Dos Caminos does Mexican cuisine in an upscale environment at Harrah’s Resort.
Carne Asada
ATLANTIC CITY — While our area is blessed with several Mexican eateries featuring excellent, basic home-style fare, there are few if any that we would label as upscale.
Dos Caminos at Harrah’s proves the exception to that rule. Its glamorous bar and lounge leads to a wide dining space with magnificent water views, immediately informing diners they are in for a special experience.
A trio of complimentary salsas are offered as first items — a mild, bright green tomatillo, maroon-shaded smoky roasted pepper, and bright psychedelic orange jalapeno, thin but spicy. Guacamole, ubiquitous on local menus but seldom prepared fresh, gets a spa treatment here. Made to order at a wide station in the middle of the dining room, it arrives full of chunky avocado in a deep serving bowl.
We opted for the hottest of three possible choices, infused with habaneros, mango and papaya. The tiny peppers — first cousins of Jamaican Scotch bonnets — are one of the world’s highest rated on the official Scoville measuring scale. That incessant, scalding heat was mitigated somewhat by the duet of intense fruits, allowing a dynamic platform for the sultry avocado’s performance.
Our appetizers were chopped Mexican salad and plantain empanadas. The former, including corn, lettuce, apples, tomatoes, pinto beans and poblanos — our very favorite chile — had been finished by a tangy, citrusy cumin vinaigrette.
The empanadas arrived as a sexy quartet of half-moon mini pies on a narrow plate. Once opened, insides revealed a swirl of creamy filling courtesy of roasted plantains blended with cotija cheese. Reminiscent of a tropical take on blintzes, combining flaky pastry, tender fruit and dairy, these little bundles were nothing shy of magical.
Entrée choices include a wide array of enchiladas, tacos and quesadillas, all given their proper respect. But it was a pair of selections from the “house specialties” section of the menu which most appealed to us.
My dining partner went with camarones en cazuela — six jumbo shrimp, saffron-chorizo rice along with roasted garlic and guajillo chiles. The seafood had been nicely cooked, charred just a bit on its edges but left succulent and juicy within. My choice, Black Angus skirt steak, was presented sliced and fanned over a platter from high noon to six o’clock. Serving as complimentary Yin to this beefy Yang was a mosh of bright red borracho beans, roasted tomato, asparagus spears and caramelized onion salsita. Those vibrant colors, along with distinct, dynamic flavor profiles, meshed spectacularly. The plate design made for an artful, visually appealing main as well. Additional sides we sampled were the equal of these entrees.
At our server’s sincere suggestion, we tried Mexico City street corn. He explained the halved pieces were briefly grilled, then rolled in a chipotle aioli and finished a second time on the open flame.
The result was something we’ve never imagined. The kernels were crisped, incredibly sweet but also piquant, thanks to the smoked jalapeno’s influence.
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