Taco Tuesdays La Perla

Just down the road from the previous food expedition, we found ourselves staring at a bountiful wealth of options in Mexican food fare. The menu at La Perla leaves you wondering what they DON’T have while everything from wet burritos and platos de carne, to every manner of seafood, begs you to order what you came for but also take something to go. The brightly illustrated options leave you wishing you’d brought more people so you could share and take a bite of everything. It is, easily, one of the most eye-catching menus I’ve seen in town. We chose two seafood tacos—the softshelled fish taco and a shrimp soft taco— before finding a seat in the ample dining area overlooking the bustling corner of Downtown Chico’s 5th and Broadway Streets.

I passed a salsa bar that impressed me with its selection, and would have overlooked the serve-yourself chip station, had someone who ordered just before us not been occupying it. Delicious, warm chips and a variety of salsa, including a guacamole cremosa as well as a spicy, pepper-seeded thin salsa were available to us before our meals were served at the table. The tortillas from each taco were lightly grilled with crispy cheese. The fish taco was flaky, seemingly flash-fried to lock in moisture but adding a layer of texture. Inside, the soft tomato, cilantro, onion, pico, shredded lettuce, and a dusting of cotija cheese filled each bite. The shrimp in the second taco was bursting with flavor and offered a pan-seared texture, while the same ingredients from the fish taco completed the item.

A suggestion to anyone who orders these—grab your napkins in advance as these tacos are packed with natural juice, adding to the flavor and the seafood. They also have a delicious relleno and so many other items I cannot wait to try. I dare you to try La Perla for yourself and find something that doesn’t make your mouth water from looking at the menu alone.