FOODIE

Faz’s: A Tex-Mex Recession Buster
By The Foodies /foodie@longislandernews.com

At Faz’s Tex-Mex Grill in Huntington village, a pizza can tell a big story.

Confused? Don’t be. The grill, located at 38 Gerard Street, offers up Tex-Mex pizzas, each starting with a flour tortilla, mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce, baked until it’s crispy. Then, add your choice of chili, black beans, jalapenos, vegetarian chili, chicken fajita, chorizo or chicken stew. Since all of this will run you between $4 and $6, we expected an equally modest portion to go with the modest price.

When we arrived to pick it up, imagine our surprise when a personal-sized pizza box was with our takeout order. For $5.50 or so, we ended up with the equivalent of a personal-sized pizza loaded with savory chicken, green peppers and grilled onions. Combine that with unique, mellow, slightly sweet marinara and melted mozzarella, and you’ve got a winner. Add a taco, split the pizza, and you’ve got lunch salted away quickly for less than five bucks. The Foodies now have their fast, tasty recession busting Tex-Mex restaurant.

Thus tells the story of Faz’s – you’re going to get a lot of food for not much coin, and it’s going to be good, fresh and cooked to order. Faz’s proudly boasts their dishes are all natural: no fake colors, no chemical spices, MSG, lard, oil or microwaves allowed here.

Other offerings – tortillas, hard shell tacos, quesadillas, tostada salads, fajitas, burritos, enchiladas and nachos – all start with similar base ingredients. Based on our experiences, you’ll do well whichever way you go.

The burrito, a Tex-Mex standby, is served with rice, black beans, cheddar and jack cheeses, lettuce and tomatoes, and will run you from $5.15 for vegetarian items to $5.98 for steak or a combination of steak and chicken. No matter what you stuff it with, the portions are abundant, fresh and filling, the burritos slightly toasted and melted cheeses abound.

The chicken stew special ($5.43) is a steal, loaded with savory chicken prepared in stewed tomatoes over abundant rice, cheese and beans. Variations on Faz’s specials replace the chicken stew with grilled chicken, chili, vegetarian chili or black beans. Add black beans to the chicken and steak specials for a small price.

Soft shell tacos, running from about $1.50 – $3, are large and stuffed to the brim. We tried the Al Carbon with guacamole and shredded cheese ($2.67). The steak is sliced to about a half-inch thick, pink in the center, brown on the outside, and seasoned plainly, allowing the flavor of the guacamole to take center stage. Though a little tough to eat in taco form – the steak was pulled out of its taco home several times – as a whole the tastes complemented each other well. We'd love to try it with the chicken next time. Chorizo, which comes in large chunks and has ever the slightest kick, is a good pick.

Since they cook fresh, call or fax your order in to make sure of a quick arrival and departure. Your plastic is no good there, so be sure to hit the ATM if you need to before you arrive. You’ll be glad you did – after all, you’ll be noshing all the sooner, and around here, that’s a good thing.

Faz’s Tex-Mex Grill
38 Gerard Street
Huntington
631-271-4333 (phone)
631-271-8551 (fax)
www.faztexmex.com

Atmosphere – Simple takeout

Cuisine – Fresh Tex-Mex staples

Price – Inexpensive

Hours – 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. every day


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