What time is it...?

(click any picture to enlarge for texture)

I usually find the mall food court a desolate place, especially for pescatarian options, except for the top floor at Westlake (they have so many tasty cuisines!). However, I wasn't at Westlake, White Pepper and I were trolling for sweet jewels at Northgate. I was at a loss, until I realized they have my beloved Taco Time, which offers a fish taco meal (full int'l menu here).

For $5.69 my self-busing tray included a medium lemonade, hearty fish taco, condiments on request, and a box of mexi-fries/tots/(racist term for mexicans which rhymes with "wiener") bites.

Condiments are key here. They ask if you want "hot sauce" at the register, but you must request the jalapenos, which are bomb, btw, because they are lightly pickled yet crisp. Delicious when combined one-for-one with tots. The hot sauce is pretty wack. White Pep best described it as "tomato water mixed with some sort of cornstarch or other thickening agent." Basically it tastes like nothing, but I'm compelled to ask for doubles and basically eat it dripping off of every tot.

Damn the tots were really good this time around: hot, crisp, salty. I couldn't ask for more.

Lastly, the taco itself. The "white fish" was piping hot, and the light breading was crispy. Taco innards consist of fish fillet, an assortment of chopped vegetables, cabbage, and some unidentifiable creamy, ranchy dressing. Nearly everything was on point. My only hang up is the salad that's stuffed inside. Chopped tomatoes, red and green (hollagang!) bell peppers, red onion...I'm down with all of these, but celery?? No thanks! Luckily there wasn't much in this taco, but I've had others that had big chunks of celery in them. Wtf, am I taking crazy pills? I don't want the distinct flavor of celery overtaking my otherwise pleasant fish taco.

Thanks for lunch, Taco Time! I enjoy your consistent turnout of cheap eats.