Gringo's Fresh Southwest

To pass judgment on Gringo's Fresh Southwest, one should take into account the other players on the same turf: Moe's and Barberito's.

We'd throw Chipotle into the mix, but Charleston is yet to gain one of the franchises. Can't be too far off, right?

So how does Gringo's rank on the Southwest scale? It's simple: uno, with Barberito's close behind.

The ingredients are super fresh, the skirt steak for the fajitas ($7.48) marinated and trimmed in-house every day. Same goes for the trio of salsas: black bean and corn, tomatillo, and a zippy, ripe tomato salsa, prepped daily too.

Gringo's ditches the pretense as well, sticking with the slogan "Kinda Sorta Mexicanish," while posting another sign above the kitchen: "Guaranteed not authentic." Very nice.

Maybe best of all, Gringo's manages to offer fine service without an annoying hospitality committee shouting hello to every patron. I get it, OK. I got it when the first person bid me welcome. I certainly got it after the third person said so ...

As for the Gringo's burritos, chicken, steak or veggie, they're heavy-duty, occasionally unable to fit within the aluminum foil wrappers. Assembled in front of you, choose from a myriad of free extras: tomato salsa, cheese, cilantro, diced red onion, cucumbers, black olives, banana peppers, sliced jalapenos, diced fresh jalapenos and hot sauce.

We tried one of the specials of the day, the "Brad Wilson": two soft-shell tacos with sauteed onions, chipotle sauce and a dash of Sriracha. We have no idea who Brad Wilson is, but we're admirers of his work.

We can say the same for Gringo's, run by Reggie Kinney and Tom and Vicki Walker, in the Market for Oakland Shopping Center in Mount Pleasant.

If you plan on trying a meal, might we suggest Feb. 4. Gringo's plans to donate 20 percent of its net sales to Haitian relief that day.

Gringo's

Address: 3050 South Morgans Point Road, Mount Pleasant.

Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sun.; 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat.

Phone: 606-2183.

Web: www.gringosfreshsouthwest.com.