Fred's Mexican Cafe in Huntington Beach California

Fred's Mexican Cafe in Huntington Beach is one of our favorite places for mexican food. Not only is the food yummy, but you're inches from one of the best beaches in Southern California. Located on the 2nd floor of a corner lot, sitting in a window booth (or on the patio) nets you a fantastic view of the pier, the cars and some interesting views of the people! Unfortunately, the day we visited Fred's it was cloudy and overcast, but that didn't lessen the wonderful experience of our Taco Tuesday!

The Establishment
As I mentioned, Fred's is located on the 2nd level of a corner lot. We always choose to take the LONG set of stairs leads up the restaurant, however there is a elevator for those of you that wish to go the 'easy' route (or wanting to take it down after stuffing your faces with a ton of tacos!). At the top, you are greeted with a fun, hand-painted Fred's sign on the wall. Bright, Mexican colors are all around, and lead you right into the main entryway. You are joined by a Fred's hostess and a circling cherub, as well as a table filled with colorful candies (no touching...those are for after). A pool table, central bar and the bright sun shining through the far end of the building definitely make it an inviting surrounding.

Chips, Salsa and the Coveted Guacamole
After being seated the standard "What would you like to drink" question was asked. We responded with our order and OUR standard "Chips, salsa and guacamole please". The basket of chips came topped with a small 'chip-basket' of guac. The guac was smooth and creamy and filled with chunks of avocado. What set this guac off, though, was the sprinkled cheese on top. There was enough on there for 4 or 5 good bites, and that little extra flavor was oh-so yummy. While it doesn't look like much, there was easily plenty there for both of us. The salsa was also really good. Flavorful and chunky, it ranged in the medium area on the hot scale. We did, however, have to order another cup of it...one just wasn't enough!

The Main Course - TACOS!
For the first round of tacos, I decided to go with the Buffalo Chicken and the Baja Fish. My festive red dish showed up with both of my tacos sporting small plastic swords...a sure indication that the tacos would be good, right? First up was the Baja Fish taco. Let me just start off by saying that, unless you have a hinged jaw, eating this one is going to be REALLY difficult. I could barely fold it over to pick it up LIKE a taco let alone get this thing in my mouth. The piece of fish was huge, breaded and had great flavor! This was certainly not a street taco. The other ingredients inside really helped complete the taco as a whole. Great stuff. I then started on Taco #2, the Buffalo Chicken Taco. This one was much easier to fold over and insert into the hole in my head, but after the first bite something wasn't right. There was no zing-zang buffalo sauce. Come to find out the cook had called an audible and cooked me up a Crispy Chicken Taco instead. While I was disappointed that I didn't get the Buffalo version, the Crispy was quite good. Loads of tender chicken chunks coated with a crispy outer shell filled my folded tortilla, again complimented by the additional lettuce and pico sauce. Another good choice (or mess-up, I guess).

But wait, I wasn't done. For my third taco I decided to order the Shrimp Taco (after having the one at Panama Joe's, I figured I'd try it here). My moment of initial indecisiveness prompted the waitress to suggest the Cheeseburger Taco...yes, a taco filled with ground beef, cheese and, get this...FRENCH FRIES! While not my first choice (or second or third), I was feeling a little sassy and decided to go with the waitresses suggestion. After a few minutes another red plate was set before me. It looked the same as all my other tacos except for the couple little french fries floating outside the tortilla circle. I foldered 'er up, gave it a little squeeze and set it on a course for my face. Wow. I said WOW. I actually might have said WOW 3 times. The flavor of the hamburger meat was amazing, the cheese was soft and gooey and the fries added just the right amount of crunch to the whole thing. This was certainly unexpected but sooooo good! I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to try something out side the taco-box!

Final Thoughts
If you're still hungry, I would suggest the Churros. When the wife ordered them, I expected a churro...one 12" long, rolled up piece of dough. Instead, we were handed a hot-bag filled with a pair of 7" sticks AND a cup of strawberry sauce and whipped cream. O- M- G!!!! These are what you call next-level churros. The steamy hot cinnamon sticks dipped in those two sauces created a party in my mouth. They were good!

The Fred's experience is something worth checking out. If you can pull it off, get a window seat or, if it's nice outside, a patio seat. The view is great and really adds to the whole adventure. Fred's does validate your parking so don't forget to have them do that.