03.30.10
Review of Dos Toros Taqueria, Thursday February 2010
137 4th Ave. & 13th St., 212-677-7300
Great for: Mexican in Union Square, eating standing up, well-executed meat
I thought the Boyfriend would be delighted I was willing to eat Mexican – he was fairly happy with the food here, just not the price. He feels Chipotle is a slightly better value. Considering they get Niman Ranch pork and other high-quality ingredients over there, I sort of agree. Dos Toros only specifies the source of its chicken. They do pack the tacos super full of meat but the tacos are quite tiny. And, of course, the waiting would drive me crazy. We got lucky and snagged seats and service immediately.
I tried all three tacos – carnitas (pork), pollo asado and carne asada. The shells are very crispy, though not after they’re overstuffed with the super juicy meat. Seriously, I could barely open my mouth wide enough. I really enjoyed them. The accompanying veggies are fresh and crispy. I’d say three tacos is ample; I probably would have been ok with just two. I was a little annoyed the guy didn’t tell me they charge extra for guacamole, and just slyly asked, “Would you like some guac?” B liked his steak quesadilla, which tasted a bit different from my steak taco, in a toasty nutty way. It was a good size, maybe a bit on the small side.
They make a big deal about doing a whole sustainable thing, which is a gimmick as far as I’m concerned, since it is merely smart business practice, but you can feel good about eating here. The place is tiny. You’ll almost certainly need to have your food to go. It might be nice before movies at the Regal, especially in the summer.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Our cost: $25 (3 tacos, 1 quesadilla, a mango Jarritos)
Noise level: loud
Chance of walking in: there is a curb outside that you can sit on, though I’d walk the extra few blocks to the park.
