Perhaps the most intriguing of the new restaurants to open in Hamilton in November is El Toro del Fuego, a Mexican restaurant with a twist.
The new concept, on Arena Drive not far from South Olden Avenue, is the brainchild of owner Sam Zheng. Zheng’s other restaurant, TacoRito, has three locations: one in Robbinsville, one in Hightstown and one in Plainsboro Town Center.
Where TacoRito offers a fairly straightforward Tex-Mex experience, El Toro del Fuego (translation: Fire Bull) marries the concepts of an all-you-can-eat Korean hotpot and BBQ with what Zheng bills as an authentic Mexican experience.
Diners at El Toro del Fuego sit around a table with a grill in the center. Each can select their own proteins to cook themselves on the round, flat-topped grill.
Options include carne asada, al pastor-style pork and chicken and pork loin (chuleta). Side options include tortillas, rice, beans, plaintains and french fries.
Appetizers that come with the meal include sopes, flautas, elote, empanadas and caldo de res (beef soup).
On weekdays, the all-you-can-eat option is $24.99 per person for lunch and $29.99 for dinner; on weekends, Friday nights ana holidays, the cost is $31.99.
An extra $5 per person can unlock the premium-tier proteins, which include skirt steak, ribeye, picanha, butter-garlic shrimp and spicy salmon. That extra $5 also grants diners access to deluxe dishes such as shrimp ceviche, quesobirria tacos and menudo.
There is also an a la carte menu for those not hungry for the full AYCG experience.
Zheng says he got the idea for a Mexican-Korean mashup after watching a funny video his wife shared with him. “It was of this Mexican guy going to a Korean BBQ place and pulling out a tortilla from his bookbag,” Zheng says. “That just blew up in my head, and I was like, I want to be the first one to do it” as a full-blown restaurant concept.
El Toro del Fuego, 628 Arena Drive, Hamilton. Web: eltorodelfuego.com.