This is a beautiful thing. The grilled tilapia tostaco ($3.75) at Turtle Bay in Monterey (333-1500), the best fresh-and-healthy value around (same price at the Seaside TB, 899-1010).The thing that kills me is that at the very home of this killer deal they charge for chips and salsa, which seems like a faux pas.
I called to ask why. Cashier Karla Navarro was candid, and her response made some sense. "It's all homemade, not store-bought like a lot of places," she said. "We do it very, very fresh."
Of course, other places do that but don't charge (albeit the price is just $1.50). But there are more compelling reasons to stomach the charge:
• They refill it, according to Navarro, "Three, four, five, six times."
• A basket includes all you-can-eat, equally fresh homemade salsas which are simply superb, from the electric orange, burn-your-bridge habañero to the cool tomatillo-avocado (above right) to the classic jicama red.
• With a tostaco, your total is still just $5.68 after tax.
The tostaco's big brothers are also excellent at the area Fishwifes (375-7107 P.G.; 394-2027/Seaside), which are part of the same nuclear family of eateries. Those include the Grilled Tilapia Salad ($10.95, above)...
and the Tilapia Cancún with salsa brava, rice, beans, and vegetables on a green cashew sauce ($12.95).Make sure to ask for extra helpings of the cashew sauce, a coup of a dressing invented by magician and original founder Julio Ramirez.
