0
0
Well hello there!
Hope you’ve all had a fantastic weekend! A couple of months ago, I was (as usual) watching hours of Food Network and Diner, Drive-Ins and Dives came on. My web surfing was quickly distracted when Guy Fieri said he was in Dallas! What? Where? The featured spot–Pepe’s & Mitos Mexican Cafe.
Now, I love me some Mexican food, so when I saw Mr. Fieri himself traveled all the way down to Texas for this place, I had to drive a couple of miles to check this place out. How I never ate here, I’ll never know.
Located in Deep Ellum, Pepe’s & Mitos prides itself on being Mex-Tex. You read that right. Mex-Tex, not Tex-Mex. They want their food to be classic Mexican cuisine with a touch of Texas flare versus the alternative. Boy, do they achieve that.
I was a little afraid that there would be a wait because it was a Saturday night, but luckily we just walked up and got a table. WOOHOO!
We sat down and immediately had a server come over to ask for our drink orders. The friendly service continued for the rest of the evening. For some reason, there were two gentlemen helping us. Not sure why, but hey, the more, the merrier.
After watching DDD, I had an idea of some things that I wanted. Roberto, my new waiter friend, raved on and on about the Chipotle Wine Sauce. He had me at wine. LOL
Oh wait, I’m getting way ahead of myself. I forgot to talk about those chips and salsa. I am VERY particular about chips and salsa. This delicious dish was the perfect combination of mildly spicy, slightly chunky, a little sweet and most important, at room temperature. Not a fan of hot salsa, but that’s just me. I probably ate two of them by myself before the meal even arrived. Whoops.
For the main course, to satisfy my all my desires, we got two different meals and shared. I ordered the Chipotle Wine Enchiladas and Allbondiga Soup and my dinner companion ordered the Tacos Nortenos.
Not even exaggerating when I say it was literally less than 15 minutes after we ordered it that our food arrived. It may have been longer, but I was so in love with the previously mentioned chips and salsa that nothing else really mattered.
Then, the food arrived. And I definitely cheated on the chips and salsa with my main entrees.
OMG. Goodness gracious.
Allbondiga soup is basically meatball/omlette-like patties composed of beef and veggies floating around in a delicious broth. I ordered a small cup so that I would be able to enjoy the rest of the food. There was just enough patty to accompany the broth, which is a hard thing to accomplish in soups. By the time I was finished with the soup, I was regretting only ordering a cup.
We split the main entrees. I dug in. Those chipotle wine enchiladas were beyond delicious. There were so yummy, it felt kind of inappropriate. Man, oh man. I raved on and on about those enchiladas the entire time I ate them. I’m sure the couples behind us were getting annoyed. So didn’t care.
As if the enchiladas weren’t enough culinary satisfaction for one night, the Tacos Nortenos were equally as delicious. I could eat tacos all day, every day for every meal, no problem. Some Mexican restaurants kind of throw their meat and shell/tortilla together. It was so apparent that Pepe’s took intimate care of the food. The beef was seasoned to the very last bite and the small, cute corn tortillas were the perfect delivery for those succulent filling.
Of course, I had to put a little bit of lettuce and salsa as garnish. My mouth was overwhelmed.
These days, I ALWAYS end up taking half of my food home with me when I eat out. In this case, I ate every last drop. No regrets on that one. Not even judging myself.
Needless to say, I was SHOCKED when my new waiter friend Roberto told me that he worked there for YEARS and only recently tried the soup. WHAT?! How is this even possible?
I have eaten at A LOT of Mexican restaurants here in Dallas, some well known, some not so popular, but I will confidently say that Pepe’s and Mito’s is one of the best, if not the Top 5 in my personal Latin experiences.
It is shocking and a little sad that I just discovered this wonderful place. They can rest assure that I will be going there at least once a month. Shhhh, don’t tell the others about my new obsession. 🙂
–Vicky D
Pepe’s & Mitos
Web // Foursquare // Facebook // Yelp
Foodie Feedback