I went home to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving Break, and Lauren and I ate pretty much nonstop for three days and have plenty of blog material to catch up on. I'll start with our dinner on Black Friday night, for which my parents took us out to a new Mexican restaurant near the airport called El Fuego. It was yet another stop in the Nagel family quest to dine at every Mexican restaurant in Milwaukee County.
It's hard for me to critique Mexican restaurants because almost all of them look the same, and it's pretty hard to get Mexican food wrong. How hard is it really to make a good taco and a strong margarita? I have only eaten at two bad Mexican restaurants (both are in Madison, incidentally) in my life out of hundreds, and that includes roadside taco vans and chain restaurants. Even before we started food blogging, I've always tried to keep up with new eateries and bars that open around town, and it seems that 2/3 of them feature Mexican fare. Why? Because it's always a safe bet that you will get a good meal at a fair price, and familiarity breeds success. In the right location or with the right atmosphere, a pizzeria or a Mexican restaurante can survive even in this economy.
Having said all that, I'm not trying to build up El Fuego's and make any readers think that they're "breaking the mold" there. On the contrary, it is decorated as you would expect any Mexican restaurant to be, and it serves the typical Mexican-American entrees one would expect - quesadillas, burritos, fajitas, tacos, etc. They also served large margaritas, an assortment of Mexican beer, and had a Latino wait staff - nothing out of the ordinary. Sometimes, familiarity is good. I'm not going to a Mexican restaurant because I'm feeling adventurous - I go because I expect it to be good, and it was. I am so sure of this, that myself, Lauren, or my parents rarely even look at the menu for more than formality purposes. There's never a doubt that Lauren will get fajitas or a burrito as big as your head, I will get something with a mole sauce, my brother gets tacos, my dad will get a sampler platter, and my mom will get several pitchers of margaritas and maybe a quesadilla. We stuck to our guns and all enjoyed a pleasant meal.
However, I also don't want any readers to think that every Mexican restaurant 100% identical. The formula and components are standards, but the variables are always the sauces/salsa, the atmosphere, and the location. In my mind, at least two of these things have to stand out for the place to be a success, and for me to vividly remember it. Rudy's still stands as my favorite Mexican restaurant because the downtown location and social setting are unparalleled, and they have the best mole sauce I've ever had. As for El Fuego's, they had great chips, great salsa & a decent mole sauce, and it was packed. They also have a very unique outdoor patio with a fireplace, tile flooring, and a fountain. It was really more like a room with no roof, great for large groups. My verdict for El Fuego's? I got what I expected, and I was not disappointed.
rankings and stats:
ambiance - 6
beer & wine selection - 5
food variety - 7
service - 9 (very fast)
accessibility - 8
design - 8
taste -7
price - $$
Would we recommend? Yes
Style - Mexican
Dress - casual
Location - 909 W Layton Ave, Milwaukee
http://www.elfuego.org/
It's hard for me to critique Mexican restaurants because almost all of them look the same, and it's pretty hard to get Mexican food wrong. How hard is it really to make a good taco and a strong margarita? I have only eaten at two bad Mexican restaurants (both are in Madison, incidentally) in my life out of hundreds, and that includes roadside taco vans and chain restaurants. Even before we started food blogging, I've always tried to keep up with new eateries and bars that open around town, and it seems that 2/3 of them feature Mexican fare. Why? Because it's always a safe bet that you will get a good meal at a fair price, and familiarity breeds success. In the right location or with the right atmosphere, a pizzeria or a Mexican restaurante can survive even in this economy.
Having said all that, I'm not trying to build up El Fuego's and make any readers think that they're "breaking the mold" there. On the contrary, it is decorated as you would expect any Mexican restaurant to be, and it serves the typical Mexican-American entrees one would expect - quesadillas, burritos, fajitas, tacos, etc. They also served large margaritas, an assortment of Mexican beer, and had a Latino wait staff - nothing out of the ordinary. Sometimes, familiarity is good. I'm not going to a Mexican restaurant because I'm feeling adventurous - I go because I expect it to be good, and it was. I am so sure of this, that myself, Lauren, or my parents rarely even look at the menu for more than formality purposes. There's never a doubt that Lauren will get fajitas or a burrito as big as your head, I will get something with a mole sauce, my brother gets tacos, my dad will get a sampler platter, and my mom will get several pitchers of margaritas and maybe a quesadilla. We stuck to our guns and all enjoyed a pleasant meal.However, I also don't want any readers to think that every Mexican restaurant 100% identical. The formula and components are standards, but the variables are always the sauces/salsa, the atmosphere, and the location. In my mind, at least two of these things have to stand out for the place to be a success, and for me to vividly remember it. Rudy's still stands as my favorite Mexican restaurant because the downtown location and social setting are unparalleled, and they have the best mole sauce I've ever had. As for El Fuego's, they had great chips, great salsa & a decent mole sauce, and it was packed. They also have a very unique outdoor patio with a fireplace, tile flooring, and a fountain. It was really more like a room with no roof, great for large groups. My verdict for El Fuego's? I got what I expected, and I was not disappointed.
rankings and stats:
ambiance - 6
beer & wine selection - 5
food variety - 7
service - 9 (very fast)
accessibility - 8
design - 8
taste -7
price - $$
Would we recommend? Yes
Style - Mexican
Dress - casual
Location - 909 W Layton Ave, Milwaukee
http://www.elfuego.org/
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