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The former Tusks Woodfire Grill at The Reserve has been made over from top to bottom into the new restaurant, Fuego.
Photo by John Gurzinski.
| Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal COLUMN: APPETIZERS: Ken White Reserve eatery gets menu and decor makeover
Fuego at The Reserve, 777 W. Lake Mead Drive in Henderson, has a "much better menu and much better wine list" as well as a new look to go along with it, says chef Michael Williams. Williams knows. He started at the restaurant, formerly called Tusks Woodfire Grill, before The Reserve was bought by Station Casinos earlier this year. Fuego has been transformed from the jungle theme that matched the look of The Reserve. It now has a Mexican-style interior, including a hand-painted mural that features the jungles of Mexico and seaside murals as part of the hotel's makeover to Fiesta Henderson, scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. In the center of the dining room, a 10-foot palm tree sports wine bottles instead of coconuts. Williams, who previously worked at the Hard Rock Cafe, the Hyatt Regency and Hilton International Hotel, all in Guam, joined The Reserve in 1999 as room chef at Tusks. Before that, he had 12 years' experience at various hotels, including the Holiday Inn and Sheraton in Sacramento, Calif. He planned a move to Honolulu but on a friend's advice flew to Guam instead. He had a job at the Hilton International his first day there. "I got most of my chef's training in Guam," he says. "I learned so many cooking techniques I didn't know before." He took that knowledge and "looked around at what we could do that was popular, and do it better here," Williams says. Williams' menu starts off with such appetizers as Baked Seafood Fiesta, with lobster, escargot and crab baked in a seasoned garlic butter ($7.29); lobster fritters, crisp lobster tails dipped in fritter batter and served with mango sauce ($6.99); Drunken Shrimp, shrimp sautéed with Cabo Wabo tequila, jalapeños and lime juice ($8.99); and coconut shrimp served with a fruit dipping sauce ($8.99). Fish selections, served with a choice of soup or salad and potato or vegetable, include salmon, swordfish, sea bass and orange roughy ($15.99 each). They're prepared one of three ways: broiled, sautéed or blackened. Among the combination dishes are barbecued baby back ribs and herb-roasted chicken breast ($16.99); petite filet mignon and Alaskan king crab legs ($29.99); beef and prawn kebab ($15.99); petite filet mignon and lobster tail ($39.99); and herb-roasted chicken breast and coconut shrimp ($16.99). Steaks, ribs and chops selections include filet mignon (10 ounces, $19.99; 7 ounces, $16.99); bone-in rib-eye ($17.99); porterhouse (20 ounces, $18.99); slow-roasted prime rib (10 ounces, $14.99; 16 ounces $17.99); and lamb chops ($21.99). Fuego specialties are barbecued baby back ribs ($17.99); herb-roasted breast of chicken ($14.99); veal Oscar, veal medallions topped with asparagus, king crab and béarnaise sauce ($18.99); lobster tail ($24.99); Alaskan king crab legs ($27.99); coconut shrimp ($17.99); and shrimp scampi with angel hair pasta ($14.99). One of Williams' favorite new dishes on the menu is fettuccine tossed with chipotle Alfredo sauce ($13.99 with chicken, $14.99 with shrimp). Diners "have to develop a taste for it" because of its unique flavor, Williams says, "but if you try it a couple of times you'll love it." Desserts, all made on-property, include baked Alaska ˆ la Fuego ($9.99, serves two to four people) and fried ice cream ($4.99). Fuego, seating 138, is open 5-10 p.m. daily. Reservations are recommended. Appetizers is a weekly informational column about new developments on the Las Vegas dining scene. Items should not be considered reviews or recommendations and none is a paid advertisement.
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