After a painful visit to the Apple Store, I stopped in for a light meal at Fuego.
It was hot out, so I wanted something light and quenching, ordering a La Constancia Suprema, a 4.5% ABV American-styled lager from El Salvador (essentially a club soda with a bit of alcohol in it).
Using Zora Margolis as my guide, I mimicked two of her orders, and was handsomely repaid for my efforts.
Empanadas de Vegetales ($8) were exactly what a vegetarian should aim for here: three delicious empanadas, stuffed with just the right amount of roasted squash, corn, huitlacoche, goat cheese, epazote, and avocado salsa, all in proportion with one another. This is a perfect dish to experiment with the various dipping sauces even though the yeasty empanadas do just fine on their own.
Followed by an order of two Lengua Tacos ($7), slow-braised beef tongue on house-made corn tortillas, with salsa rojo, habanero, and verde – the tortillas here stay in the background, as they so often *don’t* at other restaurants, and let the braised tongue take center stage.
Both these dishes were wonderful, and although I wasn’t hungry, I realize I’d never tried the desserts here, so I ordered a Fresh Lime & Coconut Tart ($7), a light, creamy tart, mercifully short of a whip, on graham cracker crust and a drizzle of caramel around the plate – it was the perfect ending to the best meal – and really, the first excellent meal (basket of chips notwithstanding) – I’ve yet had at Fuego.