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| - Some notes: restaurant is located in the Esplandade with the AMC cinema and to the east of the Ritz Carleton. Best bet is to park in the parking garage and then go to the walking mall. Even so, it's tough to find. Don't give up. Also, it is no longer Fuego Tacos, but now Fuego del Mar, with a seafood-centric menu.
That being said. I was pretty edgy by the time we arrived. We're from Cave Creek and had been out shopping and then had a heck of a time finding the place, so we arrived about 8.15---pretty close to closing. And I had a Groupon---and there are Yelp reviews that said the staff DOESN'T like Groupon-ers.
Greeted by guy that I assume is the gent someone described as "XL". He's just a little round. And was a warm, welcoming fella. He beamed a smile at us, waved at dining room and told us to sit wherever we wanted. We chose a cozy booth in the corner. Our server was there in moments with menus and take our drink orders. I wish I remembered her name---dark hair in a pony-tail, glasses, and really personable and nice despite it being the end of the night and we were late-comers.
Nice ambiance---exposed brick walls, soft light, great music---DH would have liked their playlist!
TROUBLE: she hands us the menu. Except for one dish, everything is seafood. Fuego Tacos is now Fuego del Mar. DH doesn't like fish and is semi-allergic to shellfish. I asked if he wanted to leave, and he said no, we had gone thru too much to find the place---he would just order the one non-seafood dish. At least he didn't have to make a lot of choices! So DH ordered the Pernil Asada, which was described as slow-cooked pork topped with mango-chile salsa. His sides were the Green Chile-Bacon Hushpuppies and the Latin Succotash. I ordered their signature dish of Seafood Chile Rellenos---a poblano pepper stuffed with shrimp, crab and tilapia in a lobster-tomato sauce with hush puppies and Pineapple-Serrano Cole Slaw. For drinks, DH got the house red and I got a Pomegranate Adult Lemonade.
Drinks arrived in less than 5 minutes. DH very happy with something he thought would be bottom row plonk. My Adult Lemonade was SO delicious---I had to be careful! I could have drank several of them. It tasted like lemonade with a hint of fruit---but it definitely had alcohol in it!
Entrees arrived within 15 minutes of the drinks. DH's was all on one plate. Three hush puppies, Latin Succotash---which looked delish---and a mound of pork with the salsa. Not super pretty. My presentation was much more beautiful---a mammoth poblano pepper in a puddle of light red sauce. Slaw and hush puppies on the side. Lovely presentation. My only comment is that serving something in a bowl (albeit large) that needs to be cut is problematic.
I'd like to say how wonderful DH's meal was, but basically I got one bite of his pork---that's all he would share---before he devoured it. He said it was one of the best pork dishes he had ever enjoyed. He felt like he was in the Caribbean! I got no bites of the Succotash, darn him---looked so good! He scarfed it all! His hush puppies went that fast too!
Was my seafood Chile Relleno the best thing EVER? No, but it was VERY, VERY GOOD! Beautifully cooked, not greasy, seafood not overcooked at all, the lobster-tomato sauce was delicious. Again, only quibble I have is serving it in a bowl. It was a very deep bowl too---a smaller girl might have had trouble reaching in there, but I am fairly tall and long-armed. The hush puppies---shut my mouth, darlin', but they were dang good! Lots of lovely, bacon-y flavor, a hint of heat, and a touch sweet. What is it with those Yankees not adding a bit of sweet to their cornbread? Whoever made these knew what they were doing. The Pineapple-Serrano Cole Slaw was in a citrus-y, non-creamy dressing and the crispness, the fruitiness and the heat was a perfect counterpoint to the richness of the Relleno.
Huge portion---I ended up bringing home half the Relleno, Slaw and two hush puppies---LUNCH! YUM! DH swined his plate so it's deli turkey for him, hahaha!
Bonus---ended up talking to the gentleman in the booth next to us---so interesting. He is a musician who's lived all over the US and the world---Europe and the Middle East. Really neat guy. I wouldn't live in the City, but I love visiting the City 'cause you meet the most interesting people!
So at the end, I pulled out my Groupon and gave it to our server, apologizing that I had "hid" it until the end, but that Yelp reviews had indicated Groupon-ers got short shift as far as service went. She took it graciously with a smile and said one of the issues was when they were Fuego Tacos, people ordered $9 plates than proferred a $10 Groupon. Not nice. (BTW, Fuego del Mar entrees from $20-$25)
For sure, we will be back. It's a field trip for us, but worth it. Just an all-around good experience.
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