Girls Night - Midweek Mexican

It's only Tuesday, but I was desperately in need of a drink by noon on Tuesday. NOT a good sign. Luckily, I had plans to meet one of my best childhood friends for dinner. Where, might you ask might two lovely ladies decide to go on a real spring evening? Why mexican, of course!

Spicy foods dind't always appeal to me. I remember when I first tried wasabi...well, should I say tried? More like tried to try. Didn't happen. Now, however, I crave spice! Spice up my life! This girl is not afraid of a jalapeno or two. Teaspoon of wasabi? Bring it on. So, when my Texan friend raved about a place with super spicy mexican, my ears immediately perked up. Where? Los Dos Molinos, she said. I decided I've gotta go!

Los Dos Molinos is a small place located along 18th Street, between Park and Irving. Of course, the day today was utterly springlike, so I left my office a little early to buy me time to walk along Gramercy Park on my way down to dinner. Between the cherry blossom fragrances, and the lush greenery all around, I was quite relaxed and happy by the time I arrived.

Sarah and I sat down to dinner, and were immediately greeted by the waitress bearing chips and salsa - yay! Now, too many chips can sometimes leave my tummy upset (um, hellooo fried foods I hardly eat you!), but there was something about these chips that was so good and easy on the tummy. Unless it was that darn red salsa that came along with them? It's funny - when I think of salsa, I think of the chunky Tostitos stuff, or even chunky tomato salsas. Los Dos', however, was a real spicy chili sauce. Not chunky, but - whoa - there was some smoke in there. The chips also came with a green salsa. Not sure what the difference in ingredients were here, but while the red was lighter in texture and smokier in flavor, the green was more sprightly, tangy in taste.

Nibbling on chips, we soon decided on what kind of margarita we wanted. Ever since I went to Cilantro on the Upper East Side last year, I've kind of been hooked on frozen margaritas. Usually, I'm a "Up, with Salt" girl. However, there are some pretty good frozen margaritas in NYC. Just a couple of weeks ago, a co-worker and I had a blast at Zocalo in Grand Central drinking blood orange frozen margaritas, and polishing off a basket of chips. Nutritious? No. Good for the soul? Oh yeah.

By the time our "large" (Kid you not!) margaritas arrived, we had decided on what to get: some guacamole and chips, and then a Chicken Enchilada for Sarah, and a Carne Adovada Burro for me. We'd seen how large the dishes were here, and figured with our petite appetites, and the guac, this would be just right.

Our guacamole came out, and it looked oh so good. I dug in to the creamy, green goodess. It was colder and creamier than most guacamoles I've had. Analyzing what was in my mouth, I decided there was little additional seasoning (adulturants?): no onion, no lime, no garlic. A bit of salt. Thank goodness our entrees were speedy coming out, because I needed to stop inhaling the guacamole. Clearly, simple can be better!

And, for the record? The single enchiladas/burros/tacos make the PERFECT sized weeknight meal! It was actually BIG! I can't imagine what the actual dinners looked like. Sarah loved her enchilada - spicy, but not lacking sauce at all. A good thing. My burro came with a bit of salad, and some melted cheese on top. The pork was SO good. Simple, no additional veggies. But flavorful. And for spice? What was everyone talking about? Only the red salsa was hot to me...there was no heat in my dinner. Hmm.

Overall, good food, and good spice. I'd come back again...but maybe for the margs and chips only. Or to split the enchilada dinner with the fried egg...I'm kind of curious what that is like. When I eat mexican, I like to have smaller portions, a little more innovative, and maybe some more veggies in my dish - like Hecho en Dumbo. I ate there with friends a week ago and pleasantly surprised!!