Downtown Durham, NC
Durham Social Media Supper Club Site
Dos Perros Website
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Charlie Deal’s restaurants, with Jujube being my favorite in the area. Dos Perros is also a great restaurant with takes on standard Mexican dishes that never fail to make my mouth water. So for the last social media supper club a few weeks’ back, I didn’t hesitate to suggest Dos Perros for brunch. I hadn’t tried it for brunch – heck, I hadn’t been out to brunch forever – and a hankering for chilaquiles played no small role in my recommendation. Brian and Mandy were quick to agree, and it was set! Dos Perros for brunch with two tables of our closest foodie friends was on the agenda.
That’s an attractive group of food enthusiasts, no? As always, we had a great time conversing with friends now and old while we chowed down on chips and salsa and drained our various alcoholic beverages. All four of us at my table who tried the Green Mary, a twist on the standard, found it very refreshing.
It’s made with salsa verde ingredients rather than Bloody Mary’s tomato centric ones. Tomatillos, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime do wonders to jazz up a brunch classic. With my drink firmly in hand, I then dove into the sweet potato empanadas.
Gorgeous color, no? The fig-chile paste beneath them was smoky, adding a nice depth to the empanadas. the empanadas themselves had a great texture but not quite enough flavor to make me wish I had more. After them, I moved on to my chilaquiles – you didn’t think I was going to order anything else, did you?
Yum, yum. If you are unfamiliar with chilaquiles, they are essentially tortilla strips slathered in a tomato sauce and covered with cheese. That all gets baked together, creating a delightful mushy mass of flavors. However, when I saw my plate, I cringed, because I’d forgotten to ask for those eggs to be cooked completely through – gooey eggs are so not my thing. Yet in this case, I actually didn’t mind them! They just added a richness to the mush that improved the dish all-around. I could eat chilaquiles every day and die happy.
My husband opted for the Hangover Burrito, packed full of more protein than I could over shove in my mouth at one time; eggs, steak, chorizo, and ham shared space with rice and beans
He enjoyed it. The female half of bloggers RDU Gonna Eat That? opted for the pork chile verde, a giant pile of pork stewed with tomatillos and poblanos and complimented by black beans and rice.
She was very, very happy with it and the portion size was ridiculously huge. It would take a dedicated eater to clear that plate.
Of course, I couldn’t just have one drink, so I opted for the Maria Clara.
That gorgeous drink is made with pico de gallo, silver tequila, and citrus juice – pink grapefuit with perhaps a splash of orange would be my guess. My first thought on drinking it was an appreciation of the delicate flavor of the pico de gallo mixing effortless with the citrus . . . until the salt took over. Man, that was a salty drink! To be fair, I have a low tolerance for salt. I much prefer the other flavors in a dish or drink speak for themselves rather than get more than a teeny boost from salt. Of course, that’s why I’m not a chef and simply a diner. If you enjoy salt and light tomato flavors combining with tequila, then definitely give the Maria Clara a try.
As we were winding down, plates of complimentary churros with a dark chocolate dipping sauce appeared on our tables. What a pleasant and delicious surprise!
They were fantastic, and I’m 99% sure the novelty of free food did not coat my taste buds with easy appreciation. I’ve always loved churros, but there were easily the best I’ve had. Great cinnamon sugar, great crunch, great warmth, and great texture. I’d honestly never thought to dip churros in chocolate before, and I think it should always come together, like pretzels with a side of cheese.
Thanks for having us, Dos Perros! And lovely to see so many SMSC regulars as well as meeting a few new faces, including Toriano (@torilabuenavida) whose running a great blog on foods of the Triangle and the globe. Make sure you check it out!
