Monday - August 3, 2010

Dos Segundos

305.629.0500

931 N 2nd Street

Philadelphia, Pa 19123


Check out the Menu!

This afternoon, my family and I spent the day in center city Philadelphia viewing the Cleopatra exhibit at the Franklin Institute. The exhibit was really great, but in all honesty, I was just excited to eat at my favorite Philly restaurant, North Third, on our way home. You see, tonight was a “last supper” of sorts for me because I am having my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow. Thus, I have spent my entire day trying to enjoy all of my favorite foods before being sentenced to a week’s diet of apple sauce and ice cream...the very thought of which I find depressing. When I asked my friend Jennifer if she had any advice for my impending tooth extraction, she replied, “sure, if there is anything at all that you really want to eat…eat it, and eat it NOW!” So for my final meal, I knew that I wanted the succulent roasted chicken breast with rosemary jus and garlic mashed potatoes from North Third restaurant and bar. However, when we arrived at the eclectic gastropub located in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia, we were told—much to my dismay—that the kitchen didn’t open until 5 O’clock. We had to come up with a new game plan for our early dinner, and so we headed down the block to a popular little Mexican spot my mom noticed on her last trip to Northern Liberties. For those of you who don’t regularly follow my blog (shame on you!), my plan B is always Mexican. I am just infatuated with the spicy and bold flavors that Mexican food has to offer, and I find that it is often a pretty safe bet. I mean, it’s rather difficult to screw up fried, spicy, cheesy, salty food…those adjectives alone make my mouth water.

We found our way to Cantina Dos Segundos and after just a brief look at the menu, I had completely forgot about my dreamy roast chicken dish and was now looking forward to some crispy nachos and salsa verde! To drink, we ordered a large pitcher of Red Sangria, which was only 5 dollars! That’s right, a pitcher of Sangria for a staggering $5. I guess the perk to eating dinner at senior hour, is that it is usually also still happy hour! The Sangria was so good that we actually asked for the recipe, which was sadly kept from us. We then ordered Chicken Nachos as an appetizer, which were served with roasted corn, pickled jalapenos, black beans, pico de gallo, crema, and melted cheese. I am not kidding when I say that these were the best nachos that I have ever tasted. The chicken, which was all white meat, was shredded and stewed in a spicy tomato sauce that had incredible flavor, and there was plenty of it on the nachos. One thing is for sure, Dos Segundos is not stingy on their nachos toppings, and every nacho has equal topping opportunity (a.k.a you don’t get 5 delicious topped nachos on top and then a bunch of plain, soggy, nachos underneath...is that not the worst?!). Best of all, this huge and beautiful nacho platter (elegantly drizzled with crema) is only $6 for a small and $10 for a large. You have the option to top it with chicken, steak, or vegan beef. I’m not really sure what vegan beef is—it sounds like an oxy moron in my opinion, but I highly recommend the chicken!!

For the main course, I ordered the Chicken Quesadilla, with achiote chicken, poblano peppers, roasted corn, queso fresco, and guacamole. It was a little salty for my liking, but none-the-less delicious and a perfect portion size. I topped it with the incredible Salsa Verde that was brought out at the beginning of the meal with the starter chips, and the flavor combinations were just awesome.

My father ordered the Puerco en Salsa Verde, which was braised pork shoulder, tomatillo, avocado leaf, and epazote salsa served with a side of pinto beans, white rice, and stewed zucchini topped with queso fresco. We all agreed that this unique dish was the best at the table. The pork was so tender and the zucchini tasted like it was stewed in the same amazing tomato sauce as the nacho chicken.

In fact, my mom loved the chicken nachos so much that she ordered them as her entrée too! My sister on-the-other-hand, ordered the Alas de Pollo, which were fried chicken wings coated in a red chile and bacon pipian salsa, served with celery sticks and a homemade blue cheese ranch dipping sauce! I’m not a big fan of wings because of the bones, but everyone seemed to enjoy them.

