Very Important Taco: 5 Spice Duck Tacos

Tacos are such a fixture of San Diego cuisine that lucky for us, we can find the dish even at the most unlikely of restaurants. Take, for example, Carlsbad’s Blue Ocean Robata & Sushi Bar, where chef James Pyo puts an Asian spin on tradition with his 5 Spice Duck Tacos, which pair a crispy coconut scallion crêpe with duck that has marinated in soy sauce for one hour—a method that brings out the meat’s natural flavor, rather than overpowering it. He then adds a napa cabbage mint slaw, drizzles hoisin sauce to add a zing, and tops them with a fried ginger garnish to lend some crunch. The result? A reinvention of the taco wheel that’s equal parts crispy, rich, and definitely worthy of your next taco crawl.

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2958 Madison Street, Carlsbad

Very Important Taco: 5 Spice Duck Tacos