This is likely the last in the three part Dine Out Lauderdale series. The people at Dine Out Lauderdale invited us to Dos Caminos to sample their three course, $35 menu. It started off a bit rocky, to say the least.
I’ll start by saying that the food was outrageously good. But more on that in a minute. First, the negatives. I called to let them know we would be a few
minutes late for our reservation. As it turns out, they didn’t have our reservation. The manager told us to come in, and he would take good care of us.
We arrived to a nearly empty restaurant, in the Sheraton on Fort Lauderdale beach, were seated and greeted by a very nice woman. Unfortunately, it was her second day on the job, and nobody had bothered to train her. We asked for the Dine Out Lauderdale menu, and instead she brought over – I kid you not – take out menus from nearby restaurants. She then had a caucus with a bunch of other people, including the General Manager and still came back not having any idea what we were talking about. We were barely into our drinks when we were wondering if we should just cut our losses and leave.
Finally, someone (another manager type? I have no idea…) brought over the menus. Sadly, it seems that if you were to go for this special deal, you might not get it, simply because of a lack of training among the staff.
The menu itself is great. We started with one of each appetizer: the plantain empanadas (diet be damned) and the Mexican salad. The executive chef came out to introduce herself, and brought an additional dish that they will be trying out in the fall. This was butternut squash with Swiss chard, mushrooms and pumpkin seeds. I want to eat this again and again and again. It was outstanding (and pretty much diet-approved!). The empanada shell was actually made from the plantains, and stuffed with black beans and cheese. (In to-hell-with-diet world, I would have eaten the entire plate, and possibly ordered another one.) The salad, filled with beans, olives, corn, a little cheese and topped with crispy tortilla strips, comes with a creamy chile dressing, that is extremely flavorful.
After the appetizer course (and extra appetizer), we were stuffed. But we forged ahead, as two more courses were coming. The next course we both had
the mahi Veracruz, in a tomato, olive and garlic sauce. Oftentimes, mahi is overcooked in restaurants, and as it is not at all fatty, it dries out quickly. This was perfectly cooked and tender.
Desserts were a chocolate tamale – absolutely delicious and not too sweet – topped with dulce de leche ice cream. (The ice cream could have been my downfall, but shockingly, I only had a bite), and a caramel flan with a pistachio white chocolate crisp. Both were delicious.
Overall the food was outstanding, and service improved as dinner progressed. The big question… would I go back? Sure. (The food was really, really good.) But I would not have my heart set on any specials they are running, as I am not confident they would be honored.
