Spring Break on the Beach

Published 3/11/2011

Spring Break on the Beach

The Retired Cooks Diary

By Suzette Pennington Munson

Spring break is a wonderful time for a vacation or this year most likely a “stay cation”. I remember being in college just waiting for spring break which in those “olden days” was at Easter. Now that we are politically correct and don’t recognize the fact that Easter is really the beginning of spring, Spring break stands a time of renewal for all of us.

I wish I could go to a beach somewhere and bask in the warm sun, but that just isn’t in the plan for this year. I am reminded of a few years ago when I was able to travel to Florida on a business trip. Sunny Florida was wet and not so sunny but a great place to visit even in the rain. A friend of mine who is ½ Cuban and ½ Polish took me to Cuban restaurant and introduced me to the Floridian style Cuban food which was a wonderful discovery and a delight to re discover recently here at home.

That brings me to being on a beach…..in Wise County beaches are a premium and not white sand and sea shells, they are definitely not where I want to be when the wind is blowing 30-40 miles an hour and below 65 degrees, so where does one go?

Well, lunch on the square in downtown Decatur is a start. What? You say! Yep, South Beach has come to downtown Decatur. Well, at least a little taste of the beach. South Beach Taco Factory is a bright idea on a cool March day.

If you have been to South Florida or Southern California you have probably seen Taco Shacks, well they are not shacks like we think of them here, but they are little restaurants that specialty is tacos and other Hispanic style foods.

South Beach Taco has taken the Cuban style of Hispanic food made it into a quick meal that is tasty and light. I was first introduced to the local style of Cuban cuisine in Fort Worth last spring at the Yucatán Taco, on Magnolia Street in the hospital district. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that South Beach Taco is a corporate sister to Yucatán Taco. Both are well done and fun!

My lunch partners and I chose different items from the menu so that we could “taste test” and we had a great time. The Cuban Torta Especial is a sandwich which has ham, shredded pork, pickles, cheese spicy mustard and is toasted much like a Panini and is served with Plantain chips. This is a huge sandwich and is great for a guy’s appetite. The Shredded Beef Salad bowl is a big bowl of mixed greens, Chihuahua cheese, tomato, red onion, cilantro, purple cabbage, queso fresco, cured olives and tortilla strips with a choice of dressings, either a Balsamic Vinaigrette or a spicy Herb Buttermilk it too is for a big appetite. My choice is the Fish Taco. I am particular about my Fish Tacos and I was curious as to whether or not they could get them right! The fish should be light and crisp and not soggy, the vegetables should be crisp and crunchy and the cheese should be tangy and not clumpy . Yep, I have my opinion and evidently others have that same opinion because the crispy Fish Taco’s that I experienced were wonderful. The house hot sauce was excellent and a good addition to the tasty tidbit. This was also a well done and a light choice.

I was impressed at the Macho Men who came in to order the nachos, burrito bowls and sandwiches. These were not office workers, and there were a cross section of people there, but these were guys that work up and appetite outside in the construction and oil fields. This is not a FU FU restaurant but a down to earth good place to eat. They are open daily at 11 and on some evenings and weekends are open late. They offer Margaritas and other adult beverages so for a night out they are a good place to stop in without having to fight the smoke of other restaurants.

I have made two trips to the Beach and will go again and thankfully I didn’t have to fit into a swim suit or get sand between my toes and I think on my next trip I will explore that Margarita and may be a………well I am not sure right now but by the time I get there I will have made up my mind…MAY BE!!

See you at the Beach, as in the South Beach Taco Factory!