Fuego Mexican Grill, Arlington Heights

Another new entry in the Arlington Heights restaurant boom. (How do they support so many?) We had a late lunch at Fuego Mexican Grill on W. Campbell Street. Ceviche, chicken with mole (on top, not simmered in the mole), enchiladas with beef. All very solid and reasonable prices. The ceviche had more tomatoes and green olives in it than I'm used to but was very zippy. I didn't see the dinner menu and although the place has a website it is not live with menus yet. By 5, as we were leaving, the place was getting absolutely crammed and they told us it was like that every day of the week.

When we walked in we thought it was a chain restaurant because it looked so elaborately "done," they said it was the first (sounded like maybe a projected chain?) Definitely a pleasant place for lunch but be careful with the margaritas if you're going back to work.

I live a block from there and have seen the traffic in and out. I've not been in yet but very soon.I like La Chicanita on Dunton very much, that's my idea of real Mexican food. Yeah, we do have a ton of restaurants here lol! Two years ago we didn't have a Thai place here- now we have three!Good set-up we have here.

Very good. I too am surprised at how many restaurants have popped up in AH. The salsa and guacamole were impressive. The half chicken was a shade dry. My wife'w poblano tamales had a little too much corn filling and they buy packaged flour tortillas. However, this place is certainly a must go if you're looking for Mexican food with a little flare to it.

Fuego's food is really good. The only thing I can't stand is the amount of margarita you get for the price. They pack a 6-8 oz margarita glass with ice and about 4 oz of margarita and charge you $10. They're good but I have to get myself in the right mindset before I go.

La Chicanita has good maragarita's too. There food wasn't bad, but we prefer to go to Las Palmas in Buffalo Grove for a more authentic style. Though, they just changed their menu to match the Las Palmas on Division so it's a little more Nuevo-Mexicana than it used to be. There's no more ordering by number there. The people there are the same though and that's what keeps us going back there.

In saying all that, if I lived in downtown Arlington Heights, I'd probably visit La Chicanita more frequently.

John

jkseger,

Agreed on the Fuego margarita. It's a chincy serving size.
La Chicanita's is pretty solid and they have a wonderful chile con queso appetizer (just melted cheese and grilled veggies). My wife and I will have to try Las Palmas in BG.

Thanks for the info.

The owners of Fuego are opening another place at the corner of Vail and Campbell St. called Grand Station "An American Cafe" in Sept. It will occupy the Metro Lofts sales center.

Hmm... That's very interesting. I take it that Juan Luis is only part owner? If this is the case then the cafe could be an entirely new concept. Any insights? Where did you learn about the new cafe?

It was in the Daily Herald yesterday THU 4/19. Check their archives.

I had dinner at Fuego last night. I like this place a lot, even though it doesn't get a whole lot of mention here on LTH. Yes, it looks like a chain place, but it isn't. They're doing nicely creative Mexican food. I go to La Chicanita, too, but La Chicanita serves the typical, conventional Mexican menu (enchiladas, carne asada, etc) whereas Fuego gets into more unusual preparation techniques, with a variety of moles, etc.

When we were seated, we were brought the obligatory chips and salsa. These were quite good, and a pleasantly ample quantity too. The salsa was of the very finely chopped variety, not "chunky", with just the right amount of spice.

We then got the tamalitos surtidos, chicken and wild mushroom tamales covered with mole poblano and mole amarillo. There were only a few drops of mole amarillo, but there was a huge amount of mole poblano, and it was great, with a nice strong flavor to it (the tamales were pretty good too). I love it when there's extra sauce that you can sop up with the chips, rice, etc.

I had the shrimp with the mole of the week, which was peanut mole. This was good, too, with lots of mole. As noted by another poster above, they cook the mole separate from the main ingredient, then pour it on top.

I finished with a pastel de tres leches, and this was an excellent version - a very light cake, but very moist, with the bottom portion saturated with its namesake milks.

I enjoyed eating at Fuego. I don't know that I would put it right up there with the best, most creative places elsewhere in the Chicago area (e.g. Fonda del Mar, Mixteco Grill), but if you're looking for creative Mexican food in the northwest suburbs, it's nice to have Fuego close by.

grant wrote:The owners of Fuego are opening another place at the corner of Vail and Campbell St. called Grand Station "An American Cafe" in Sept. It will occupy the Metro Lofts sales center.

Based on its website, I don't think it's open yet - and this post was referring to September of 2007, a year ago.

I was only hear once about a year ago and though the menu entices as creative, I thought the food was average at best. I can't even recall much of what we all had other than focusing in on their more unique specials and mole dishes. The one lasting impression was my palate fatigue, from how heavily salted much of the food was, and I'm far from a salt phobic. The film studio set decor is actually quite charming while at the bar, less so at a table. They certainly aren't going to miss my business, as the place was and I hear still, jammed.

