Tacos Punta Cabras - Santa Monica

I grew up poor and it sucked. Money buys you options, and poor people are pretty limited when it comes to food. My family was the poorest of the poor during my earlier years. Meat was a garnish, McDonald's was a monthly treat, and we carried our swear jar through the grocery aisles every week. 

It sucked to be poor in Providence, Rhode Island, but at least we were one family among the many. It's not so easy to be poor in Santa Monica, where what you don't have is flagrantly flaunted by the rich, the famous, and the rich and famous.

Just when you think you've lost all hope of eating affordably well in Santa Monica, you stumble upon a hidden gem like Tacos Puntas Cabras. For just $5, the Scallop Tostada, a fresh ceviche of tender bay scallops covering a plate-sized chip, is a light lunch in itself. The Fish Taco has a generous giving of lightly battered chunks of fresh fish for far less, and the Shrimp Taco features jumbo prawns at just $3.50 a pop. 

I ate well growing up because my mother could make anything taste good, and now that I'm on my own, I have Tacos Punta Cabras to hold me over. Less than $5 will buy me seafood I shouldn't be able to afford, and if you didn't tell me how little they cost, I would have thought I was having happy hour on the pier. I don't know how they keep up this kind of quality at that kind of price, but give it a try if you're poor and struggling like me. This kind of food will fill you up, and it just might give you some hope to boot.