God bless Ricky and his return to dtla. It’d been well over a year since my last bite and damn if it isn’t the best fish taco in the city. Now 100% improved by being directly on my commute home.
Brings back those halcyon days of when he posted up at at thai costco. God bless you sweet Ricky…
I went this weekend and did have one of those tacos.
Sergio was aboard and it was pretty crowded on a fine afternoon under the bridge. I got 2 shrimp, 1 fish, 1 marlin - the controversial lobster was not available.
The marlin had a whole ass green olive just sitting in it, not chopped at all or anything, which was weird af. Not much smoky flavor and just a little briny, dominated by that crisped cheese. It was fine, and it was cool that the cheese was crunchy, but I prefer the versions at a whole lot of marisquerias around town. I don’t think I’d recommend it.
As far as the other stuff, I thought my fish and shrimp were maybe not quite as crisp as peak Ricky’s from the Silver Lake/Los Feliz days, but that batter still has an incredible flavor that really lingers in a pleasant way. The size was more than adequate, and I don’t think they were any smaller than I remember from recent visits. The salsas are still good as hell, too.
Also, I have always found that no matter how many I get, I could have eaten one more. If I get 2 I want 3, 3 I want 4, 4 I want 5.
It remains, imo, a lovely weekend afternoon spot, and still the best Baja style fish/shrimp tacos I’ve had in town by a pretty wide margin.
I had to make a return visit after recent reviews. Sergio was in the house but was not directly prepping; I did not have the heart to try the marlin tacos, or to revisit the lobster tacos. I did get 1 fish though after a long hiatus.
The fish taco - is this the same fish taco that RFT originally had? No. It definitely feels smaller, but more importantly to me the fish feels mushier. That’s probably the best way I can describe it…mushier than I remembered.
The shrimp taco is still good, I have no issues here.
Overall, I do feel like the the tacos are saltier than Virgil (which I would argue was peak RFT), the fish tacos smaller, and the shrimp tacos more or less the same. But I would agree with Srsly that RFT has a very satisfying aftertaste.
These days Rubio’s offers a fish taco that more closely resembles what I remember of Baja, but the shrimp taco @ RFT is still awesome.
$13.xx for 2 shrimp, 1 fish, and a canned drink. No pico/light cabbage = best.
My time with Ricky’s was when he had his truck parked by the Vons/CHLA/Clusterfuk intersection.
Never had the cart in DTLA/Chinatown and never visited him when he was under the bridge (hey that’s one of my favorite songs of all time). Anyone bang bang Ricky’s with Howlin Ray’s when their truck was parked by the Vista (hey my favorite movie theatre in LA!), that would have been perfect.
My only reference for fish tacos before was Rubio’s lol.
Blew my mind how good that fish taco was. I think I had 4 the first time and then ordered 2 more. The freakin horchata for $1 was also mind blowing good. Than I went to Griffith Observatory (one of my happy places). I felt very content and happy with the fish tacos in my belly and my favorite view of LA.
Tacos Baja on Whittier/East Los is fine. So is Nazo. Never tried Best Fish Tacos in Ensenada down the street on Hillhurst. Nothing will beat the King of Fish Tacos. If I need a fish taco fix on the east coast than Los Mariscos at Chelsea Market is pretty good.
I wish Ricky a happy, and healthy retirement.
Damn it I never got to try his lobster tacos now that I think about it.
I wish him the very best! 2012 - 2014 Ricky’s (on Virgil or down by LAX-C in Chinatown) was the absolute pinnacle of a fish taco experience. Last few years (even pre-COVID) was a steep drop-off, but I prefer to remember the good times.
In early 2021 he was talking about retiring and moving back to Baja pending finding the right buyer for the business. I wonder if that’s what finally happened, hopefully I’ll have a chance to ask him myself this weekend.