T Comp wrote:I was only hear once about a year ago and though the menu entices as creative, I thought the food was average at best. I can't even recall much of what we all had other than focusing in on their more unique specials and mole dishes. The one lasting impression was my palate fatigue, from how heavily salted much of the food was, and I'm far from a salt phobic. The film studio set decor is actually quite charming while at the bar, less so at a table. They certainly aren't going to miss my business, as the place was and I hear still, jammed.

I have been there twice. Impressive menu, but my taste buds don't want to go back.

My family and I went once on a Sunday evening quite awhile ago. I don't really recall much of our experience, so I think that speaks for itself. I recall that some of the menu items were trying too hard. Overall, we weren't impressed and won't be back. However, I was at a dinner gathering once where the host had served their salsa, and it was surprisingly pretty decent, but it did not seem as good when it was served at the restaurant.

I posted this on the Openings, Closings thread but to avoid it getting lost in the mix, here's the text of an e-mail I just got from Fuego....


Gone South!
We regret to inform you that the Fuego Mexican Grill & Margarita Bar located at 17 West Campbell Street in downtown Arlington Heights has closed. It is no longer Fuego Mexican Grill, the authentic Mexican restaurant you’ve come to know and enjoy.
But don’t fret because the Fuego fire continues to blaze. You can still find the original Fuego Mexican Grill experience you’ve fallen in love with at our Chicago location (2047 North Milwaukee Avenue) where Executive Chef Juan Luis Gonzales continues to create his famous dishes. Remember what we say…Never Trust a Skinny Chef. Here you can enjoy the lively Fuego atmosphere in the authentic setting you are familiar with. And, you’ll discover the same great menu featuring our Tableside Guacamole, delicious Moles, Juan’s famous Grandma Paula’s recipes, and all the Mexican favorites you’ve come to enjoy over the years.

Thank You!
We appreciate your business and the friendships we have made and we owe our success to loyal customers like you. We are truly thankful for having had the opportunity to serve you and we hope you’ll come dine at Fuego soon. We miss you!

That's odd. Every time I've been to the Arlington Heights location it's been busy (it's been about 4 months or so since my last visit, but I can't imagine business dropping off that much).

From today's Daily Herald:

Fuego Grill and Martini Bar in Arlington Heights has changed its name to Cocina Fuerte. Chef Jose Luna said everything at the dining establishment at 13 W. Campbell St. will remain the same except for the name. "The menu, the recipes and the employees are all the same. Only the name is changing," he said Wednesday. Luna explained the name change is needed because the establishment is now managed by the First Hospitality Group in Rosemont, after one of the owners left the group of investors who operate the business.

That's a sigh of relief.

So, can anybody offer any recommendations based on somewhat recent experience? This is pretty close to where I work, and I'd like to give it a try since I find myself craving good Mexican food in the area from time to time (and have yet to actually find any).

ucjames wrote:So, can anybody offer any recommendations based on somewhat recent experience?

They do a really good mole. Actually, they usually have two moles. They always have mole poblano, and they always have a mole de la semana (mole of the week). Last time I went - a few months ago - I had the tilapia en mole that day. The dish came with a LOT of mole - which was fine with me! The sopes appetizer is always very good, too; the good news is that they are the shape and size of English muffins, so they're easier to cut/divide; the bad news is that they can be slightly chewy. Oh, and the chorizo filling is nicely spicy. They also do a very nice pastel de tres leches for dessert. (I mentioned this in my previous post, above.)

Among the beverages, their horchata (cold rice beverage) is excellent; their chocolate caliente (hot chocolate) is a bit on the weak side.

So, can anybody offer any recommendations based on somewhat recent experience?

Excellent mojitos and margaritas. Good flavor and well made. The Diabla sauce on their shrimp should be bottled. Not especially hot but wonderful flavor. I was also pleasantly surprised by their fish tacos.

I received this in my inbox this afternoon:

Hello Friends,
You may have already received an E-mail claiming that your favorite Mexican restaurant at 17 West Campbell in Arlington Heights has closed. DON’T BE FOOLED.

While we have elected to no longer be affiliated with the Fuego Restaurant in Logan Square we are still cooking up the finest Mexican Food this side of the Rio Grande.

We are now Cocina Fuerte ( Strong Kitchen ) featuring authentic Mexican Food, prepared and served by the same familiar faces.

Bring this E-mail in with you and receive 10% off of your check until the end of February 2010. Also, if you have Fuego gift cards we will accept them through the end of March 2010. You can join us on facebook as well. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pag ... 630?ref=ts


Cocina Fuerte Mexican Grill
17 W. Campbell St
Arlington Heights, Il. 60005

nsxtasy wrote:

ucjames wrote:So, can anybody offer any recommendations based on somewhat recent experience?

