Santa Mexico

Ocean Boulevard is nearly as far away as you can be from Los Angeles' eastern tracts, where the heart of Southland Mexican cuisine largely resides.

But the just-opened Blue Plate Taco is joining the likes of Border Grill and Mercado in the effort to transform Santa Monica into a Mexican-food town.

Our love of the seafood at Blue Plate Taco's sister restaurant, B.P. Oysterette, necessitated ordering Blue Plate's ceviche. It was much like a cold, cooked seafood salad, one in which the $15 price was justified by a decent amount of lobster meat. The deeply deep-fried tostada that the ceviche is accompanied by played exceptionally well with the snappy squid and tender shrimp and lobster.

The tacos here prove that all tortillas hecho a mano aren't created equal. The crunchy-edged specimens at B.P. Taco would never pass muster at Rocio's Moles de los Dioses. Still, when filled with flaky white fish ($5) and liberally doused in mild "XXX" sauce, it's a fine taco indeed.

What else to eat at a Mexican restaurant off of the Promenade? Kale salad, of course. The Mexican Chopped ($7) stars the in-vogue green and is studded with myriad vegetables and specks of quinoa, and slicked with green goddess dressing.

Blue Plate Taco, 1515 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica; 310-458-2985