Restaurant review: The name’s not memorable, but their tacos are

The restaurant that opened June 27 where a Roman Candle Pizza place used to be has somewhat of an awkward layout, and from the outside it’s not immediately obvious where the front door is.

My friend and I got a table by the bar, where “Wheel of Fortune” was on a giant TV. My friend said its glare was like a giant headlight coming at him.

Miguel Dominguez, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Jennifer Dominguez, was a great host and wound up doubling as our server when the Middleton High School senior who took our order got busy elsewhere.

At a place named for fajitas, the fajitas better be good — and ours were, if pricey. But one order can feed two reasonably hungry people. There are 12 types, and we went with the fajitas poblanos ($22.99) because I can never get enough poblano peppers. Here they were cut into compact strips when I would have preferred larger ones, but it was an excellent dish, nonetheless.

Everything worked well together: tender chicken, bacon, corn, grilled onions, tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers and especially the grilled queso fresco. Bacon was an unusual part of a fajita plate, and I wish it had been crispy, instead of soggy.

The platter came out sizzling warm. Even the accompanying dinner plate with rice and beans was super warm. I appreciated the lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole, but the latter two were more of a garnish and didn’t go far. The white corn tortillas on the side were fantastic.

Those same tortillas also made for great tacos. Again, they were high-priced, most of them $5, but also $5.50 and $6 depending on the filling.

All the tacos, from the asada ($5) to the grilled chicken ($5) to the crunchy chorizo ($5) to the grilled shrimp ($5.50) to the grilled tilapia ($6) were exceptional, and that’s because the meat or seafood in each was perfectly seasoned and grilled. The asada, or steak, was lean and particularly flavorful.

Dominguez asked if we wanted the tacos made traditionally with just onion and cilantro. We did, and they were delicious that way. He told me later that the other option is “American style” with a flour tortilla, lettuce and cheese.

Our tacos weren’t doubled up, as they often are at Mexican restaurants, and served with lime.

The biggest letdown was a quesadilla with chorizo ($10). It was delicate on cheese and rather sad-looking. Cutting it into quarters and possibly adding a little garnish to the plate could’ve helped.

The other disappointment was the house margarita ($8), which was touted as having lemon, lime and orange juice “fermented” with gold tequila. It had a foamy top and lots of salt around the rim, but a taste that was slightly off.

When I talked to Dominguez after my meal, I asked if most of his customers order fajitas. He said lots do, but the enchiladas are also a large seller. Enchiladas show up in the menu under tapas and under specials, depending on how large a portion you’re looking for and how much you want to spend. There’s also a tapas version of the fajitas for $13.99.

Dominguez said he tries to innovate with various meats and vegetables in his fajitas and is always coming up with up-to-date ones.

He came to Madison from Puebla, Mexico, in 2001 and moved to Verona three years later. He has family in the area, including cousin Vicente Sacramento, who co-owns Monona Bakery and Eatery.

For years, Dominguez commuted to downtown Beloit, where he had a successful restaurant called Fresco Fajita House from 2016 until this past May. He closed it to concentrate on the Middleton restaurant. The Beloit restaurant could only seat 49, while the up-to-date restaurant has a capacity of 140, if you include the lower level, which can be rented for private parties, he said.

The restaurant’s chef, Fermin Mejia, still lives in Beloit. Dominguez said he buys the tortillas I love from a compact store there and doesn’t want to switch, so he has Mejia bring them.

Dominguez said on weekdays, Jennifer works with special-education students at Savanna Oaks Middle School. And when she’s at the restaurant she does a bit of everything. “She’s the boss.”

I was there two days after Halloween and they still had lots of Halloween decorations up. “Probably tomorrow is Christmastime,” Dominguez said, adding that he has a tree by the door ready to go.

Anyone who likes good tacos and fajitas needs to try Fajitas, Tapas & Bar. Think of it as an early Christmas gift for yourself.