REVIEWS
As summer jobs and family vacations come to an end, it is time for students to get back to what they do best—wasting away countless nights in bars. With the opening of Cabo Fish Taco on Main Street, students have one more option when it comes to nighttime hangouts. Cabo Fish Taco is more than a name 16-yearold boys (and myself ) chuckle at, it’s a new bar and restaurant with a southwest touch.
Located at 117 South Main Street, Cabo Fish Taco is not an architectural marvel. The dated brick building that Baylees once called home will not attract a huge crowd by itself, but the finely finished interior fully compensates. Cabo Fish Taco is a chain restaurant but immediately dispels any comparisons to Applebee’s or Ruby Tuesday. Despite the financial backing of a rather big company, the bar and restaurant are decorated uniquely and with great detail. The bar, with alternating shades of wood and inimitable liquor shelves, stands out as the focal point of the room.
In the same room as the bar, there are a few tables and booths for those who can get beyond the ample drink menu at the bar. Th e sunroom attached to the old building provides additional seating and a more open atmosphere. The top floor of Cabo Fish Taco holds a faux living room and two pool tables.
The menu consists of food “inspired by the southwest with a coastal twist.” While Mexicanthemed restaurants offer an extensive variety of foods by nature, the menu choices at Cabo Fish Taco are lacking. The appetizer section of the menu, dubbed “small stuff ,” had eight choices and the “big stuff ” section had only five. Between these sections existed the bulk of the menu—wraps and tacos.
Our table ordered Baja Shrimp and Crab Dip ($7.50) and Queso Dip ($2.95) as appetizers and each are fantastic. The seafood dip comes with hot pita wedges to dip into a generous portion of crab and shrimp. The cheese dip is accompanied by the already served nachos. Is it just me, or should the cheese already come with the free nachos at a Mexican restaurant?
The waitress was very attentive, and the staff at Cabo Fish Taco seems very proficient. So proficient, in fact, that we were given entrees before the appetizers were finished. This was a shame because it cut short my favorite part of the meal.
My entrée, a Southwest Chicken Wrap, was pretty much enormous. Since the wraps are not listed under the “big stuff ” heading, I was expecting much less. My wrap was cut in half, looking like two softballs sitting on my plate. The chicken and vegetables in the wrap were fairly ordinary, so I added the hot sauce that was on the table for a little more kick. After the appetizers and the big wrap, my membership in the clean plate club has been revoked.
My two buddies at the table ordered a Blackened Mahi Taco ($7.95) and a Rosarito Fajita ($8.95). Both enjoyed their entrees, but they also could not finish.
Prices at Cabo Fish Taco are wide ranging, allowing folks with any budget to grab some food. The salads and entrees on the menu start at three bucks, but the Lobster and Shrimp Cakes weigh in at 15 bucks.
Cabo Fish Taco is just the type of bar Blacksburg loves. There’s a big bar with quick service, and there’s an atmosphere that will stick in your memory long after you leave Tech. As a restaurant, Cabo Fish Taco will be a great place for lunch with the extensive wrap and taco choices. With a minimalist approach to full-blown entrees, Cabo Fish Taco is not a top choice for a night out to dinner.
If you haven’t been there yet, make Cabo Fish Taco your next night out to celebrate (or mourn) the end of summer.
According to the Cabo Web site, fish tacos were first brought to southern California by surfers in search of Mexico's big waves. Folks traveling through Baja California found that the best fish tacos were offered in local stands on the side of the road, often run by the fishermen themselves.
"The inspiration for Cabo came from the time that Rob and I spent surfing in Virginia Beach and North Carolina growing up, as well as the time I spent in southern California, getting to know the 'Baja' lifestyle," said co-owner Gary Walker.
The three owners -- Rob Crenshaw, Maeghan Crenshaw and Walker -- are all graduates of Virginia Tech and currently live in the area, though Rob and Maeghan travel frequently to the original Cabo Fish Taco in Charlotte.
