Crazy Fish

Here is Alex either trying to show off his mustache or how serious he is about Mexican food

Recently some friends and I went to a Mexican restaurant in Fishtown called "Loco Pez" or crazy fish. My friend Lisa described it to me as a "a trendy dive Mexican place in the city written about in the Inquirer" --- dive? Mexican place? Inquirer? Sold. I've watched enough Diners, Drive-ins & Dives with my dad to know that any low-key, off-the-radar place that's getting a lot of buzz is most likely to be awesome. And let me tell you, it WAS!

We started off with margharitas (for the girls) and cans of cold Tectate (for the boys.) The margharitas were sour and salty and zingy, but with just enough sweetness to make you want to swallow. They were not at all like the overly sweet slushy kinds you get at other places - these were more like actual drinks than slushies. (Side note: apologies for the terrible photos, but I was using my phone camera and my flash doesn't work.)

Guacamole and Margharita

Then we ordered the chips, salsa and guacamole. The chips were thick and deep fried, the salsa was chunky and fresh with shreds of cilantro, and the guacamole was the best I've ever had.

Salsa and chips

For dinner I ordered two pollo tacos and one shrimp taco. The pollo taco was made with pulled chicken seasoned with a blend of "secret spices" all piled on soft corn tortilla and was delicious. The shrimp taco was even better, made with deep-fried shrimp, shredded cabbage and topped with a mexican white cheese.

Shrimp and chicken tacos

I also ordered a side of the black beans diablo which the waitress described as more like black bean soup topped with mexican cheese. The black beans diablo were, obviously, spicy but also had a rich and deep almost chocolatey flavor. Important to note: each table gets its own basket of sauces including a bottle of Cholula hot sauce, housemade spicy green tomatillo sauce and black sauce (which I suspect was maybe a mole sauce) and other squeeze bottles that we were not daring enough to try.

The ambience of the place would remind you of a cross between the dive bar down the street and a Mexican grandmother's apartment. It was very small and cozy with a large bar, tables beside the bar and small area in the back with a few tables, an ATM (cash only, people) and a Family Guy arcade game. Threaded tapestries and Mexican kitsch line the walls of the bar area and paintings you might find at Urban Outfitters line the small dining area in the back. The bathrooms are white tiled with black and white Mexican comics plastered all over the walls. Immediately upon walking into the place I got a feeling that this place was filled with both neighboring local patrons and young, hipster types. We finished off the night by heading to a dance club/bar area on Frankford called the Barbary for 80's/90's dance night. We danced to old-time techno beats in a smoke machine with sparkle strobes light. Great Mexican food and great dancing? All in all I'd say it was a very successful night :)