What: The fish tacos
Where: Barrel District, 35939 Date Palm Drive, Cathedral City
How much: $15
Contact: 760-537-7431; barreldistrictpizza.com
Why: These tacos are big and tasty.
Regular readers of this space know I am a fan of properly prepared fried fish. I love it on a good sandwich; I adore it served alongside yummy fries.
And, of course, I crave it in a well-assembled taco.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that my attention was piqued when the server at Barrel District praised the fish tacos during our recent lunch visit. I was torn between the fish tacos and the sesame-crusted ahi burger ($13, with fries), but Kevin, my dining companion, was also interested in the ahi burger, so I picked the tacos in the spirit of food diversity, even if I was a little skeptical of the $5-per-taco price tag.
When the tacos arrived, that skepticism went away: The three tacos were huge—packed with deep-fried cod, along with tomato, avocado, cabbage, cilantro and aioli. I made a mess while devouring them, but it was a happy mess, thanks largely to the delicious beer-battered cod.
Here’s an endorsement within an endorsement: Kevin raved about his sesame-crusted ahi burger, served with onion, avocado, tomato and tartar sauce on a ciabatta bun. He was kind enough to give me a piece of the rare tuna—and it was fantastic.
Unfortunately, even though we were at Barrel District at the height of lunch hour, we pretty much had the place to ourselves; only a couple of other tables were occupied. Why the dearth of customers? I have no idea, as it’s located in a recently revitalized and now-busy strip mall; the menu offers an intriguing selection of starters, pizzas, tacos, salads, burgers, sandwiches and entrées; and the service, at least on our visit, was just fine.
Maybe the restaurant needs to advertise more. Perhaps the place needs better word of mouth. Regardless, Barrel District has a new customer in me.