First Impressions: Fuzzy’s Taco Shop
Everyone, so far, has lifted an eyebrow and looked a little green in a purely visceral reaction whenever The A.V. Club suggests a visit to the new Fuzzy’s Taco Shop (3519 University Ave., 608-232-1479). Lest the specter of blooming mold set teeth on edge, a first look found fresh ingredients, a tightly focused menu, and a welcome antidote to the inescapable and steady influx of boring Chipotle, Pancheros, and Qdoba outposts. This import from Dallas/Ft. Worth isn’t earth-shatteringly great—it unhappily deviates from the more intense Austin style—but nonetheless puts up a battery of Dallas-style Tex-Mex food that trounces the aforementioned chains, and even competes with Taco Bell on price points, while winning on quality and taste.
The space and service: Once the site of a McDonald’s—perhaps the only McDonald’s in Madison to close, ever—the new Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is attached like a barnacle to the Starbucks next door. This sleepy drag is mostly the province of gas stations, odd little specialty stores, plus a lonely Radio Shack, and has never seen much pedestrian action. But the built-in drive-thru means Fuzzy’s could be crawling with cars full of college students hankering after crisp tacos to go. The interior is well lit and garishly festooned with the bright yellow logo and two large flat-screen televisions tuned to sporting networks. After ordering at the counter, and grabbing a plastic table, the TVs distract until the orders are called for pickup. It’s one step removed from fast food, if that.
The A.V. Club’s food: It's not too surprising to find sandwiches on the menu, or to find that those sandwiches aren’t much more than taco ingredients pressed into a loaf of bread and served without condiments. Both tempura fish and shredded pork sammies are a little bland and sort of dry, but it’s a situation that is easily remedied by dipping them into the delicious bean gravy. The taco tortillas are a little grainy, but otherwise shredded pork, chicken, and garlic beef tacos— topped with minced tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro, feta cheese, and an interesting house garlic sauce—are faultless in preparation. The fish and shrimp tacos are slightly soggy and lack much punch, but are still scarfable enough.
Chicken and shrimp enchiladas come smothered with melted cheese and a tangy salsa verde, with a choice of two sides like potatoes and chips. These platters hover around six bucks, and the beans are by far the best side (and maybe the best thing) at Fuzzy’s: Cooked with bacon and lard, these pintos are swimming in flavor-packed spiced gravy. Fuzzy’s also traffics in chorizo, potato, egg, and cheese breakfast burritos, huevos rancheros, migas, and chilaquiles. This is huge—Madison needs more Mexican breakfast options. The breakfast burrito is the beachhead, but perhaps Madison will open up to the Texas secret of the breakfast margarita.
The verdict: Fuzzy’s won’t revolutionize Tex-Mex cooking, but it’s not trying to. Instead, it’s here to provide fresh food at a reasonable price, and it’s there that Fuzzy’s totally succeeds.
