Farmers Market Finds: Casanova Fish Tacos

Football games. Friends. Fish tacos.

The combination created a business foundation for corrections officer-turned-cook Hector Casanova, who owns and operates the Casanova Fish Tacos booth at the in Rancho Bernardo each Sunday.

Casanova, 36, said he perfected the recipe for his angelfish tacos through trial and error—with his hungry, football-watching friends eagerly letting him know when he'd made a mistake.

The tacos come on a corn tortilla with cabbage, cream sauce and optional salsa. The habanero green salsa, which won third place at the San Diego County Fair last year, is much spicier than the mild, red salsa. Casanova makes sure to warn customers about the difference, but some find out the hard way, he said.

(I put the green salsa on one half of my taco; red on the other. My tongue was tingling for several minutes after the green half. You've been warned!)

The angelfish comes fried or grilled with a side of tortilla chips.

Price: $7 for two tacos and chips; or $4 for one taco and chips.

The Webb Park Certified Farmers Market is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays along the 16800 block of Bernardo Center Drive.