DRIVE-BY DINING

Casting a line into upstarts' home waters

By Dog Davis
Special to The Times
March 17, 2005

You've got to like Dan, the Del Taco man. Jittery yet upbeat, he's the perfect spokesman for a company that can never get out from being under Taco Bell's massive shadow, despite having a more diversified menu and often fresher ingredients.

And though Del undoubtedly remains focused on the Bell, it must have noticed such upstarts as Rubio's, Baja Fresh and Sharky's in its rearview. Those restaurants all specialize in Baja-style fish tacos, so Del has come out with a fish taco of its own. Like the others, this $1.59 version sports fried fish, salsa, cabbage and a tangy white sauce folded into small corn tortillas.

Del Taco's Crispy Fish Taco

Taste ***

If Rubio's sets the standard for a fast-food fish taco, then Del's fish falls short. Don't get me wrong; there are several things to like about it — the fresh salsa and crunchy cabbage are especially refreshing — but the fish itself is little more than a lightly spiced, frozen fish stick that's been dunked in a deep fryer. Fortunately, many of us like fish sticks.

Diet Watch ***

The taco, smaller than Rubio's but bigger than Baja Fresh's, weighs in with 290 calories, 16 grams of fat and 30 grams of carbohydrates, so you can get two and still stay under 600 calories.

Portability **

The Del staff neatly wraps the taco in foil and places a fresh lime slice inside. Very nice, but tacos, by nature, are a little messy, and it gets messier still if you have to squeeze on a lime and a packet of Del Scorcho sauce to add zip to the fish.

Hype-o-meter ***

To sell this fishy dish, Del Taco puts Dan in some mildly funny commercials with Wayne Newton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Cindy Margolis. Great casting. Compared to them, Dan looks like an authentic spokesman for Mexican cuisine.

* Ratings are on a scale of one (lowest) to four (best).