Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Salaam Fish House: Encanto-size sandwiches

Red snapper, whiting...color-coded flavor

Early evening, South Encanto. You know it’s Encanto because lines of passenger jets come cruising overhead, silent, like an invasion of UFOs, coasting in to Lindbergh.

Looking to see if the Salaam Fish House is open yet. Before, when I passed by, they were open, like lights blazing, but locked.

Now? Ah. They’re open again.

I’m in the line of shops they call Trolley Stop Plaza (Salaam Fish House, 6201 Imperial Avenue, South Encanto, 619-527-7137) .

When I come in, I see Nation of Islam newspapers and literature on the counter. Louis Farrakhan’s face beams beside a headline: “Can Caribbean Nations Survive?” Next to the TV they have a picture of President Obama. The caption: “Destiny.”

And on the left, a wall menu with “Salaam Fish House” written on one side, below a sloping roof and a moon and a star.

Sponsored
Sponsored

That’s when I remember “salaam” means “peace.” Suddenly wonder if the two young men and the older man here were off taking a moment to say their evening prayers when I first came by.

Carl Muhammad and his sons Farrad and Jihad...

...are chatting, and watching a basketball game when I come in. I take a moment to look at the menu on the wall.

First thing you notice is the picture of a whopping great fish sandwich with three layers of deep-fried fish bulging out of the middle.

You can have it with red snapper or whiting.

That goes for $5.59. Fish and chips (same choice) go for $8, A dinner, with 6 pieces of either fish plus potato or mac salad, fries and bread goes for $9. Or a Meal Deal of the Supreme Sandwich plus fries and drink is $8.50. Fish tacos are $1.59. They also have wings ($6.50 for six pieces, hot or BBQ), and a “World Famous Bean Pie,” but something’s blocking the price.

“Red snapper’s most popular,” says Carl, “It’s kinda sweet, nutty.”

Red snapper’s mainly from the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean.

But whiting, turns out, doesn’t only come from Argentina, but migrates in huge schools right off our coast. The schools are miles long. They par-tee all the way up from Baja to British Columbia, just like gray whales.

“Whiting’s blue-water, a very clean fish,” Carl says.

So, decision time. I go for a fish taco, and the supreme sandwich, with the red snapper.

Taco’s sweet, nutty, deep fried, with cheese, lettuce. Guess it’s red snapper too.

So hungry, I forgot to take picture. But it looked just like the menu shot

The sandwich is crunchy, roiling with deep-fried snapper fillets. Got to eat it hot, while it's crunchy.

Same with the sandwich

Hmm. There’s that sweet nutty thing again, but with spices pushing the savory flavors. And so much.

Truly, when I’m done, I’m tight like a snare drum.

I mean, calorie-conscious central? No way.

But one of the best value honest meals around?

Way.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Hip-hop artist Don Elway makes movies for his music

Not Ordinary EP tells a story of life on the streets
Next Article

Mid-range fleet scoring bluefin limits off Ensenada

Rockfish to open at all depths April 1st (no foolin’)

Early evening, South Encanto. You know it’s Encanto because lines of passenger jets come cruising overhead, silent, like an invasion of UFOs, coasting in to Lindbergh.

Looking to see if the Salaam Fish House is open yet. Before, when I passed by, they were open, like lights blazing, but locked.

Now? Ah. They’re open again.

I’m in the line of shops they call Trolley Stop Plaza (Salaam Fish House, 6201 Imperial Avenue, South Encanto, 619-527-7137) .

When I come in, I see Nation of Islam newspapers and literature on the counter. Louis Farrakhan’s face beams beside a headline: “Can Caribbean Nations Survive?” Next to the TV they have a picture of President Obama. The caption: “Destiny.”

And on the left, a wall menu with “Salaam Fish House” written on one side, below a sloping roof and a moon and a star.

Sponsored
Sponsored

That’s when I remember “salaam” means “peace.” Suddenly wonder if the two young men and the older man here were off taking a moment to say their evening prayers when I first came by.

Carl Muhammad and his sons Farrad and Jihad...

...are chatting, and watching a basketball game when I come in. I take a moment to look at the menu on the wall.

First thing you notice is the picture of a whopping great fish sandwich with three layers of deep-fried fish bulging out of the middle.

You can have it with red snapper or whiting.

That goes for $5.59. Fish and chips (same choice) go for $8, A dinner, with 6 pieces of either fish plus potato or mac salad, fries and bread goes for $9. Or a Meal Deal of the Supreme Sandwich plus fries and drink is $8.50. Fish tacos are $1.59. They also have wings ($6.50 for six pieces, hot or BBQ), and a “World Famous Bean Pie,” but something’s blocking the price.

“Red snapper’s most popular,” says Carl, “It’s kinda sweet, nutty.”

Red snapper’s mainly from the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean.

But whiting, turns out, doesn’t only come from Argentina, but migrates in huge schools right off our coast. The schools are miles long. They par-tee all the way up from Baja to British Columbia, just like gray whales.

“Whiting’s blue-water, a very clean fish,” Carl says.

So, decision time. I go for a fish taco, and the supreme sandwich, with the red snapper.

Taco’s sweet, nutty, deep fried, with cheese, lettuce. Guess it’s red snapper too.

So hungry, I forgot to take picture. But it looked just like the menu shot

The sandwich is crunchy, roiling with deep-fried snapper fillets. Got to eat it hot, while it's crunchy.

Same with the sandwich

Hmm. There’s that sweet nutty thing again, but with spices pushing the savory flavors. And so much.

Truly, when I’m done, I’m tight like a snare drum.

I mean, calorie-conscious central? No way.

But one of the best value honest meals around?

Way.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Stinkfoot Orchestra conjures Zappa at Winstons

His music is a blend of technical excellence and not-so-subtle humor
Next Article

Not enough Readers in Mission Beach

Mayor Todd Gloria's skin color
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.