To celebrate Labor Day this year, I decided to try something different (and a tad healthier) from hamburgers and hot dogs -- I decided to make one of my all-time favorite dishes, grilled fish tacos.

Ever since I visited the Wahoo's Fish Tacos in Laguna Beach, California, I've just been obsessed with finding the best grilled fish taco in the United States. I'll tell you what: Wahoo's has the best all-around (price and tastiness), but La Esquina in New York City probably has the best-tasting grilled fish taco. So far.

I've made grilled fish tacos before, but not the way they should be made -- with warm corn tortillas, tons of cilantro, and homemade guacamole.

Marinated Grilled Fish Tacos, adapted from this Epicurious recipe
Yields 6-8 servings

Ingredients
1 pound of white fish (tilapia, mahi mahi, cod, etc)
1 cup of onions, chopped
1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons of lime juice
1/4 cup of olive oil
Ground black pepper
Corn tortillas

Instructions
Mix together the onions, cilantro, garlic, lime juice and oil. Season your fish with pepper (and salt, if desired). Place half of the mixture at the bottom of a baking dish, then set your fish upon the marinade. Pour the rest of the marinade atop the fish. Cover and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Flip the fish over, then chill for another 30 minutes.

If you have a grill, lightly grease the grill and grill the fish about 3 to 5 minutes on each side, with a little bit of the marinade. If you don't have a grill like me, you can "grill" it in a pan by lightly coating your pan with some oil and cooking the fish for about 3 to 5 minutes on each side.

In a cast iron skillet or a very hot pan, warm your corn tortillas for about 20 seconds on each side. Chop your fish into bite-sized pieces. Serve tacos with garnishes, such as thinly sliced cabbage, chopped tomatoes, extra cilantro, lime wedges and guacamole.


Homemade Guacamole
Yields 4-6 servings, if used as an appetizer

Ingredients
3 Hass avocados, peeled, de-seeded and cut into chunks
4 tablespoons of lime juice (or the juice of about 2 limes)
1/2 cup of onions, diced
4 tablespoons of cilantro, chopped
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Instructions
In a medium-sized bowl, pour the lime juice over the avocado chunks, and add the salt. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and mash the avocado to your desired consistency. If you're planning to keep the guacamole for more than a day, put an avocado pit at the center of your guacamole container -- it's supposed to help the avocado keep its green color.