THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINE • Fall 2018 111 TheCoastalBend.com La Playa Mexican Restaurant & Cantina In a city with over 80 taquerias, the quest for fresh, high quality Mexican food, especially for out of town visitors, can be a hit and miss effort to say the least. La Playa on SPID, just south of Weber Road, is your first and final stop for great food, the best Margaritas in town and friendly, prompt service like one would expect in Mexico itself. Enjoy delicious, sizzling fajitas prepared from beef, chicken, shrimp and sausage; the house signature delicacy, the stuffed, fried avocado; giant shrimp cocktails; traditional Tex-Mex tacos, enchiladas and tamales; a fantastic selection of gourmet seafood dishes from both coasts of Mexico; wonderful salads and soups; steaks and barbecue including Baby Back ribs, and even decadent desserts like tres leches cake. Full cantina bar offering house specialty drinks. 4201 S. Padre Island Dr. near Weber Rd. • (361) 853-4282 • $$ La Playa Mo Meaux’s Mo Meaux’s Less than a year after bringing new life to their SPID/Greenwood location, Mo Meaux’s Kitchen is making their name as one of the city’s best seafood establishments. The Cajun Fusion theme here will remind you of New Orleans, especially the less touristy spots where you find real Southern Louisiana cook- ing. Signature dishes include blackened fish topped with etouffee sauce, NOLA BBQ shrimp, Cajun pasta, and an awe- some surf-n-turf with a tender 10 oz. strip steak and grilled shrimp. Those in a more exotic mood should try the Swamp Plate, starring fried alligator and frog legs. 1933 S. Padre Island Dr. (361) 238-6968 • MoMeauxs.com • $$$ Trattoria Taddei At one of the few Corpus Christi Italian restaurants that is owned and operated by someone from Italy, this trattoria serves recipes that started in the moth- erland. Everything at Trattoria Taddei is authentic and genuine, starting with the homemade, as in starting with flour and water, pasta, which, if you have not enjoyed before, you will taste the dif- ference with the first bite. This fantastic pasta is used to create fantastic dishes, including a variety of stuffed ravioli, spaghetti, and fettuccine in a variety of sauces like Alfredo, Bolognese, pesto, and a delicious pink cream shrimp sauce. And if Italian seafood is your thing, this is the place! Try the wild black drum in livornese sauce, the Atlantic salmon in citrus sage, the red snapper in lemon sauce, or the flounder filet picata. The pizzas and pastas are also terrific, as is the service and care and attention to de- tail shown by the dedicated kitchen staff. 920 Louisiana Ave. • (361) 884-4400 TrattoriaTaddei.com • $$$ Trattoria Taddei Staples Street Meat Market Chefs and competitive cooks from across South Texas know where to find the best products that meet a high standard that can be trusted, and that is Staples Street Meats on the far south side of Corpus Christi. Here you will find Certified Angus Beef, the real deal, sold in every cut, from the best Choice to real USDA Prime— and at prices that meet or beat super- markets every day of the week. Stake you claim as the barbecue king and pick up an Angus or Wagyu beef brisket—this is the meat that earned one local com- petitive cooking team“#1 Brisket”with a perfect score, and“#6 Overall”awards at the World Food Championships in Orange Beach, Alabama, just last year! Browse the extensive selection of spices and rubs in the well-stocked grocery market, and ask about smoked briskets, prime rib and other products cooked on- site. 7626 S. Staples St. • (361) 561-4111 StaplesStreetMeats.com