Overall, this place was fabulous and a great value. The appetizers were huge portions sizes that were suitable as entrees and all of the food was flavorful, fresh, and homemade. You can absolutely tell that there are Mexican’s cooking the food in the kitchen because it is so authentic. I wish that this place was in Miami so that I could enjoy it more often, but I will definitely be back when I am in the Philly area again. It is a must try place.

Wednesday - July 28, 2010

Taco Rico

305.663.3200

473 South Dixie Hwy

Coral Gables, FL 33146

Check out the Menu!

In my previous post I was pretty rough on La Taqueria Mexicano, and I mentioned the incredibly delicious Taco Rico as a better alternative for Mexican food. I think now would be a good time to tell you why Taco Rico is without doubt my favorite place for Mexican food, and there are several reasons including; the value, the portions, the simplicity, and the mouth-watering food, of course! The only thing Taco Rico doesn’t have is décor—but fine dining and Mexican food seem like a contradiction, so the vinyl table cloths don’t bother me one bit.

Taco Rico is nothing to look at from the road— in fact, I drove past it for 2 years without it ever catching my eye. It was my boyfriend who noticed the place one day (on our way to Chipotle) and suggested that we give it a try. But I had my sights set on a chicken burrito from Chipotle, and since I was in hungry monster mode (a.k.a. fee-fi-fo-fum) I contested the idea and put up a fight. However, he was driving and so he had the final say…you know how this ends. He swung a quick U-turn and told me that we needed to try something new for a change, and thus that was the day that I lost my Taco Rico virginity.

We walked in, placed our order, and then helped ourselves to a basket of homemade tortilla chips and the salsa bar. That’s right, a salsa bar! For those of you who don’t know, “foodies” are by nature condiment people—people who love to dip, spread, dallop, and drizzle their food with all sorts of sauces and toppings. I am a “foodie,” so when I saw this salsa bar, my heart literally skipped a beat. Of course, I felt the need to sample every salsa, but I sampled no further after discovering the Chipotle Salsa. One taste of this smoky, spicy, flavorful sauce and I was literally fantasizing about all of the things I could put it on. I kept thinking on burgers…on chicken…on steak…on veggies…on a spoon…heck, on anything!!! I was like a little kid who has just discovered ketchup and wants to put it on everything imaginable. This chipotle salsa is just ridiculous, and could make anything taste delicious in my opinion. As I was still moaning over the salsa, our appetizer was brought to the table—Loaded Chicken Nachos, which were topped with chicken, refried beans, jack cheese, guacamole, sour cream, jalapenos, and diced tomatoes. I poured some chipotle salsa over the top and got to work on the mountain of spicy, salty, bliss. About half way through the nachos (which were amazing), the waiter came over to our table and informed us that we had ordered more food than could fit on a two-top table. He suggested that my boyfriend and I move to a four-top table to accommodate all of the plates. In this situation, a normal person would feel embarrassed. I, on the other hand, got so excited for the feast that was apparently coming to our table! Within just a few minutes plates were piled up on our table. I had ordered the Chicken Fajitas and my boyfriend ordered the Steak Quesadilla. My chicken came out on a sizzling iron skillet with sautéed green peppers, caramelized onions, and tomatoes. I was also given a basket of warm flour tortillas and platter with all the fixin’s, which included; Spanish rice, refried beans, sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, and jack cheese. The chicken was all white meat and seasoned to perfection, not to mention sizzling hot! The fajitas are still my favorite thing on the menu so far. My boyfriend’s quesadilla took up the circumference of the entire plate, and was filled with not just meat and cheese, but veggies too. It was then topped with guacamole, sour cream, and tomatoes. It was toasted to perfection with crisp golden edges, and the cheese was smooth and melted.

The food at Taco Rico is delicious, not too oily, and a great value. You pay $10 for a super satisfying, made-to-order, meal. You must try this place, if you are not already a loyal customer. I must admit that my boyfriend and I pass on Chipotle for Taco Rico all the time now…and you will too!