Rosie And Mr. Hawthorne Visit Bad Bean Taqueria In Kill Devil Hills.

Mr. Hawthorne and I visited a relatively new restaurant on the beach today - Bad Bean Taqueria & Cantina, located in Seagate North Shopping Center in Kill Devil Hills. We had first heard of Bad Bean when Chef Rob hosted one of our cooking classes at the North Carolina Aquarium. At the time, they only had the one restaurant in Corolla. I remember Mr. Hawthorne came home one night with dinner from Bad Bean - 3 different types of burritos wrapped in HUGE 15-inch tortillas. I believe we had the shredded chicken, the pork, and the beef brisket with rice, black beans, cheese, lettuce, salsa, and sour cream. And they were excellent.

• 785 Sunset Boulevard Timbuck II Shopping Center Corolla, NC 27927 252.453.4380 • 3105 N. Croatan Highway Seagate North Shopping Center, MP 5 Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948 252.261.1300 We went to Bad Bean at Seagate.

We ordered chips and salsas for starters.

I opted for 2 different salsas - a medium jalapeno and a hot habanero. $3.50. Their chips are hand cut from yellow corn tortillas and fried fresh daily.

And they are good. Very good. The salsas are atypical. Different. Unique. Got some roasted pepper action going on. And that habanero salsa? It'll clear your sinuses. This is the best I've been able to breathe for WEEKS. Heh. They actually have a disclaimer on their menu: *Our House Habanero is very hot. No refunds or exchanges." Naturally, I immediately ordered the Habanero. Rosie lives on the edge.

Sorry the photo is blurred. Very dark in there.

We both had mahi mahi tacos. I hate it when he orders the same thing I do, or orders something he just had at our last visit. Mr. Hawthorne, please go for variety and perhaps somewhere not in your self-defined element - possibly something not in your comfort zone. Take a chance. Seared mahi mahi served on a toasted flour tortilla with jicama slaw and salsa fresca. $3.99. Pretty good. Although Mr. Hawthorne prefers his mahi mahi fried, not seared. He added tortilla chips to his taco to get extra crunch. We'll be back, and maybe I'll even go out of my comfort zone and try their quesadillas. (I've never had a decent quesadilla outside of my own kitchen.) Bad Bean is comfortable. Very casual atmosphere. You go in, pick up a menu, seat yourself, then go up to the counter, and place your order, and you're given a number at your table. You fill your own drink at a beverage bar. A waiter promptly brings your meal. Here's the menu: Very laid back. I must say I enjoyed it. It had a Sanitation Rating of 100%. Sanitation Rocks!!!!!