Ricky’s Fish Tacos debuts new food truck: It’s go time
Ricky’s Fish Tacos is finally legit. As of noon today, Ricky Pina, who makes some of the best fish tacos in Southern California, started handing out orders from a state-of-the-art, diesel-fueled shiny food truck. It’s a big move from a makeshift tarp and fold-up tables in a parking lot.
About a dozen of his most dedicated fans braved the crisp Los Angeles autumn weather and the Silver Lake neighborhood’s highly restrictive parking rules to get their fix of Baja-style fish and shrimp tacos, which they and his 7,242 Twitter followers have made a cult favorite. The line continued well beyond the noon opening time.
Inside the truck, Pina and his line cook were watching how his top-secret wonder batter behaved with the new wire mesh fry basket and figuring out the perfect heat on his new stainless steel plancha to griddle his soft corn tortillas. Things went as smoothly as they possibly could on the first day cooking in a new space.
Pina arose at 4 a.m. today to make sure he was well-prepared for today’s chaos, meaning the minced cabbage was always abundant and his red and green salsas and crema were always chilled and restocked.
By 12:20, the hard-working chef handed out his first pair of fish tacos to the first customer, and his smile was as big as his tacos. “It’s a dream come true,” he said excitedly. “I still can’t believe it and it hasn’t quite sunk in yet, it’s like whoa.”
The menu is still the same, for now, with his excellent signature fish tacos going for $3 and his plump shrimp tacos for $3.50 each. Starting sometime next year, the cult figure will start selling fried lobster empanadas and one version stuffed with fish machaca, a guisado dish of meaty shredded seasoned fish that is hard to find anywhere outside of the Mexican coasts.
According to one of his customers who is also from Baja and waited 30 minutes for his hot plate, the tacos are just as good as before. Alas, Pina reports that the highly popular current location is only temporary; he does not yet know where his permanent location will be. He also has no fixed schedule or set hours yet, so until then, stay tuned for his operating schedule announcements on his Twitter account: @RickysFishTacos.
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