For those of you who do not live in Southern California (or Colorado), and do not know the simple, immeasurable joy that is Wahoo's , trust me when I tell you that you don't know what you're missing. I have decided that after years of extensive and often expense account subsedized (sometimes I love my job) research at hundreds of restaurants around the country and around the world that Wahoo's Fish Tacos are dollar for dollar the best restaurants anywhere.

I have been to a half dozen of their restaurants in OC and LA, eaten untold numbers of teriyaki "Banzai" burritos with red sauce, fresh vegetarian tacos with white corn tortillas and guacamole, licked the plates clean after spicy blackened mushroom enchiladas with green sauce, and I have delighted in every four pound vegetarian burrito with black beans that I have inhaled after a three hour visit to the gym. And I'm not including the blackened fish tacos and burritos I was devouring before my occasionally unfortunate but generally enlightened conversion to vegetable killer almost eight years ago.

In ten years of visiting Wahoo's, I have never had a meal that cost me more than $9, never had a meal that took more than four minutes to deliver, never had a meal that didn't leave me totally, completely, blissfully almost cosmically satisfied, usually served with a smile by a remarkably happy older Mexican woman despite the fact she is working in what would under any other restaurant be considered a shitty job, and never once had a meal that made me leave the restaurant thinking anything other than "goodlordallmighty it's a great effing day to be alive!"

Wahoo's is an Orange County institution, and I challenge you to find anyone in this county who does not relish every visit. I also challenge you to find me a better meal, a healthier meal, and as well prepared and served a meal for less than ten dollars ANYWHERE IN THE GODDAM COUNTRY. Anywhere.

I double dare you.