Any excuse to go to Dauphin Island is a good excuse to go to Dauphin Island, so no one’s going to look at you funny if you say you’re going there for a taco.

As a matter of fact, some are likely to nod knowingly. Those will be the ones who’ve sampled the “West Coast flavor with Gulf Coast soul” at Miguel’s Beach’n Baja, a taco stand in a prime spot just a little bit north of the main intersection, where Ala. 193, the route from the mainland, tees into Bienville Boulevard.

It’s takeout-only, so on a recent visit I ordered a sampler to take home. Nachos with mahi-mahi, a shrimp burrito bowl, a steak burrito. Each item was $11 because of the premium protein options; with chicken, sweet Baja pork or ground beef, they’d have been $9.

The profile that emerged was food that didn’t lean much toward any concept of Mexican or South American authenticity, but did offer a clean, relatively light approach to food formats that tend to become more and more overloaded the more they’re Americanized. The nachos were straightforward and simple, allowing the mahi to stand out. The burrito bowl popped with the brightness of freshly made salsa and freshly chopped cilantro. And the burrito, the heaviest and tastiest of the three items, stood out both for how filling it was, and for the tender and flavorful quality of the steak.

It turns out that the West Coast-Gulf Coast slogan isn’t something owners Michael and Lacey Curtis just dreamed up. It’s something they lived. She grew up on the island, attending the famous Little Red Schoolhouse. Her family is still rooted there, and in Theodore. Her father was in the military, and that took them to California when she was 10 years old. The West Coast was where she grew up, marrying her “Cali boy” when they were 21 and 23 – and their 23rd anniversary is coming up.