They do a really good mole. Actually, they usually have two moles. They always have mole poblano, and they always have a mole de la semana (mole of the week). Last time I went - a few months ago - I had the tilapia en mole that day. The dish came with a LOT of mole - which was fine with me! The sopes appetizer is always very good, too; the good news is that they are the shape and size of English muffins, so they're easier to cut/divide; the bad news is that they can be slightly chewy. Oh, and the chorizo filling is nicely spicy. They also do a very nice pastel de tres leches for dessert. (I mentioned this in my previous post, above.)

Among the beverages, their horchata (cold rice beverage) is excellent; their chocolate caliente (hot chocolate) is a bit on the weak side.

I second that. Their moles are delectable. I am also a big fan of their tableside guac. The fish tacos are also very good.

jleblanc05 wrote:From today's Daily Herald:

Fuego Grill and Martini Bar in Arlington Heights has changed its name to Cocina Fuerte. Chef Jose Luna said everything at the dining establishment at 13 W. Campbell St. will remain the same except for the name. "The menu, the recipes and the employees are all the same. Only the name is changing," he said Wednesday. Luna explained the name change is needed because the establishment is now managed by the First Hospitality Group in Rosemont, after one of the owners left the group of investors who operate the business.

...aaaaaand another name change, to "Salsa 17", because it's at 17 -- not 13 -- Campbell.

They said most of the menu will stay the same, with a few changes, because it's already successful, but they want to differentiate the name from the other Fuego in Chicago.

Web site's already listed in Google at www.salsa17.com but it's "parked" at GoDaddy

Thanks for keeping us fans of the former Fuego updated with news.

Anybody been there since the changes? I assume from the posts here that it has been open all along...

I visited maybe three weeks after the name change to Cocina Fuerte. It seemed to me they chose the name because all they had to do was cover up/paint a few lines to convert the Fuego mural to Fuerte.

The menu was exactly the same and most of the staff looked familiar. The food tasted like Fuego on an off night - I had the Filete Morita and the sauce was not as flavorful as previous orders, but this could've just been a one time quirk.

The one curious thing was the ceviche. Shortly after ordering a woman showed up with a cart (like the guacamole) and plated the ceviche in front of us. As in, scooped the already prepared ceviche out of a large bowl into a tea cup and flipped it over onto a plate with some garnish - good food, but it just seemed awkward.

The one curious thing was the ceviche. Shortly after ordering a woman showed up with a cart (like the guacamole) and plated the ceviche in front of us. As in, scooped the already prepared ceviche out of a large bowl into a tea cup and flipped it over onto a plate with some garnish - good food, but it just seemed awkward.

To be fair, ceviche would be something I wouldn't want prepared from scratch at tableside.

I had lunch at Salsa 17 today and it seemed just like before, when it was Fuego. The dish I had (chicken breast in mole poblano) was identical to the Fuego version. The only difference I noted was that my server was not latina.

If you liked Fuego, you'll like Salsa 17.

They now have a website at salsa17.com and they're accepting reservations on Opentable.com There's no sign on the outside, though.

Incidentally, they're doing a pretty good business; about 85 percent of the tables were occupied at 1 pm.

Dined at Salsa 17 last night (had a Groupon).
We were very disappointed. The menu is imaginative, the presentations beautiful, but everything was underseasoned. Not enough salt, garlic, chile, etc.

Table salsa is a dark colored, pulpy salsa. Too mild for my tastes, but flavorful. The server said "The secret is chiptle peppers!" I think they're keeping the secret a little too well. When I asked for a hotter salsa, she brought out a second one, which was red, thin, a little smoky, but still not spicy.

For a starter we had the Rollitos de Pollo. Filled with better stuff than the southwest egg rolls from Chili's, but basically the same sort of thing. A little on the greasy side, and the avocado lemon cream had no lemon flavor, and looked like dijon mustard with only a little avocado flavor.

The included chicken soup was tasty, but nothing to write home about.

The entrees are where they really fell down.
I had the Chilles Rellenos con Birria de Borrego. The meat was good, but not what I expected in a birria: no richness, no depth, just basically long-stewed lamb (and not even very lamb-y. If I hadn't known it wasn't beef, I probably couldn't have said it was lamb with any conviction). Chipotle mashed potatoes were tasty, but not especially chipotled.

Sue's Tostaditas de Tinga de Camaron were also a disappointment: the shrimp didn't have any seafood flavor we could tell, and again, underseasoned overall.

There were lots of happy-looking people in the place, so it's possible we ordered badly or got the edges of the chef's QC, but I can't see any reason to go back.
Didn't hate it, but there's really very little to like.

Their moles can be fantastic. Every time we go here, we ask for a sampling of each mole. They'll bring them out in small cups. Once I've chosen the mole I want, I'll construct my meal around it.