Rudy’s Mexican Grill celebrates grand re-opening
By YADIRA SANCHEZ OLSON
Four years ago, Rudy’s Mexican Grill on Barron Blvd. in Grayslake opened its doors with little fanfare.
“It was just my mom and my brothers and my sisters,” said Rudy Garza, owner of Rudy’s. “We just opened the doors and started to work.”
Now, on its fourth anniversary, the Lake County Chamber of Commerce is helping Garza celebrate an anniversary/grand re-opening event from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 7.
The celebration will showcase the restaurant’s new menu and there will be door prizes and raffles.
“When we opened, my menu was on one page,” Garza said. “Now we have an eight-page menu.”
Rudy’s Mexican Grill started out serving the traditional dishes that most Mexican restaurants serve, such as tacos, enchiladas, and quesadillas.
Through the years, Garza, with the help of his mom and his chef, has added other dishes not known to those unfamiliar with Mexican cuisine.
“I think [the food] is excellent,” said Guy Defalco, of Ingleside. “Not what you find in most Mexican places.
Although the convenience of working next door to the restaurant is a plus for Defalco, he says that the uniqueness of the food is what keeps him visiting the restaurant many times a week.
Some of those unique dishes are the new house favorites – The parrillada de mariscos y de carne (hot mixed grills of seafood or meat) – that are enough to feed a family of four.
The parrilladas are brought out sizzling hot and are replete with the chosen food.
A seafood parrillada includes mussells, shrimp, crab meat, octopus, and more seafood delectables, all served on a bed of rice.
The parrillada can be placed in the middle of the table for everyone to dig in.
“I have something good for everyone,” Garza said. “If you’re a vegetarian, a seafood-lover, or you love spicy food, I have it.”
To find the right taste for his dishes, Garza says he does his own research.
“I eat out a lot,” Garza said.
When he finds a dish he likes, he calls his chef, Carmelo Vasquez, and describes the flavors to him.
“[Vasquez] will come up with three to four dishes and we’ll try them all and pick the best one,” Garza said.
It’s that commitment to customer satisfaction that Grayslake resident Gary Parrish admires about Garza.
Parrish has been a customer since the restaurant opened and he has fond memories of the those days.
“I remember when there was just an easel out on the grass in front of his store with the specials,” Parrish said. “It’s been fun to watch him grow.”
Parrish, along with other customers, also has been part of that growing process.
“Rudy must have shown me four different menus to ask what I thought about it,” Parrish said. “He’s always asking for feedback.”
Another new item added to the menu is alcohol. Although some spirited drinks are already served, by next year, the restaurant will have a full bar built in.
Rudy’s Mexican Grill is at 55 N. Barron Blvd. (Rt. 83) in Grayslake.
It’s open seven days a week and offers carry out and catering service.
The phone number is 847-223-6176 and the Web site is www.RudysMexicanGrill.net.
