Comments on: Los Portales (Southpoint)

By: MarcusRC

MarcusRC — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 21:00:07 +0000

I have eaten at Los Portales twice now and thought it was EXCELLENT both times. So nice to see a menu that doesn’t offer all the same things you are used to seeing at the other mexican restaurant chains. The food was great, service was fine and there are sitll some items on the menu that I want to go back and try…

By: judas_escargot

judas_escargot — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:16:53 +0000

The tacos weren’t too bad at Los Portales. Better selection of meats than what you generally find at other ‘mainstream’ restaurants. My only complaint would be lack of salsa for the tacos, but you could probably get some on request. I haven’t really tried any of the typical fare yet.

Definitely some quality control issues with the new Chubby’s at Woodcroft but it’s a new location so I imagine a lot of this stuff will get worked out soon…

The burrito al pastor I got last night seemed like it was all trimmings. If that’s the way it always is, as Tooth mentions, then I’m not quite sure what they’re going for there. Was interesting to say the least.

By: LM

LM — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 01:59:06 +0000

Wow! You guys are pretty harsh..not a whole lot of Christmas spirit going around! I’ve enjoyed the reviews lately – they have hit very nicely on newer options around Durham and revamped old favorites. I have tried out several of the last places highlighted in the past few posts and enjoyed them. Stop being such snobs and lighten up..yeesh!

By: Petey Pablo

Petey Pablo — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:49:28 +0000

I’ll second your pork-post, Tooth – though the pupusa I had there last night was quite good.
To be clear, Chubby’s is not up to the standards of La Vaquita or Los Comales, to name two, but – if you’re in the area, it’s a nice option to have.

By: Tooth

Tooth — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:17:24 +0000

Chubby’s is okay for what it is, but it seems that they don’t trim their pork cuts very well. I’ve consistently found their al pastor to have more fat and gristle in it than any other area taco stand.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:49:03 +0000

I was underwhelmed by Los Portales in my one visit. The decor is interesting in a over-the-top sort of way, but the food wasn’t even as good as Torero’s and the people there weren’t friendly. Plus, you have to pay extra for pico de gallo — the horror!

Chubby’s is now open in Woodcroft (I ate there last night, 12/9) and I definitely prefer it for the street food items (tacos, tortas, etc). The tacos were tacqueria good (especially the tinga), the salsa bar was a big plus, and the fried plaintains for dessert were nice.

By: Petey Pablo

Petey Pablo — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:09:39 +0000

Have tried Los Portales on three occasions, found it ranged from adequate to a bit below average. Standard small chain fare, for my taste – a bit bland. If you want to go with Americanized fare, try Bandidos one exit west down I-40 (they’re pretty good for what they are, for my money – two or three steps up from El Rodeo and several more from Torero’s) or, if you want something taqueria stype, hit 3 Hermanas one exit to the east or Chubby’s (also one exit west). [To say nothing of La Vaquitas or Los Comales, which are both excellent, or Tonali or Dos Perros or El Cuscatleco (here, stick w/ the non-Mexican items), or many others which are good but elsewhere in the city.]

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Meta note: While I’ll add my name to the chorus of wishing that there were more or more funky entries of late, I don’t mind the S.Durham focus, as that’s where I live.

By: LHG

LHG — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:00:28 +0000

AJ, for me, personally, it is a time thing. When I was a student with a more flexible schedule I had tons of time to venture out and explore and what have you. But working kind of cuts down on exploratory times, especially when one works late nights and occasional weekends. I’d love to provide the service of venturing out off the beaten/eaten path to eat, but I barely have enough time to get home and cook myself dinner before 9:00. I assume other writers have similar quandaries.

I work in the Brightleaf area, therefore I review restaurants that are nearby. Additionally, I live in Chapel Hill, so if I’m eating out in the evenings it tends to be in that area and, alas, this is not Carpe Chapel Hill. If I were a full time food writer like Sam Sifton and co., I’d be venturing like it were my job, because it would be. Alas, this is not (though a food writer is one of the top five dream jobs ever, I would say!).

By: Nando

Nando — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:29:01 +0000

My wife and I went to dinner here about a month ago. The menu wasn’t bad, but the food was pretty boring. I like to try different aspects of the meny and thus ordered a meal plus a taco on the side. I asked for a beef cheek taco at first. The waiter came back and told me that they wouldn’t sell me just one, that I had to purchase three (the menu had individual tacos listed for $1.50, I believe). So I asked if I could get the beef tongue or taco al pastor instead. He returned a few minutes late and said that those three must be ordered as a meal, which include 3 tacos. He said he could only sell individual regular (i.e. beef) or chicken tacos. So I asked that he remove the taco from my order as I wasn’t interested in trying a “regular” taco.

My wife ordered the carne asada. The steak was overly thin, overcooked, and too salty. Her rice and beans were very tasty, tho. I ordered the chicken mole. The mole sauce wasn’t the worst I’ve had, but it wasn’t the best, either. It was middle of the road. My problem was that the chicken wasn’t cooked in the mole sauce, as you would expect. Instead, I got a grilled chicken breast that had been cut up, put on the plate, and then the mole sauce was poured over it. The problem with this is that the mole sauce doesn’t actually penetrate and flavor the chicken. I was very dissatisfied. The rice and beans were good and the avocado tasted a bit watered down.

All in all, I believe in giving a place a second chance but I just haven’t had a chance to return. When I do, tho, I’ll be ordering one of the taco plates (probably the beef cheek one).

By: MEZ

MEZ — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:39:40 +0000

Points taken — I know I’ve gotten out less myself for budgetary reasons and when I have, it’s been to new places that I’ve seen a lot of buzz for, which tend to be upscale. Los Portales (not upscale), in particular, I hit up because a bunch of people had brought it up in the forums and in the old Los Portales review. So that’s just how I’ve skewed in places I’ve hit up this fall, which happens to be when I started cross-posting here as well as my blog (of course, same time when the creators moved away as well). I’m going to start a forum post for suggestions of spots to hit up later tonight, too, so us contributors can get some more suggestions from ya’ll about places you’d like to see reviewed.

Apologies to you, DBB, for coming off harsh. Claims that all areas of Durham aren’t Durham Proper or that Durham citizens in various regions don’t actually check out the other parts of town is a sore spot of mine.