Taco Tuesday! Dorado Tacos and Cemitas

Dorado Tacos and Cemitas

Last month, in a what I still consider to be an example of good old fashioned food karma, I won a year's worth of tacos from Dorado Tacos and Cemitas (holy guacamole huh?).  The thought of a year's worth of tacos launched me into full out jumping up and down, fists blazing and pumping, screaming "YESSS!" and acting similar to the way someone who just won the lottery would act.  Continuing my excitement, (although I had managed to get the fist-pumping under control) I headed directly to Dorado Tacos to claim my prize.

While I was about half way there, I began to get curious about these tacos.  "Boston just doesn't do tacos well", I tried to reason with myself, not wanting to get my hopes up too high just to be let down by a year's worth of lackluster food. I debated what these tacos would be like all the way to the entrance and I paused under the rustic, yet still very modern silver "Dorado" sign that boldly hung above the doorway to examine the exterior before entering.  To my left, there was a little chalkboard easel displaying the day's specials and welcoming me in.  A little further down on my left there were also some brightly colored tables and chairs that lined the sidewalks and invited taco-eaters to sit down for a good long session of people watching.   Walking into the restaurant, I was intrigued by this new little spot and was thrilled to pieces that I had a year's worth of reasons to go back.  And to think I hadn't even gotten to the food!  Sometimes you just have that sort of feeling about a place.

Dorado Tacos and Cemitas

The restaurant itself is small, seating only about 25 - 30.  The walls are cheery and painted day-glow hues of blue, orange and yellow and it's the small details like clocks set to both Brookline and Ensenada (that's in Mexico..thanks Google!), the illuminating Corona signs and  the Mexican sodas sitting on a bed of ice that make experience of eating here give you the sudden urge to kick up your flip flops and tune your iPod over to some Bob Marley.

Aguas Frescas

Come, sit, have a taco

Getting to the food, hesitant taco eaters fear not!  Simply put, the tacos are awesome.  I've had all of the vegetable and meat tacos on the menu and my favorite are chicken and portabello tacos.  The chicken is thinly sliced into bite-sized strips and rests atop a cushion of smoky hot habanero salsa that is topped little dots of queso fresco (a type of cheese) and then hugged in a warm, soft corn tortilla.  On the other hand, the portabello taco is tastefully marinated with spicy chile and garlic and served wrapped up with salsa fresca and cotija cheese.  (Both of these items come with guacamole and avocados, respectfully, but because I'm not a huge fan of either, I got it without.  Bonus points for accommodating my likes with no problem).

When you get the Mexican plate (and I recommend that you do) you also receive a portion of tender Mexican rice (which is really quite hard to make well) and a side of well-seasoned black beans.  When there, I usually order a glass of their watermelon agua fresca which really just tastes like summer in a glass.  Fresh, sweet watermelon, refreshing lemon and a hint of mint.  It compliments the spicy food real well.  The best part?  All of this will set you back a whopping six bucks (a little more if you get the watermelon agua fresca) and because all of their food is made fresh, you won't leave feeling grossed out from processed foods.

Taco Platter: Chicken and Spicy Portobello with Rice and Beans and Watermelon Agua Fresca

Mexican Rice

Taco Platter: Chicken and Spicy Portobello with Rice and Beans

Speaking of freshly made, I was lucky enough to get an invite to steal a little peek of their kitchen and I was impressed.  It turns out I'm not the only one with a Small Boston Kitchen!

A sneak peek into the kitchen

While they might be churning out lots of food with little room to work, the real impressive part to me was the fact that everything is made fresh.  As I poked around the kitchen, two of the employees were off to side.  One was gutting avacados for the guacamole and one was squeezing limes...by hand.

Fresh Lime Juice

So, if you haven't made it over to Dorado Tacos and Cemitas yet, just do it.  It isn't often we Boston folks get the gift of authentic and freshly made tacos.  Fair warning though, you might find yourself getting hooked..