Rubio’s mixes seafood with Mexican staples
The Chicken Chopped Salad at Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill in American Fork on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015.
A Shrimp Taco and Fish Taco on one plate at left and a Chicken Chopped Salad are shown at Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill in American Fork on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015.
The Shrimp Taco and Fish Taco are signature offerings at Rubio's.
The Chicken Chopped Salad at Rubio's on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015.
The Chicken Chopped Salad at Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill in American Fork. Visit heraldextra.com/ticket to read a review.
Who would have thought mixing seafood into Mexican staples could be so delicious?
Well, Ralph Rubio for one. According to legend, Rubio experienced the culinary joy of the fish taco during a sojourn in San Felipe, Mexico, back in the early 1970s. He, in turn, brought the novel idea back to the United States with him — eventually turning it into a franchise that today boasts nearly 200 locations in the Western United States, including six in Utah.
We paid a recent weekend visit to the Rubio’s in American Fork and came away duly impressed. Obviously fish tacos have been around for quite a while now — but we can only ever remember personally sampling them once before, and that was during a vacation in California. It was time once again, we decided, to give them another try.
We were impressed with the Rubio’s restaurant decor and ambiance. The restaurant exhibited an extremely clean and vibrant look. The walls were painted in sun-colored mustard yellow and the roof was a light aqua-marine. Combined with several ocean photos and a thatched roof over a set of four booths, it was easy to subconsciously slip into a carefree sort of beach vibe — which played perfectly when paired with the menu.
As is often the case when visiting a restaurant for the first time, it took us quite a while to settle on an order as we sought a balance between signature specialties and other things which sounded too good to pass up. Orders are placed at a front counter and then brought to your table when they’re ready. Things started picking up Saturday during our visit, and we let several groups pass by us in the ordering line until we had our choices finalized.
Rubio’s prides itself on not only using fresh ingredients, but also making everything fresh. One prominent sign on the wall, listing company promises, included the statement, “We never start your meal without you.” With that in mind, we didn’t care that we had to wait a little extra time for our food to be ready. And by the time everything showed up, we were more than ready to chow down.
It should be mentioned that Rubio’s features a salsa bar that includes four different flavors: tomatillo, mild, roasted cilantro and picante. None of our group favors walking on the real wild side when it comes to spiciness, but we were fans of the mild and roasted cilantro. The tomatillo was also delicious but it did come with a bit of a kick. The salsas were good for both dipping a side order of tortilla chips and adding sparingly to our various entrees.
As far as seafood-infused items go, we tried both The Original Fish Taco and the Gourmet Shrimp Taco. We’ve got to say that it would indeed be tough to beat The Original, which features a beer-battered Wild Alaska Pollack filet, cabbage, an original white sauce and salsa in a corn tortilla. We really loved how the white sauce complemented the fish, and loved the taco as a whole.
The Gourmet Shrimp Taco includes pan-seared shrimp, avocado, bacon, a cheese blend, cilantro, onion and two chile sauces in a flour tortilla. This was good, and an interesting change of pace from our normal selections.
And while we did very much enjoy the seafood selections, we also must admit that our favorite samplings were the more tried-and-true Mexican staples. We absolutely loved the Grilled Gourmet Taco. You can choose from three options, including either chicken, grilled steak or veggie. We tried the grilled steak version and it was fantastic, augmenting the steak with a blend of cheese, avocado slices, cilantro, onions and two chile sauces.
The Burrito Especial With Guacamole — also in the grilled steak option — was most excellent as well. My wife went with her standby favorite, the Grilled Chicken Enchilada, which seemed a solid choice as well.
The Chopped Salad was also a good selection, featuring romaine lettuce, cabbage, tortilla strips, salsa fresca, mild salsa and a chipotle dressing that added a decent spice upgrade. The salads come with a choice of seafood or grilled chicken. We tried the latter.
The manager stopped by our table to see how everything was, and took an interest in our somewhat shy 6-year-old. She ended up graciously offering him a complimentary brownie (with caramel filling!) for dessert — and he (only semi-reluctantly) shared a tiny section with his dad. Definitely a good way to top off your meal.
In the end, Rubio’s lured us in with a desire to try seafood specialties — but they really hooked us with their standard Mexican offerings. Go figure.
RUBIO’S FRESH MEXICAN GRILL
Where: 598 W. Main St., American Fork
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday
Prices: $1.99-$10.49
Info: (801) 492-1940, rubios.com