Eatery - Dos Perros (NC)

200 N Mangum St, Durham, NC 27701
Pricing - $$$ | Dining - Casual | Cuisine - Mexican | Reservations - Available 

I'd give the place more stars if only it weren't so expensive! Luckily my friend and I went on Monday night which was apparently their Monday Taco Night. Granted, the tacos were street taco sized but their prices were better than trying to get the $18 entrees. Of course, this also tricked us into thinking we could get a lot more things but eventually it racked up to a little over $30 per person. Overall a great place to get South-inspired Mexican food and if you have money!

The starter was a bowl of jalapeno salsa with house-made chips (I believe they were house-made). I'm weak when it comes to spicy stuff so I just dipped the corners of my chips in to get the flavor of the salsa without much kick. The sore in my mouth made it hard to eat very much of this considering how sharp tortilla chip pieces are. It was good though.

Their drink menu was impressive but we figured that we ought to try some new things. I originally ordered their Watermelon Sangria but they were out of something some I went with the Dos Perros Royale, a delicious blend of Hornitos Plata tequila, house-made hibiscus syrup, and sparkling wine (their tequila menu was HUGE!). It was like a stronger champagne - I liked it a lot! 

The appetizers all came out pretty quickly after we ordered them. They were all good in their own right. The first were the sweet cheese and jalapeno-stuffed plantain fritters with Oaxacan cream and salsa. The plantains were the real show and ripe to the right point. They made it impossible to think that the jalapenos were spicy and the crispy shell was spot on. The cream and salsa made a nice refreshing touch to an otherwise possibly heavy appetizer. Second to be tried was the marinated cactus salad with tomato, avocado, and house-made chicharones. I avoided the avocado in general but everything else was delicious. The cactus was crunchy but slimy on the inside (a little hard to chew) and the chicharones were small and crisp. I liked the tangy, sour dressing that was on the salad! Last of the appetizers were the sweet potato empanadas with chipotle, fig sauce. They were awesome; the pastry shell was crunchy in all the right places and the slices of sweet potato appropriate. It tasted like there were also onions inside. We both really enjoyed the slightly spicy fig sauce as it complemented the sweet potato well without being overbearing.

My entree was a taco of chicken with cilantro and lime and a taco of chorizo, nopales (prickly pear cactus), and onion. The chicken was pretty good but not mindblowing. The chorizo was different from what I've seen before, and it was grilled to a good texture. I enjoyed the meat itself too but wasn't sure how well it fit with the cactus since that one was slimy. The onion made the taco fresh-tasting as well and the additional tomato and slaw on the side helped with it all.