SURFER FOOD: Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Blueberry Corn Cilantro Salsa will leave your customers ready to hang ten. Photography: Driscoll's

One of Executive Chef Jaime Herrera's best menu inspirations came while visiting family in Ensenada, a coastal city on Mexico's Baja Peninsula, just a couple hours' drive south of Tijuana.

At the end of the road? The ultimate fish taco experience, which Herrera brought back to share at the University of California-Santa Barbara.

“There's a big fish market, and at the edge there are little bars, restaurants and food stands,” he says. “My relatives took me to this one spot that had a very simple, very great tempura-fried fish taco. It was amazing.”

Back at UC Santa Barbara, Herrera grills tilapia or catfish with a chile rub on a flat top before nestling the succulent fish into a soft corn tortilla with some fresh cilantro and just a drizzle of chipotle-lime aioli.

It's that straight-from-the-ocean “surfer food” experience that onsite chefs look to recreate when serving fish tacos, ceviche and other south-of-the-border seafood menu items.

The Fresh Flavors

When chefs talk about Mexican seafood, the words you hear again and again are reminiscent of the ocean surf itself: fresh, clean, exciting.

“It's about using a good product and keeping it simple, clean and fresh,” Herrera says. “You shouldn't have something fried, over-breaded and drowned out with sour cream and a lot of toppings.”

Shredded cabbage is a classic fish taco accompaniment, and that's available to customers when they build the tacos themselves. A great salsa bar offers fresh and tangy flavors: a choice of tomatillo, avocado and roasted chili salsas along with pickled vegetables that make for the perfect customizable condiments.

Another popular Mexican seafood dish is a plated entrée made with California bass (UC Santa Barbara has developed a sustainable seafood program that coordinates with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch).

This sophisticated dish incorporates an avocado and shiitake mushroom salsa and is served with a starch on the side. Other times, Herrera has paired the fish with a fresh fruit salsa that includes papaya, red onion, cilantro and a little lime.

While West Coast college students may be very accustomed to the idea of Mexican seafood, Andy Towler, Flik Independent School Dining foodservice manager for the Village Community School in New York City, is introducing younger eaters to the flavor profile a little bit at a time.

Students there recently tried cod with a chili-lime butter for lunch and it went over very well, Towler says.

“We use a select group of fish for kids (tending toward the milder ones, like cod and tilapia), and we introduce Mexican flavors mainly through salsas,” he adds. “For the younger kids, we don't use very much jalapeno, but some of the older kids are more adventurous.”