RESTAURANT REVIEW: Baja style suits Fuzzy's just fine

The Beef Fajita Plate at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop in Jacksonville comes with sliced grilled beef, onions, green peppers and tortillas, as well as guacamole, lettuce, sour cream, shredded cheese, pico de gallo and a choice of two sides.
The Beef Fajita Plate at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop in Jacksonville comes with sliced grilled beef, onions, green peppers and tortillas, as well as guacamole, lettuce, sour cream, shredded cheese, pico de gallo and a choice of two sides.

Fuzzy's Taco Shop calls its cuisine Baja-style Mexican, fashioned after food of the Baja California peninsula, where seafood takes a prominent position in many restaurants. The chain's newest location is on John Harden Drive in Jacksonville.

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Cheese dip, served with seasoned chips, can be ordered with chorizo at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop in Jacksonville.

Fuzzy's offers fish and shrimp in dishes we're used to like burritos, tacos, nachos, quesadillas, cheese dip and guacamole. The restaurant -- a cheerful place with outdoor seating -- occupies an end spot of a strip mall right off of U.S. 67-167. (Fuzzy's started in Fort Worth in 2003. There are now more than 90 restaurants in 11 states.)

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop

120 Harden Drive, Jacksonville

Hours: 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, and 7 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday

Cuisine: “Baja-style Mexican”

Credit cards: MC, V, AE, D

Alcohol: Full bar

Wheelchair accessible: Yes

Carryout: Yes

(501) 457-7953

fuzzystacoshop.com

Inside the walls are brightly painted red and green, with weathered wood mixed in. The dining room is filled with a variety of red and yellow tables, and black chairs and booths. But be warned, the wooden seats of the booths are as hard as a rock; the chairs are padded. A small room to the right of the door features a full bar, which serves drinks including beer and margaritas, as well as extra seating.

Customers order at the front counter before taking numbered tickets, getting beverages and finding seats. The menu is relatively large and for those not familiar with it, the process can be slow. But there is a copy of the menu online (fuzzystacoshop.com) for those who want a primer. The menu includes dietary information detailing gluten, soy, egg, peanut, crustacean, wheat and milk content.

Our group of three ordered a selection to share. We started with chips and guacamole ($4.99) and chips and queso ($3.99). Both were delicious. The chips were sprinkled with nonspicy seasoning that added a nice touch of flavor. We went with the plain cheese dip (it also comes with beef or chorizo for $1 more). The guacamole was one of the best parts of the meal, well-seasoned with large chunks of perfectly ripe avocado throughout.

Trying the "famous Baja Tacos" was a must. Soft or crispy, they come topped with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, cilantro, feta and garlic sauce. Two of us shared a Taco Plate ($6.99) with a tempura shrimp and a special ground beef taco. The tortillas were very small. Very, very small. The shrimp was tasty but there weren't enough on the taco. The ground beef taco delighted. We held the feta, garlic sauce and cilantro because they just didn't seem right.

Other taco selections include shredded chicken or brisket, grilled vegetables, pork and fajita chicken or beef. For those craving spice, Fuzzy's offers the California Heat Taco ($2.99) filled with shrimp, bacon, avocado, feta, shredded cheese, pico de gallo and Sriracha-lime sauce.

The Mexican plate meals ($6.99-$8.99) come with two sides (refried beans, black beans, borracho beans, Mix-Mex fried rice or cilantro-lime rice and Latin-fried potatoes, usually $1.99). We tried the refried beans, Mix-Mex fried rice and Latin-fried potatoes. None were very unimpressive.

My other companion enjoyed a taco plate ($8.99) with a grilled shrimp and a ground beef crispy taco, the potatoes and refried beans. She was as ambivalent about the potatoes as we were.

We also chose to share the Beef Fajita Plate ($8.99), which comes with two sides, three tortillas, onion, green peppers, guacamole, lettuce, sour cream, shredded cheese and pico de gallo. There was not much meat, but the strips of beef were tender and lightly seasoned. The grilled onions were tender-crisp, but the large pieces of green pepper were underdone, and we picked them out.

We returned for a takeout dinner. This time we ordered cheese dip with chorizo. Unfortunately, when we got home and dug our chips in, there was no chorizo. It got eaten because it is good cheese dip, but it was disappointing. (An order placed for photography purposes did include chorizo.)

The menu has "Jumbo Burritos" ($6.49 to $8.49) with chicken, brisket, ground beef, pork, fish, shrimp and fajita beef. The burritos come with guacamole, cheese, tomatoes, onions, garlic sauce, and your choice of rice and beans.

We went with tempura fish. I didn't realize that the rice and beans were in the burrito, not on the side. And, true to what the menu says, it was jumbo.

The problem with shoving so much stuff into one tortilla is that it's hard to distinguish a single ingredient. The fish was overwhelmed and wasn't even visually discernible. And the garlic sauce was nonexistent.

We also tried the Enchilada Plate ($6.99) with two enchiladas (chicken, beef, grilled shrimp, pork, vegetables or cheese) and two sides. The shrimp and pork sounded like a good combination, accompanied by fried rice and beans. The shredded pork was plentiful and tasty, the shrimp version just didn't have enough shellfish, but what was there was tender and tasted good. Enchiladas were topped with a green chili sauce that wasn't too spicy, but the stubborn corn tortillas were a bit tough to cut.

Fuzzy's offers breakfast all day with a selection of tacos ($2.59) and burritos ($3.99-$5.99) in a variety of egg, cheese, meat and potato combinations. More substantial choices are Huevos Rancheros ($6.99), Chilaquiles ($6.99) or the Big Fuzz Breakfast Sandwich ($5.99) made with two fried eggs, bacon, cheese, jalapenos and Latin-fried potatoes.

Our chorizo, egg and cheese burrito ($5.49) was big and delicious, with the chorizo as the dominant flavor.

The menu also has soup, salads, nachos, quesadillas, sandwiches and three desserts. There is a souvenir cup option for drinks; purchase a large plastic cup for $1.99, and endless refills are 79 cents.

Weekend on 02/16/2017

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