customers by offering submarine sandwiches made fresh to order. The casual restaurant also offers catering with Party Subs, Party Platters, Cookie Trays and Lunch Boxes. Subway, along with Wahoo's, is currently located by Edwards Island Cinemas, which recently closed for a remodel, and will reopen for the Christmas 2011 movie season.

Also opening this summer is Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking, known for its fresh and authentic Italian fare, including homemade pizza, pasta, salads and other authentic Italian entrees. The casual restaurant uses homemade mozzarella, imported cheese, and delicious sausage and salami.

As Orange County's premier coastal shopping and dining experience, Fashion Island features specialty boutiques, world-class department stores and a wide assortment of restaurants and cafes. Visited by more than 13 million people annually, Fashion Island offers a sophisticated yet relaxed atmosphere that is distinctively Southern California.

Owned by Irvine Company, Fashion Island is home to Orange County's only Neiman Marcus, as well as Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Bloomingdale's Home Store and Macy's. For more information, please visit www.ShopFashionIsland.com.

Breakfast at Tiffany's Wahoo's

Wahoo's Fish Tacos 120 Main Street Huntington Beach, CA 92648 (714) 536-2050 Listing on Google Maps Listing at Local.com Official Site

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and:

Wahoo's Fish Tacos 13791 Newport Ave, #4         Tustin, CA 92780 (714) 544-1154 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Urbanspoon Official Site

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I first encountered Wahoo's Fish Tacos in 1994 when I was at Laguna Beach's Sawdust Festival to see an acoustic set by the Swamp Zombies and noticed a little taco stand with a walkup window there. I didn't realize at the time that this was part of a burgeoning Orange County-Based chain. Some people question if the food Wahoo's serves is "authentic Mexican." I simply see it as beach or surfer Mex with some Asian, some Brazilian and some Polynesian influence (it's not "Tex-Mex," a term that's applied to too many non-Tex-Mex places, since there's nothing Texan about it); or maybe that isn't a simple answer but my laissez faire attitude allows any restaurant to be whatever it wants to be without feeling like they have to pander to the many vague, often conflicting notions out there of what establishes authenticity. I've had many of Wahoo's fish tacos over the years but have lately grown partial to their Maui bowl. I also think I may have placed a few stickers on their famously bestickered walls during several visits.

I recently learned through their Twitter feed that two of their locations, Tustin and Huntington Beach, are now offering breakfast. I went the very next morning to the Tustin one only to find it closed or at least doing a very good job of seeming closed. I went a few days later and this time it appeared open so I went in, saw their breakfast menu, and ordered their huevos rancheros. When I got it this dish was immediately recognizable as a Wahoo's item, on their signature ovular white plate, their signature black beans (this time with melted cheese on the top), and the main entree served as two fried eggs over corn tortillas, topped with cheese and your choice of red or green sauce and big dollops of sour cream and guacamole on the side. Pretty good stuff but I think next time I might try it with red sauce and ask for half rice/half beans instead of all beans. An employee there was about to eat her own breakfast so she let me take a picture of her Banzai veggie omelette. Other breakfast items include a Mexican scrambled egg dish, a "Tofurrito," and a machaca burrito.

Call ahead of time to make sure they are open before you head there.

Wahoo's Playhouse

Was at the Irvine Spectrum earlier today and saw this unusual sight, the smallest Wahoo's ever.

As I checked it out more I saw that it's actually a playhouse you can win in HomeAid Orange County's 17th Annual Project Playhouse for your kids.

I think if you win it then your neighbors will come to it hoping for you to make them some Beach Mex food.

Pipeline to a Cure

On Saturday, July 19th, Orange County-based surf lifestyle clothing company PacSun (Pacific Sunwear) will be putting on the "Pipeline to a Cure" event at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach hotel benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and featuring a special acoustic performance by Social Distortion. Apparently surfing helps alleviate the affects of cystic fibrosis. Surfing, Social Distortion, Mexican food, and charity work: now there's a winning combo.

But what does all this have to do with Mexican food? Well, the event is honoring Wing Lam, Mingo Lee, and Ed Lee of Wahoo's Fish Tacos. Hopefully there'll also be some Mexican food at the event. I looked into buying tickets online but kept getting an error message. Others might have better luck.

Official Site

Wahoo's Fish Taco - Review #2

Date of Visit: September 19, 2007

Wahoo's Fish Taco 81 Fortune Dr Irvine, CA 92618 (949) 753-0251 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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Short, Sweet, and to the Point

Since I'm back working near the Irvine Spectrum again it's one of the easy places to get to for lunch and when you're into Mexican food and don't have a of time for a sit-down dining experience then Wahoo's ends up being the default choice (although soon there will be one other such choice).

On my first visit there since starting this new job I noticed another customer with an intriguing looking dish I had never seen before. When I went back for my next visit I perused the menu and guessed that that dish might've been the Veggie Bowl (#9 on the menu). So I ordered that, figuring that even if it wasn't what I had seen before I was still at least trying something at Wahoo's that I hadn't tried before.

While I don't know how Mexican this dish is it was still pretty tasty and still came with Wahoo's excellent cilantro rice and cajun beans (I usually get their black beans but do change things up a little from time to time). The official description is: "Banzai veggies pan-grilled in teriyaki sauce." The vegetables on it are red and green peppers, cabbage, mushrooms, zucchini, and broccoli, served over rice with beans on the side. So, if you ever find yourself simultaneously in a Wahoo's mood and a vegetarian mood this is the item to order.

Wahoo's maintains its 4.25 Speedy Gonzales rating:

Wahoo's Fish Taco - Review #1

Date of Visit: July 17, 2007

Wahoo's Fish Taco 3000 Bristol St Costa Mesa, CA 92626 (714) 435-0130 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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I've been to Wahoo's Fish Taco numerous times since starting this blog, but, to anybody who's been following the roundup entries here you'll know that until now I've never been able to visit any for review purposes. My first encounter (to the best of my memory) with Wahoo's was in 1994 when I attended the Sawdust Festival and ate at the little taco stand there. I didn't even realize at the time that it was part of a bigger chain that was only going to get bigger and bigger (we'll cover their history in a later review).

Filling a work assignment recently near South Coast Plaza I was within walking distance of Wahoo's location on Bristol (which I think may be their original location) so I utilized them for lunch one day ordering the #2 combo, likely their most popular combo as you can get any combination of two tacos or two enchiladas or one of each, selecting a chicken enchilada and a Polynesian shrimp taco. Breaking from form I ordered the white Cajun-style beans instead of their popular black beans. Their cilantro rice is the best rice I know of at any Mexican restaurant and I typically eat every last grain of it, scooping much of it up with my chips. A minor drawback to Wahoo's is that you have to pay for chips and salsa. Shouldn't chips and salsa be complementary? Anyways, their shrimp tacos are a small step below that of the shrimp tacos served at Baja Fish Tacos and Taco Surf but are still worth trying when you want to add a Hawaiian spin to your otherwise Mexican meal.

A plus to Wahoo's is that they generally have a wide selection of beverages to choose from out of their refrigerator. On this visit I was glad to see Hansen's Vanilla Cola back in stock after it was missing over my last couple visits.

Expect more coverage of Wahoo's in the future. We will be covering other locations and other menu items. For now they earn a 4.25 Speedy Gonzales rating: