Comments on: Dos Perros

By: TSQ75

TSQ75 — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 20:54:07 +0000

finally made it in for dinner the other night and was pleased.

starting out, salsa was yummy! chips were fresh.

I opted for the Duck enchiladas, seeming nice and simple and rustic. i was right. the duck meat was tender and flavorful, but not seasoned, which only accented the duck flavor. wrapped in soft corn tortillas with a mellow pumpkin seed sauce. they were not swimming in sauce or overflavored muck, and i could taste every ingredient.

the beans and rice that came with it were an unexpected treat. also simply seasoned, but soft and meaty. I noted that they were an heirloom variety shell bean…those shell beans make a plain little bean like butter….mmm

my other half opted for the Caldo Verde with seafood. warm and comforting, the broth tasted very bright and fresh (could have stood a tad bit more lime i think… seafood mix of squid, shrimp and mussels were fresh and every thing complemented eachother in the simplest way.

nicely done

By: squidproquo

squidproquo — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 19:20:59 +0000

Dos Perros is about to fall under my 3 strikes rule. Both times I’ve been there (once for lunch, once for dinner) it has been underwhelming. Actually, my lunch there on Wednesday was nothing short of bad. I had the braised beef burrito, and it came in an oddly sweet sauce that was most unpleasant. Also, I hate rice on my burritos–bland, cheap filler, and while they left it off when I asked, I kind of got a “look” (seriously, just make the darn thing smaller or throw some extra beans on, I love them and they’re almost as cheap). I guess I can appreciate that they’re using nopales in the salsa, but the taste/texture reminds me of slimy, overcooked green beans, which is especially bad when coupled with the fact that the chips were stone cold at both meals. The chips are also too thick and under-seasoned. I honestly can’t remember what my husband and I had when we went for dinner a few months ago, which is telling since I have a near perfect memory for good meals, even decades later. They get one more shot, then I’m afraid I’ll be staying at home for my version of braised beef burritos and saving expensive finer dining Mexican meals for when I can go to the near-perfect Oyamel in DC.

By: shawful

shawful — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:38:20 +0000

Last night I dined at Dos Perros without reservations. Luckily we were squeezed in by the very accommodating maitre d’. Unfortunately, the meal was just fair. There were some good points, but one item was particularly bad.
Complimentary chips and salsa were quite good. The house margarita was moderately strong and served in a short glass; it was o.k. In addition, the atmosphere was nice with pleasant décor and jazz on the stereo.
For appetizers my companion and I shared plantanos rellenos and sweet potato soup. Both of those dishes were pretty good.
She had the carne asada and it was tasty but too rare. The potatoes, similar to some that I often cook at home, were excellent. For the bad, My grouper was awfully fishy, bordering on inedible. The restaurant was very busy; it was 25 minutes between appetizer and entrée or the fish would have been sent back to the kitchen
Hopes were high for good authentic Mexican cuisine. Overall, the side items and flavors were respectable but they did not produce quality meat and fish. Sadly, the fish ruined the meal and my chances of returning are 50/50.

By: Beth1

Beth1 — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 02:19:31 +0000

Had dinner here tonight. Ordered a margarita that was mostly just limes and ice. Tortilla chips were good but the green sauce was nothing spectacular. Appetizer was the Platanos Rellenos – excellent. Trucha Rellena was wonderfully fresh but I didn’t see any shrimp in the filling. It was accompanied by rice which was tasty but a very small serving and stewed zucchini which was very good. For dessert I had the churros which were awful and nothing like the tasty ones they serve at Watts Grocery. Service was very good and our waiter attentive.

By: Tooth

Tooth — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:50:52 +0000

Regardless of taste, lets just all agree that the beans at Dos Perros are most certainly not prepared in a way that is conducive to their consumption in the presence of polite company. Especially when combined with a few beers.

By: sleepasaurus

sleepasaurus — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:31:48 +0000

Wow…the beans and rice were incredible when my wife and I went ( a week or so after opening). Smoky and spicy…probably my favorite part of the meal (I love beans). I wonder what the heck happened in the past few weeks.

By: TSQ75

TSQ75 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:52:29 +0000

Why do places so often fail at simple things like rice and beans? I grew up eating super flavorful beans, and just cant understand when I have a simple plate of rice and beans at a restaurant or eatery and they just have no flavor at all…are people just afraid to season them?

By: xilab

xilab — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:52:57 +0000

I also visited Dos Perros with a birthday group of 12 friends and was fairly underwhelmed. The service was excellent and well timed, and the food looked pleasant on the plates, but the food itself just didn’t make me say “wow”. I was really excited to try the plantain fritters. On paper, they are a perfect melding of sweet, creamy, tangy and fried. Unfortunately, the execution lacked either the salt or acidity necessary to make them sing.

For an entree, I had the mole poblano. The chicken itself was very delicious, but as LHG said, the rice and beans were a flavor vacuum on the plate. I also tried the mole amarillo, which was tasty, but unremarkable. The bite of chile relleno I had was very good, however, and this is a dish I usually dislike.

The drink menu is impressive, but at $9 a cocktail, it’s hard to convince oneself to sample more than one. From a business perspective, they might want to do a little market research and adjust the price. If the cocktails were $7, far more people would order at least two, leaving $5 more dollars on the table for the restaurant. Just a suggestion.

I would try Dos Perros again, but probably not soon.

By: enwiebe

enwiebe — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:56:43 +0000

Went to Dos Perros last night. We made reservations for 4 for 6:30 on a Friday and this quickly morphed into 6 people by the time we were seated and expanded to 8 within 15 minutes. The staff handled this very nicely. We were seated into their banquet/overflow space downstairs. Nice rustic feel and quieter than upstairs (once they turned the music down). I started with a cayenne and mango margarita that was only a dollar more than the house margarita. My wife and I decided it was definitely worth the extra money. I little heat, but not overwhelming. Our Tostadas de Ceviche was made with a somewhat strong fish but OK. The Ensalada de Sandia y Pepinos was served with an announced substitution–honeydew rather than watermelon–worked out fine. I appreciated the desire to substitute for what was fresh and available. We split the Pollo Rostizado con Papas y Rajas entree which was butterflied beautifully and cooked to perfection. Other folks at the table had the Tamal Oaxaqueno, Platanos Rellenos, Mole Poblano, Camarones al Ajillo, and Tikin Xic Pescado among other things. The friend who had the grouper was concerned it was undercooked. There was not enough light to really tell, so the waiter took it upstairs to check it out and deem it done. In fact, it ended up being a thick, but well-cooked piece.

Total bill for my wife and I with two drinks each was around $70. We are definitely heading back soon.

By: Vinay

Vinay — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:54:11 +0000

Used to be regulars at Jujube when we were living closer to Chapel Hill, so we were really excited to hear about Dos Perros here in Durham. Reading the great reviews on this site, we went for dinner last night and the experience was awesome. We had reservations for 8:30 but had to change it to 9 due to a car breakdown and the hostess was really nice and accommodating and we immediately were seated on arrival at 9. Place was packed, lively and I really love the decor. Great job. It just seems so full of life. People here have talked about the fritters and other food stuff which is all true. The slow cooked Pork is a must have there. Extremely tender and my “Pseudo” Vegetarian wife loved it. So coming to the Desserts, all of them are steals at 4$. They were out of Rice pudding unfortunately so we tried the Lime and Jalapeno SOrbet and the Vanilla Flan. The Flan was really good, creamy and delicious. The sorbet is unlike anything I have had before. We were little hesitant initially but all doubts were gone after the 1st bite. It is spicy and has some poblano in it too but it is really Juicy, tangy, spicy, sweet refreshing and a person can easily just keep having it. Great job on this unique flavor. Our waitress was great, service was awesome and everything was as great as expected. Good job Charlie and Co.