Laguna’s Little Secret

You might assume that Mexican restaurants would improve the closer you get to the border, but it’s not strictly true. California’s most celebrated Mexican place might be La Super Rica, an ambitious taco stand that Julia Child discovered up in Santa Barbara. And a terrific place named Guaymas is even farther north, in Sausalito. So there.

But things are steadily improving down south. Take Laguna Beach, where Mexican food has traditionally meant Baja-style fish tacos or overheated tourist fare at pricey ocean-view restaurants. It’s now home to La Sirena Grill, a postage stamp-sized place with some of the best Mexican food I’ve ever tasted. La Sirena has been a well-kept local secret, but blabbermouths like me are already telling everybody.

It doesn’t look like much from the outside, unless you take into account the fact that there is nearly always a line snaking out the door. Inside are four stools, a brick floor, a small counter and a condiment station. The one thing you could call decor is a series of color photos of owner Scott Cortellessa’s two children. Outside there are a few long benches and three small tables.

When you order, you’ll be less than three feet from the chefs and their stoves, stockpots of ruddy sauces, nubs of salmon blackening in the oven and beef and chicken sizzling on a small grill. Almost everything served here tastes impeccably fresh, and the chefs break ranks with most of their peers by using olive oil instead of lard for frying. Even the pinto and kidney beans served here are cooked with olive oil.

The condiment area, meanwhile, is stocked with three homemade salsas: a smoky hot sauce ( quemada) , a zippy salsa verde and a red sauce that manages to have real backbone though it’s mild. In the beverage department, there are at least four refreshing aguas frescas every day, with flavors such as strawberry, lemon, hibiscus and watermelon.

This being a local Laguna crowd, it’s no surprise that salads play a large role on the menu. One afternoon I had a blackened salmon salad, which turned out to be magnificent. It was mixed greens, sliced ripe avocado, tomatoes, red onions and an exotic papaya salsa, all punctuated by an avocado garlic dressing. The salmon struck just the right note of hot spice; the papaya cooled it down perfectly.

The chicken tortilla soup is as close as you could come to a Mexican equivalent of French onion soup--it’s loaded with stewed red onions as well as shredded chicken, and the tortilla strips and melted cheese form a floating crust not unlike the Gruyere-topped crouton of soupe a l’oignon .

The snacks are irresistible too. Sopes , those fat griddled cornmeal cakes, come with a choice of meat toppings, but consider the vegetarian version with pinto beans, shredded cabbage, fresh salsa and lots of white cheese. The best taco--taco al pastor , stuffed with crisp red and brown bits of fried spiced-rubbed pork--is about as far from health food as you’ll find in downtown Laguna.

One of the priciest dishes, in the $7 range when you choose a meat with it, is the Sirena plate: a grilled pasilla chile, some herb marinated bell pepper, onions, cheese and spicy pico de gallo . It’s a colorful dish, as vivid as a Diego Rivera mural, and great to share. The tortas are sweet bread rolls stuffed with lettuce, tomato, guacamole, cheese, jalapenos, a spicy aioli and a filling of choice. Try it with the lean, mean carne asada --blackened strips of tender beef.

Of course there are burritos, which come with rice but no beans in the filling and a little too much sour cream for the bodysurfing set. Maybe the best deal on the menu is the giant mound of red, white and blue nachos topped with everything but the proverbial kitchen sink. Here I’d go with the tasty pork carnitas as the topping.

La Sirena doesn’t get terribly creative--it doesn’t have to--but there are always a few specials worth a shout. Grab the blackened shrimp tacos when they crop up on the blackboard menu, and the black bean or sweet corn soup.

If that doesn’t do it for you, it’s only a four-hour drive up the coast to Santa Barbara.

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La Sirena Grill, 347 Mermaid St., Laguna Beach. (949) 497-8226. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Closed Sundays. No alcohol. Public parking lots adjacent. Cash or personal check only. Lunch for two, $12 to $18. What to Get: chicken tortilla soup, Sirena plate, nachos, sopes , taco al pastor.