Fish Tacos Create A New Wave

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July 12, 2010 by Rich Whittle | 1 Comment

We’re hooked on fish tacos — and it’s about time. Only now is mass culture gobbling up fish tacos at a rate that is making them one of the restaurant industry’s top trends.

Taco Bell, the Mexican fast food stalwart for decades, recently announced it will offer them in stores nationwide next year.

But it is behind the curve, according to a story in USA Today. Fish tacos rank 20th among the 200 items sold at the Cheesecake Factory chain. Off-the-charts testing compelled California Pizza Kitchen to include them on the menu. Many other franchises that had little to do with traditional Mexican food are biting as well.

It’s a perfect storm for marketing: Consumers want a new twist on the taco and they want it to be healthier, Warren Sackler, a hospitality professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, said in the story.

At least in its unadulterated state, fish is low in fat, high in protein, with many species containing Omega 3 oil, said to protect the heart. Fish tacos appear to give fitness-minded Mexican-food lovers the whole enchilada. On the flip side, restaurants are reeling in profit.

Not even the Gulf oil spill has dampened the trend, despite a University of Minnesota survey in the article that said 54 percent of consumers said they would scale back their seafood consumption because of the disaster.