Thanin Viriyaki
When Arlington Mexican restaurant Campo Verde closed earlier this year, after an impressive 40-year run, many longtime customers shrieked in horror, while others undoubtedly asked, “Well, what took so long?”
Few restaurants had caused as much divisiveness as this insanely unique Tex-Mex joint on Pioneer Parkway. Decorated year-round in Christmas lights, it had become an institution for many North Texans, its blitzkrieg of colorful, twinkling lights bringing smiles to faces of all ethnicities and ages at all times of year; even in the dead of summer, when it was 102 degrees out, it was Christmas at Campo Verde.
A model train mounted to the wall brought even more happiness, as the train cars zoomed from one end of the dining room to the other — a simple toy transformed into a mesmerizing spectacle.
But Campo Verde, as its critics attest, had many problems, starting with the food — bland, unimaginative, it was called — and extending to the very thing that others loved: the decor. Some found it too kitschy and over the top, while others wondered, aloud and online, when was the last time the lights had been cleaned? Or the floors for that matter?
Arlington-based chef Mouhssine “Moose” Benhamacht, like many, had mixed emotions when the restaurant closed in January. On one hand, the chef who opened Arlington’s wildly popular Cafe Americana knew the food had gone downhill and that the place was in dire need of a major cleaning. On the other hand, Campo Verde meant so much to so many people, he hated to see it go.
Looking for a new project, Benhamacht and his partner, Liesl Best, decided to take over the restaurant. But not just take it over. They wanted to redo it. But not just redo it. They wanted to reimagine it.
“It would not have made any sense to us to just reopen it the way it was,” he says. “It was in bad shape. It needed to be completely redone. But we also wanted to put our spin on it, and that meant doing things a little differently than they’d been done before.”
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Thanin Viriyaki
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Thanin Viriyaki
Reopened in early June, Benhamacht and Best’s reincarnation of Campo Verde barely resembles its previous self. The restaurant is now bright and airy, filled with gorgeous flowers and plants, some cool art here and there, all new floors, all new kitchen equipment — and of course, all new Christmas lights.
But the two, wisely, scaled back on the lights. They’re still a major presence, but they’re not as in-your-face — and in your hair and in your way — as they used to be.
“It’s definitely more tasteful now,” Best says. “I think there are just enough to appease the people who know and love the lights while also not overdoing them. Now they look like they have a purpose, as opposed to this jungle of lights you once had to walk through.”
The menu, too, got an upgrade. In addition to classic Tex-Mex fare, the two have added more upscale dishes, such as steak flambe, cilantro lime grilled salmon, garlic-tequila shrimp, a fried snapper sandwich, and seasonal salads. For dessert, there’s freshly made RumChata cheesecake and tres leches dotted with Biscoff.
Another point of contention at Campo Verde has focused on, oddly enough, one dish: queso. Offered free with chips and salsa, the queso was often cited as the best thing about Campo Verde — and, toward the restaurant’s end, the worst thing about it.
“The recipe had changed over the years, and people did not like it,” Benhamacht says. “It’s been crazy — people have been like, ‘Are you going to change the queso back?’ ‘Bring the old queso back.’ Out of all the things people could be asking about, most of the questions and feedback have been about the queso.”
Currently, the restaurant offers three quesos: a straightforward queso, another with chorizo, and another with brisket and hatch chiles. On June 28, the restaurant will host a queso-tasting event in which one of those three will be deemed, by customers, the official Campo Verde queso.
“We thought we’d have a little bit of fun with something that people feel so passionate about,” Best says.
The model train is rolling again, too, after years of either lying dormant or in disrepair.
“The guy who worked on the original train somehow heard that we were reopening the restaurant, and he reached out to ask if we needed help with the trains and tracks,” Best says. “We don’t know anything about model trains, so of course we loved the idea of him coming back to get it going again.” The train now circles the entire restaurant, from one room to another, just like it did years ago.
“What we love about this restaurant and this project is how much happiness it brings to people,” Benhamacht says. “It’s not just a restaurant, it’s a place where people grew up. People brought their kids here, and now those kids are bringing theirs — and they all want to see the Christmas lights. That’s why we decided to reopen it — it means so much to the community.”
Campo Verde, 2918 W. Pioneer Pkwy., Arlington, thecampoverde.com
