Guess what we had for dinner on Cinco de Mayo?
I know it’s totally cliché (but I don’t really care). Kyle’s been talking Dos Coyotes up since we moved to Davis and I figured the 5th of May was as good a time as any to try it out. Plus, Kyle had been out of town and was due to arrive home in the early evening that day. So not only was the fridge close to empty in terms of fresh groceries, but his welcome home was also worth celebrating.
But really, who needs an excuse to eat Mexican food?
Kyle picked up the grub after we phoned in our order. I told him to get lots of yummy salsa…
And apparently he took the request very seriously. My salsa. 🙂
The weird kermit colored green one was bizarre tasting. I think it was cactus. No me gusta. But the other green one was bomb.com delish. It was kinda sweet which sounds weird but it was definitely my favorite. I gave Kyle a taste, but dumped the rest of both all over my meal.
I got the shrimp burrito bowl (minus the cheese and sour cream). It’s designated as a gluten free option (which I’m impressed Dos Coyotes had marked on the menu) and it’s basically the shrimp burrito without the flour tortilla. I asked if I could get more guacamole since I was nixing the dairy, but they said no substitutions. Lame. I hate when I pay the same price for a cheese-less version of a dish and can’t get anything else swapped in.
The other issue I had was the size. Honestly, I was expecting more food. It was yummy, but not filling enough. I even added (my own) lettuce, and I still ended up chowing on a pound of tortilla chips afterwards. Oops.
I’m not talking about the chips from Dos Coyotes either. Those weren’t salty enough and had grease ball written all over them so I stuck to the 365 white corn tortilla chips from our pantry.
Kyle got the shrimp burrito (as an actual burrito, not a bowl) and I was pretty jealous of both it’s size and cheesy beauty. Next time I know to get more food because the bowl alone doesn’t cut it. They say their salads are big, so maybe one of those. Or maybe I’ll try to see if they can make me something with corn tortillas instead. I know they do corn tacos, so maybe they can do a corn burrito? They really do have a surprisingly broad menu – with separate vegetarian, gluten free, and “lite” menus. Without dairy the veggie options are fairly blah. But I was impressed that in addition to shrimp, they have mahi mahi and salmon (seasonally). I will for sure end up trying those.
Anyway, this was my first restaurant review in Davis! Can’t wait to explore more. Slowly (like, really slowly) but surely we are getting settled.
Haha, I totally wrote the same thing on my blog about it being cliche to have Mexican food on Cinco de Mayo but that we did anyway.
Yummy! I always order their salads there and I promise they are more hungry hippie sized 🙂
I made fajitas on Cinco de Mayo and we each had a Corona. Not cliche at all.
whoaaa! he sure delivered on the salsa! 🙂 what a good husband.
sometimes, if jarid goes to chipotle and asks if I want anything, I tell him to bring back their corn salsa, black beans, verde salsa, and tomato salsa along with their guac, and then I beef it up when he comes home with my own (MOUND) of lettuce, and brown rice. way cheaper that paying for their pathetic amount of lettuce, too!
xo.
*than — i’m a spelling/grammar nazi.
hi elise– i was in LA a few months ago and checked out some of the restaurants you mentioned on your blog. i live in sacramento, so it’s fun reading about places i know of. i LOVE dos, and definitely recommend the salads– they are HUGE and awesome with really good dressings. the mahi tacos are really good, too. also, i agree about the plum–really good baked goods, but the food is pretty mediocre.
It might be cliche to have Mexican food on Cinco de mayo– But likewise, isn’t it cliche for people to have turkey for Thanksgiving?
I agree about paying the same price for a cheese-less/sour cream-less dish with no substitutions. Lame! Especially when it would have cost *extra* if you wanted more cheese and sour cream added.
I’m so glad you’re starting to review restaurants in Davis! I live nearby, and I’ve been drooling over all those inaccessible restaurants you’ve gone to in SoCal. Can’t wait for more!
It’s so fun to read about the places you are going. I grew up in Davis from 3rd grade to 8th grade before I moved to Colorado and we went to Dos on a regular basis. It was definitely the “go to” Mexican restaurant in our family!
How frustrating that they wouldn’t let you get extra guacamole! That is SO wrong! 🙁 I hate when I go to a restaurant and order a salad without meat, but still get charged the same price. It is pretty crazy!
Mexican food is always good! That’s a bummer that they wouldn’t do a substitution, I always ask to sub cheese for extra guac.
I completely forgot to make taco’s on Cinco De Mayo!! i think i was working that day. and i love Mexican food. i never thought about putting shrimp in with it though.
Sadly, Davis has kind of a bummer of a food scene. It’s honestly one of the major considerations I’m making in deciding whether to move back to Davis vs Sacramento (Sacramento has a GREAT variety of restaurants).
How lame about the no subs!! The Dos where we go to (in Roseville) is always more than happy to make subs for us! My stepdad always gets the extra guac instead of dairy, and their Yucatan salad (which we get vegetarian) we ask for corn tortillas instead of flour, anasazi beans instead of black (their black beans are cooked in butter) and no lime crema. We go so often the employees have memorized our order haha!! btw, did you hear about the Davis Whole Earth festival? Its going on this weekend at UC Davis, its huge and awesome.
Ah, Dos. Even after getting food poisoning from the one in Folsom in 2003, I still love it. (It was the cheese, don’t worry- 8 of us went and all got sick that was the only common ingredient.) I love the Adobe Salad, no meat. Last month they had this grilled veggie burrito on special- not sure what it was called, but I would eat half for dinner and half for breakfast the next day, it was super good. Another good one to check out if you like Indian food is Raji’s Tandoor near campus- cheap lunch buffet and healthy! Then again I’m an Indian food rookie so maybe someone else knows of another secret gem.
haha. thats dedication!
a few have mentioned that salad, no meat, so im excited to try it!
thanks for the other rec too. keep em coming!
thanks for the heads up about the black beans! never would have guessed!
and thanks for all the other ideas on meal swaps too 🙂
ps im heading to the festival today! so excited 🙂
ive been fairly impressed w davis so far actually! i already found jackfruit at an asian market and there are lots of hippie places in downtown…but feel free to send some sac-town recs my way too if you have any.
thats what i do too. lame 🙁
yay. glad the nostalgia hits home 🙂
any other recs you wanna send my way, feel free!
very true. on both points.
feel free to send davis (or other nearby area) recs my way too!
good to know about the salads – def going that route next time.
glad you liked LA’s food scene – theyve got some great places.
i cant wait to tap into more of the dining scene up here. i have my eye on a few different places 🙂
haha, fellow grammar police unite!
ps way smart on the salsa hoarding 🙂
i think we are just super cool and into holidays. no shame.
the corona sounds delicious. i think i need some beer in my life.
I’ve always enjoyed your blog, but your reference to D12 made me love it even more. 😉
bahaha. so glad someone appreciated it 😛