FUEGO MEXICAN GRILL
A NEWSRADIO 780 WBBM RESTAURANT REVIEW BY SHERMAN KAPLAN
BROADCAST JUNE 27,2008
Arlington Heights is hardly a beach town, but you could not guess that after a visit to Fuego Mexican Grill. Put a little bit of Senor Frog or Carlos and Charlie together with Margaritaville, and then add some uncommonly good Mexican cooking.
Fuego at 17 West Campbell Street in downtown Arlington Heights is as hot an attraction as its name Fuego, or Fire suggests.
You can select from a bevy of appetizers, but the one that is at the top of the list, literally, is freshly made guacamole. A server brings a cart to your table laden with all the ingredients for one of the best guacamoles I’ve ever tasted. She uses a heavy mortar and pestle to mash a fresh avocado into a creamy pulp with flavor accents including chopped tomatoes, onions and jalapeno peppers plus , a bit of garlic, cilantro and sea. It’s served in the same lava rock bowl in which it is made. By the way, Fuego’s house nacho chips are sturdy enough to support a big scoop without worrying about it spilling away.
Other first course choices include so many of the regular choices which define Mexican restaurants, but even though we did not taste any, I’m going to guess that each has their own character.
As for entrees, the lengthy menu offers several house specials in addition to an array of burritos tacos and enchiladas. My suggestion is to go out on a culinary limb and taste one of the mole’s. Mole’ is a rich and complex sauce, with any number of varieties and ingredients.
Those ingredients can include unsweetened chocolate and peppers, garlic, vinegar, cumin and more, a perfect way to enjoy the likes of roasted chicken, pork, or even mild tilapia. The resulting flavors are savory, up front on the taste buds, but generally not overpowering.
I usually try to avoid sometimes trite Mexican restaurant standards in search of the more unusual. But, something about Fuego suggested to me that the Chiles Rellenos would be outstanding. I was not disappointed. Two large poblano peppers were stuffed with melted white cheese and greens, dredged in an egg batter and fried. The batter puffs up almost like a soufflé. The two peppers are smothered in a mild pepper tomato sauce and like all entrees, accompanied by Spanish rice and black refried beans.
Explore the menu and you are certain to come away well fed and impressed. Save room for dessert, perhaps flan, or bread pudding or something chocolate, such as dark chocolate tamales, which are really molded chocolate cake with hot fudge.
Expect to spend about $50 a couple plus add ons. My only regret is that Fuego Mexican Grill at 17 West Campbell in Arlington Heights takes only limited reservations, so waits can be a half hour or longer on busy nights. Fuego has a K/RATING of 19/20.
AMBIANCE 4/4 HOSPITALITY 4/5 FOOD 11/11
(847-590-1122)
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