Facing the hotel I was staying at, Hyatt Union Square, is a small place that I've passed in front of for the last week on a daily basis. From lunch till midnight hundreds of customers gathered here to eat, so why not give this place a try? Mexican food, the street food way, prepared very quickly and, most importantly, offering a tasty end result.
A small shop welcomes you on Union Square. Wood covers it all in a setup that feels Mexican, funky and a bit trashy, but without being dirty. At the end of this tiny shop is the kitchen behind a counter where four employees fill plates and sandwiches. Start on the left for the order where the plate or sandwich takes shape filled with beans, rice and vegetables. Meat, chicken or pork follow before it's wrapped or covered. The last step is the cashier.
The menu:
- Burrito
- Plate
- Taco
- Quesadilla
The choices:
- Meat
- Pork
- Chicken
- Basic vegetarian
The prices are between $3 and $9 each.
Dos Toros brings you a local taqueria offering simple Mexican food using the best of ingredients. The beans are cooked in-house, the meat is slow braised for hours and everything in the shop is recycled. The good quality is clearly felt and seen.
To have a complete idea, and especially after the deceiving experience I had at Chipotle, I ordered one of each. A plate, a burrito sandwich and a taco.
Some notes:
- The food is presented on red plastic plates which are washed afterwards.
- The restaurant is small, with lots of wood offering a cozy ambiance.
- The staff is busy and not too welcoming, kind of overwhelmed.
- Red adds a touch of strength to the place.
- Mirrors on the right side make the place look twice the size.
- Four tables and a couple of high tables fill in the place with a bar at street level blending in with the neighborhood.
- Nine employees take care of the restaurant.
- Behind the staff the menu hanging from above displays the choices.
- A Mexican style restaurant that looks like a neighborhood bar or pub.
The food:
- I loved the food, its freshness, rich flavors, equilibrated spiciness and textures. I enjoyed the quality of their bread and its chewiness, as well as the perfectly marinated chicken, meat and pork. The beans are exceptional and rice well cooked. The best part is that the many things that are added to this sandwich are well balanced, unlike at Chipotle where the ingredients departed from the sandwich; one bite had guacamole, another had sour cream or the hard rice. I was positively surprised with everything I had.
If you want my opinion on Chipotle or Dos Toros, I'll surely choose this one.
