OLD TOWN — Soak up the last days of summer by munching on fish tacos on the outdoor patio at new fast-casual restaurant Buzz Bait Taqueria.
The fast-casual restaurant specializing in fish tacos, 1529 N. Wells St., is slated to open in Old Town by early next week.
It's the brainchild of Marc Malnati, owner of famed deep dish pizza restaurant Lou Malnati's, and Giulia Sindler, co-owner of sushi restaurant Kamehachi.
The counter at Buzz Bait. [All photos DNAinfo/Mina Bloom]
The booths at Buzz Bait.
Malnati was inspired by the fish tacos on the California coast. The concept came together when he met Sindler, who was interested in opening a similar restaurant.
"I found myself constantly ordering fish tacos everywhere I went, only to be disappointed. I finally decided to turn my search into a new project and I started developing recipes with our food team," he said.
The result is a taco joint that seats 30 with a California surfer-meets-upscale bar feel. It has a retractable garage door, which opens out to a 16-seat outdoor patio.
The menu is predominantly made up of standard, six-inch tacos including a sweet and spicy poke tuna taco ($10 for 2 tacos), Sapporo-battered Alaskan cod with mango salsa taco ($9 for 2) and slow-smoked glazed salmon taco ($10 for 2).
In addition to fish and chicken tacos, there's a vegetarian and a non-seafood taco option. All of the tacos are available as a rice or salad bowl ($8) in lieu of a tortilla. For an additional $3, you can add chicken or fish.
Any of the meals can be paired with side dishes like elotes, mango salsa and chips or baja slaw. Patrons can also order desserts and drinks, including margaritas and canned beers.
For now, Buzz Bait will only serve dinner from 4-11 p.m. on weeknights, except Tuesday when it will be closed, and 4 p.m.-midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Hours might change depending on the season.
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