THE VIBE
Funky, light and fresh. Very true to their claim as a "Baja Seagrill." There are three dining options: Outdoors, inside near the bar and in a breezy middle room, where bamboo shades hang from the windows. Bob Marleyesque tunes play throughout the place, and the lighting is low and relaxing.
THE MENU
Food is spicy but light. While the restaurant specializes in fresh seafood, there are other meats and salads to choose from. The taste of the food in general is a very acquired taste -- it's not spicy in terms of anything I've ever had before. Rather than being "hot," the spice is more a combination of many flavors that flood the senses. This is not a place for bland-food lovers.
The specialty of the place is, of course, the fish taco. Fish fillings include your choice of shrimp, mahi-mahi, grilled tuna and cod. I chose the Blackened Mahi Taco, which consisted of two tacos and my choice of side (the baja rice, a mixture of white rice with a sweet pineapple sauce on top). The soft tacos were jam-packed with mahi mahi, mexi-slaw (spicy cole slaw), cabbage and other veggies, and a white cilantro sauce that looked and tasted like ranch dressing with a tang.
Similar to Mexican-style restaurants, our waitress brought us chips and salsa -- but not like we were expecting at all. The chips were multicolored (red, black and white) and the salsa was not a liquefied substance, but consisted of corn and other tiny vegetable particles. It was good and seemed to be healthy.
My dining accomplice chose an appetizer as a meal. The Baja Shrimp and Crab Dip was ecstasy on pita -- warm and creamy and layered with crab meat. Pieces of pita were surrounding the bowl of dip like triangular worshippers, sprinkled with bits of cheese. The portions were very generous and satisfying as a meal. This dish seemed to be a popular choice, as I noticed many diners around us were ordering it.
THE SERVICE
Enthusiastic and efficient. Our waitress, a young woman who looked like she might have stepped right out of "The OC" television show, was all smiles and got our food out to us in record time.
THE GOOD
The restaurant is not a huge watered-down chain and the theme doesn't fall into the normal options of cultural eating in the area. Having a strong (and almost unhealthy) desire to visit the West Coast myself, I found what the owners are doing to be really cool. In my mind, they are like Lewis and Clark returning from the West to small-town Blacksburg, ravishing me with culture and good food. And I like that.
THE NOT SO GOOD
While Cabo's spicy surf theme is incredibly diverse and appealing, I'm worried how the theme will carry over into the winter months. Dining style and meal selection may not translate well.
THE BOTTOM LINE
I found Cabo Fish Taco to be fresh -- in quality of food as well as presence in the area. Although I did not personally fall in love with the style and flavor of the food, I think that one would be doing a huge disservice to himself or herself if they did not explore this restaurant.
CABO FISH TACO
Rating: ****
Menu: Baja seagrill
Where: 117 S. Main St., Blacksburg
Open since: May
Price range: Appetizers: $2.95-$8.50. Salads and soups: $2.95-$8.95. Tacos, wraps and burritos: $5.95-$9.25.
Soda products: Coca-cola
Adult beverages? Oh yeah. Cabo offers more than 13 different margaritas -- the mixes are homemade -- and they offer more than 72 different tequilas.
Smoking? At the bar, moderately separated from nonsmoking
Plastic? All major credit cards accepted.
Reservations? No
Takeout? Yes
Delivery? No
Live music? This is hoped for in the future -- perhaps a home for reggae-style music.
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week
Call: (540) 552-0950
Net: cabofishtaco.com
What the stars mean
****** Excellent. A one-of-a-kind experience.
**** Very good. Memorable menus accompanied by exciting environs and/or savvy service.
*** Good. Solid places that beckon with generally appealing cooking.
** Just OK. A place not worth rushing back to. But, it might have something worth recommending: A view, a single dish, friendly service, lively scene.
* Poor. Don’t waste your money here