Zagreb: A Tasty Visit to Fuego Fresh Latin Food

At the start of my recent visit to Croatia, while I was in the capital city of Zagreb, I wanted to check out Fuego Fresh Latin, at Zelinska Ulica 7, which is owned by Chef Richard Gruica. I'd previously interacted with Gruica online, and I was intrigued by his big personality and passion. And as my hotel was located relatively close to his restaurant, it made it even easier to stop there for lunch. 

Gruica is an American-Croatian and possesses over twenty years of experience in preparing Latin cuisine. He largely grew up in Miami, and his first job was working in a French restaurant owned by his uncle. Over the years, he's worked in some of the top Latin cuisine restaurants in the Miami area. Around 2016, he also started running tours to Croatia, which would take a hit when the pandemic struck. Gruica saw the pandemic as an opportunity though, and opened Fuego Fresh Latin at the end of last year.

I got to meet Gruica in person, and chat a little bit, and he was very personable and nice. It's clear that he loves Croatia, and is passionate about food and wine. 

The restaurant is a tiny storefront, and there's some counter seating outside although you can also get take-out or delivery. Their menu has changed a little since my visit, but it still showcases both authentic and inspired Latin dishes, from countries including Mexico, Peru, Cuba, and Venezuela. This is comfort food, from tacos to empanadas, cuban sandwiches to nachos. And it's inexpensive, with everything basically under $10 US. 

When you order at the window, you see directly into the kitchen, watching them prepare your food. The Menu is broken down into three main sections: Light Bites; Tacos, Sandwiches & More, and Fuego Bowls, although they also have Desserts. They also serve Margaritas and Pina Coladas, in case you want a cocktail with your food. The hardest part may be deciding what to order as so much on the menu sounds delicious.

I began with the "Real" Corn Tortilla Chips with Mama's Tomato Salsa Fresca, fresh, fried corn tortillas with a tangy tomato salsa. A relatively simple dish but such dishes can be indicative of a restaurant's quality. The chips were sturdy and tasty, with a rich corn flavor, and great for dipping. The salsa had a nice freshness and tang to it, with a pleasant blend of flavors. A good start to my lunch.

I also decided to try the Fuego Empanada Combo, and get a Meat Empanada (filled with beef, pork, corn & more) and a Cheese Empanada (filled with creamy cheese, corn and seasonings). I enjoyed the flaky pastry for both empanadas, and each had plenty of tasty and well seasoned fillings. The Cheese one was probably my personal favorite of the two. 

Inside the Beef Empanada. 

Inside the Cheese Empanada.

I also opted for one of the Fuego Bowls, Ita's Aji de Gallina Bowl, which is named after Gruica's mother-in-law. It's based on a famed Peruvian dish, and includes shredded chicken breast in a creamy chili sauce atop rice. I've enjoyed this dish at a few other Peruvian restaurants before and I was pleased with Gruica's unique version. It was a hearty bowl, with plenty of tender and flavorful chicken, and a slightly spicy kick. A nicely balanced blend of flavors and textures.

For dessert, I got the Suspiro Limeno (which is not on their current menu), a Peruvian-inspired dessert which was basically dulce de leche topped with a type of meringue. It was absolutely delicious, such great flavor and it wasn't overly sweet. It seems such a simple dish but it impressed nonetheless. 

If you visit Zagreb, I recommend you stop at Fuego Fresh Latin, Enjoy their tasty, inexpensive Latin comfort food. And support this worthy small business. 

Moby Dick: Delicious Kabobs & Shirin Polo

If you were to eat at a restaurant named Moby Dick, what would you expect of the cuisine? My first thought would be seafood, or maybe traditional New England. I certainly would not expect a Persian and Middle Eastern Style Barbecue restaurant. Yet there is a famous Moby Dick restaurant in Tehran, Iran, and it appears some people in the U.S. have adopted the name for their own Persian restaurants.  I am still not sure the original reason for the naming of this place, but there is some type of connection.

As part of a recent food blogger dinner, which was complimentary, I visited Moby Dick, located on Huntington Avenue in Boston. This is an independent place, not connected to the chain of Moby Dick restaurants based out of Washington, D.C. It is a small hole-in-the-wall spot, which you might pass by without giving it a second glance. Parking is difficult but it is close to a couple subway stops and gets lots of foot traffic from local college students.  

Inside, it is a small, casual place that looks like nothing special and which does not instill high expectations. But you must give Moby Dick a chance as its plain veneer conceals some freshly made and top notch food. I was pleasantly surprised at the high quality of the cuisine, and it deserves a hearty recommendation. Who would have suspected to find such a worthy spot in this locale?

The restaurant is open every day, except Monday, for lunch and dinner. The menu consists of Appetizers (most $3.95-$5.95), A La Carte (salads and yogurt for $2.95-$5.95), Rice Platters ($14.95-$22.95), Sandwiches ($6.95-$10.95), and Vegetarian ($4.95-$7.50). During lunch, they also have a number of organic specials. Rice Platters come with one or two skewers of meat, and are served with basmati rice, barbecued tomato, pita bread and a choice of garden salad, Shirazi salad or cucumber yogurt.  Sandwiches may be filled with ground beef, steak, lamb, chicken, vegetarian, or even swordfish. Plenty of diversity so that everyone should be able to find a meal that appeals to them. Prices are also reasonable, especially considering the quantity of food I witnessed on other people's dinners.

For our meal, we were presented with a diverse selection of dishes, family style, to sample a variety of their foods.

We began our meal with an appetizer platter, including: Mirza ghassemi, a dip of sauteed eggplant, onion, tomatoes and garlic; Falafel meatballs; Grape leaf wraps; Hummus and slices of pita bread. Everything seemed fresh, spiced well and tasted very good. Though I am not a big fan of eggplant, the others raved about the Mirza. I very much enjoyed the falafel and the hummus was quite tasty as well.

The Garden Salad, with lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions, was topped with their house dressing, and again the ingredients were fresh.

As an entree, we received a platter of three kabobs, including ground beef, lamb and chicken. I was impressed with the meat, which was very tender, flavorful and moist. I had worried that the meat might be overcooked and dry, but that was very far from the case. I have had other kabobs before, and have to say that these meats were some of the best I have tasted. Your inner carnivore will certainly savor these meats.

We also had three rice dishes, including two vegetarian dishes. The Lubia Polo is a spicy dish of basmati rice with green beans, tomatoes, saffron and spices while the Adas Polo is a milder basmati rice dish with lentils, sauteed raisins, onions and spices. My favorite was the Shirin Polo, basmati rice with shredded chicken, orange peel, mountain berries, pistachio, almonds and saffron. This dish had an intriguing and tasty blend of citrus and spice, with some crunch from the nuts and plenty of moist chicken. I had a couple portions of this dish and probably could have devoured even more. The vibrant melange of flavors and textures meshed very well, pleasing my senses.

For dessert, we had some Baklava and Bastani, homemade Persian ice cream (pictured above), topped with pistachios. The Baklava was ok, not much different from others I have tried. The ice cream though was something new to me, and it possessed touches of saffron and rosewater. Though it was a bit floral, it was not overwhelming, and it had a nice creaminess to it.

Though you might be tempted to just walk by this restaurant, you should stop by and enjoy their reasonably priced, plentiful and delicious food. True passion goes into this restaurant, elevating it above your expectations. I will definitely be returning here, and give it a hearty recommendation. It is one of those excellent restaurants which largely operates under the radar, so impress your friends and take them there.