I’m a raised Cali girl and at heart Mexican food is part of my being. However, in New York and the East coast — good Mexican food is hard to come by. So I’m on a journey to bring you some of my top picks in New York and starting off with the unique upscale styles of Dos Caminos, the menu is specially curated by Chef Ivy Stark. They are voted #1 in the city and for all the good reasons. Here are my top 6 favorites at this gem:

On my journey to Dos Caminos in the Meatpacking district I was delighted at the variety of choices on the menu. I brought along some of WtD’s staff and our doosts! I’ll introduce them later…

➊ The Drinks!

I arrived a few minutes early and decided to wait at the table starting off with a drink and appetizer — I figured the crowd would be happy to arrive to my smiling face and guacamole — I was right!

I started with the Partida from their Smoke & Spicy tequila selection — neat — recommended by our server, Anthony Sagaria.

I switched it up throughout the night with one of their sweeter drinks as well as their famous margarita pear with salt on the rim! All great recommendations from our server.

When the rest of the WtD staff and doosts arrived it was time to celebrate!

➋ Guacamole & their Ceviches — so many different types:

I love appetizers — especially when they are flavorful and light because I don’t want to spoil my appetite. The entree is the main dish to look forward to so why stuff yourself with fried heavy food before hand?

The guacamole is a winner here! You got your options of traditional as well as a few options to make yours unique. There’s shrimp, chorizo, bacon, and more! I chose the spicy CHAPULINES (OAXACAN GRASSHOPPERS), PASILLA OAXACA CHILES — I wasn’t sure what the entire list of ingredients were, but our server reassured me that this is a crowd favorite — he was right!

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Their ceviche bar is fantastic! I ordered the RED SNAPPER DE LA CALLE, a classic lime marinade, serrano chiles, tomato, green olives, and cilantro. I made Heather, founder of AichG, who doesn’t like seafood try it, and she admitted it was a delightful flavor. Seriously!? This place got a no seafood lover to enjoy seafood — YES that happened! Why? Because of the quality — real fish isn’t suppose to taste like fish oils — and this dish had all the right flavors to accommodate the red snapper.

I also recommend getting the DOS CAMINOS BOCADITO TRIO so you get to try a little bit of everything, two pieces each: chicken taquitos, baja lobster tostaditas, and plantain empanadas. I loved this because I got to try a small portion of all the fatty foods I love so much and with great quality it’s really all you need.

This place probably served my favorite appetizers I’ve had in the city — well done!

➌ Unique Quesadillas and Tacos!

MUST GET: The OAXACAN-STYLE SHRIMP QUESADILLA — it’s completely unique and sits on a delicious open-faced crispy tortilla, with chile-marinated shrimp, Mexican cheeses, smoked wild mushrooms, and oven-dried tomatoes. This was one of the absolute favorites at the table. I think we had 3 of them!

The tacos were, well — mesmerizing! We ordered the TOUR DE TACOS — which came with two of each: asada, carnitas, pescado & pollo tacos! I love most how packed each taco was with meat, flavor, and good quality. It really makes a difference.

 The tacos were a favorite amongst us all!

WtD photographer Treeva Royes is a vegetarian, so we made sure to fill the table with lots of options for her to enjoy as well. Treeva had the vegetarian tacos which were packed with roasted butternut squash, avocado, pinto beans, salsa verde cruda, and queso fresco.

➍ Side Dishes — Corn Bread — Mac n’ Cheese with Spicy Jalapeno & Chorizo — Plantains!

Soooo I’ve never raved so much about side dishes until now — at Dos Caminos, side dishes are your friends! Seriously — the cornbread comes cooked in a skillet with a thinly sliced block of butter, everything about this is delicious. It’s so good I had to move it to the other side of the table, yet I still ate it all — no shame! I loved the sweet flavor to it and the chunks of corn.

The mac n’ cheese was flavored with chorizo and jalapeno — do I need to say more? Oh wait, yes I do — the plantains reminded me of that island Caribbean life I miss so much!

➎ Service & Ambiance

Thanks to our wonderful server — yes he made the list — Anthony Sagaria we had an excellent experience. But the service didn’t end just there — manager e helped accommodate us and Chef Ivy Stark’s menu creation is a must try experience! The staff has made every experience of mine there personable. Big thanks to Brian Davis for going above and beyond.

➏ Underground at Troy — Happy Hour too

If you happen to be in the Meatpacking district location, downstairs is another world of adventure. They keep their hidden treasure — a nightlife scene perfect for big groups and small ones looking for fun! They have a pool table with a pretty epic life-sized horse — and a football table.

 

Special thanks to Treeva Roys for the photography ♡ Heather Ashley and Sheena from AichG for always making magic happen ♡ WtD’s writer and model Rain Dove ♡ Farrah Krenek — from Orange is the New Black — welcome to the team!

Thank you Dos Caminos for the experience! For their locations click here.

 

 

This post was sponsored by Dos Caminos ║ Opinions are my own