Chron Critic Alison Cook Is a Fan of Guy Fieri’s Cancun Restaurant

Generally, Guy Fieri is the subject of disdain for restaurant critics. Everyone from Anthony Bourdain to New York Times critic Pete Wells have slammed the spiky-haired chef, but Houston Chronicle critic Alison Cook found plenty to love on a visit to a Fieri restaurant in Cancun.

Recently, the notoriously discerning critic headed to Tulum for a visit to Noma Mexico, the buzzy pop-up from chef Rene Redzepi that is currently the food world’s hottest table. On the way back, she popped in to Guy’s American Kitchen at Cancun International Airport for a decidedly less low-brow meal, and actually loved it.

Check out the five biggest takeaways from Cook’s glowing review below, plus a quick take on Noma Mexico:

On the secret ingredients in Donkey Sauce:

Donkey Sauce turns out to be an amalgam of mayonnaise, Worcestershire, mustard and oh, you don't really want to know what all.

On Noma Mexico:

After nonstop ingestion of ant eggs, grasshoppers, beach greens, seaweeds, chiles, mamey seeds, tropical fruits and manifold Caribbean shellfish in forms raw and cooked, my traveling companion and I had reached that classic stage well-known to American tourists: by the time we made it back to Cancun for our flight home, we craved a burger.

On the burger:

The smashed-down beef patty had nice frizzly edges and a tight sear. Its texture was crumbly, not overly compacted. It dripped juice and, let's be honest here, yummy grease in a highly satisfying way.

The yellow cheese was every bit as melty as the florid menu had promised. A big, crunchy onion ring contributed some extra texture. I even liked the buttery, grilled brioche bun.

On the fries:

I was not enthralled by the four-count-'em-four species of differently cut fries, each somehow less thrilling than the last. I have never eaten a really good French fry in an airport, and I honestly don't expect to.

On the souvenirs:

Now I own a bunch of official Guy Fieri skull coasters. I'm keeping them around as reminder to never say never.

• I ate at Guy Fieri’s restaurant in the Cancun airport. And liked it. [Houston Chronicle]