What: The tostada especial
Where: Mariscoco’s Culiacan, 51683 Harrison (Cesar Chavez) St., Coachella
How much: $11.99
Contact: 760-398-5666; www.facebook.com/mariscocosymaristorresculiacan760
Why: The freshness and the impeccable flavor.
A while back, a friend told me about the most amazing Mexican seafood place in Coachella. I remembered part of the distinctive name—Mariscoco’s—so when I recently found myself in Coachella during lunch time, I looked the place up.
Boy, am I glad I did: The lunch was one of the tastiest meals I have had in months.
Seafood, obviously, is the focus at Mariscoco’s, and the restaurant is renowned for its seafood towers. However, these towers are meant for more than one individual, even if said individual is quite hungry, as I was. The helpful server pointed me in the figurative direction of the tostada especial—a smaller, meant-for-one dish containing most of the same ingredients as the most-popular towers.
The plate that arrived a short time later was a thing of beauty: cucumbers, onion, shrimp, abalone, octopus, fish, sea snail, scallops and other ingredients sat atop a tostada, with another tostada gently placed on top. The plate also included some fresh avocado, a bit of mango, and a couple of orange slices—and everything sat in Mariscoco’s smoky, savory “special sauce.”
The plate’s beauty was topped only by its flavor: Everything tasted impeccably fresh and delicious. The crunch of the cucumber, the sweetness of the shrimp, the smoothness of the avocado, the tartness of the citrus in the special sauce—it all came together masterfully. I’d be remiss if I didn’t also point out what an amazing deal this is: $11.99 for this much great seafood?! Amazing.
The only thing that could have made it better would have been a chavela (which I could have ordered, but I didn’t because it was a work day) and a beach (which, alas, is not available at Mariscoco’s Culiacan). Otherwise, this was a perfect lunch—one I can’t stop thinking about.