Dining on my birthday—El Veneno Mariscos

Part 1 of a series of posts on the great foods I had for my birthday...

It is incredibly rare that I don’t trust my first impression of a restaurant and go back for a second meal before forming a staunch opinion.  In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever not gone with my gut (no pun intended).   But, although I loved the first meal I had at El Veneno Mariscos, I couldn’t escape the feeling that I had eaten a terrible meal there once before [turns out I had it confused with another restaurant on Buford Highway] and wanted to rule out the possibility that my enthusiasm for the superb shrimp tacos was somehow a fluke.  It wasn’t; I could eat those tacos every day.

If anyone reading this actually decides to go eat at El Veneno Mariscos, don’t be put off by the ambiance.  I’m not sure there is much, although the mariachis at lunchtime do help.  On both visits there has been practically no one else eating there, at most two other tables in a rather large restaurant.  As much as I like a hidden gem, I also like to know that other people actually eat there.  I’m working on both.  And, while the nautical décor complements the theme of Mexican-style seafood, the place is rather dingy and I doubt would ever be confused with a ship or anything remotely near the ocean.  But did I mention the mariachis?  At lunchtime?

At first glance, the menu is also a bit off putting for a lunchtime outing.  Most of the dishes are in the $15-20 range, or more if you get the lobster (the house specialty), which is a lot for Buford Highway dining at lunchtime.   But there are a few more reasonably priced options buried in the menu, and quite good ones at that.

For my birthday, my friend and fellow book tart, B2, took me to El Veneno Mariscos for lunch.  As with my previous visit, we were treated with complimentary marlin ceviche tostadas to start.  In my enthusiasm for the tostadas, I managed to knock over my glass of water onto the tostada, the table, and B2.  The restaurant was kind enough to give me a new one (tostada), which was eminently delicious. Other starters included a basket of chips and a gut-wrenchingly hot but delicious habanero salsa and an order of guacamole, which comes spread across a plate rather than in a bowl, and is just delicious, filled with nice chunks of onion, cilantro, and tomatoes.  For our meal, we both had the shrimp tacos (for some mysterious reason that I have yet to figure out, they are always out of the fish tacos).  The shrimp tacos were fabulous, with several perfectly grilled shrimp, a bit of crema, and a lot of greens on top of two corn tortillas.  I can't recommend these tacos enough, and they were the perfect start to a wonderful week of birthday eating!