sometime in Raleigh, NC

Occasionally we like to get out to a new restaurant so we ventured into the wilds of downtown Raleighwood the other night to check out Dos Taquitos Centro. This was a Thursday night and the first thing we noticed was the dining room was understaffed. Perusing the menu revealed that, in yupster talk, it is a bit "pricey". We ordered a couple of Dos Equis, $4 and they came quickly enough but with no glass. I fetched "glasses" from the bar which were like Mason jars with handles. But they are "festive" so, ok. My host commented that when paying in excess of $40 for dinner one should expect a glass with the beer. There's no draught beer, not enough room.
My partner and I decided to share a salad, Ensalada Frida on the menu, that had tomato slices displayed prominately at north, south, east and west. Shortly the facilitator was over to inquire about our thoughts on the salad and we told her that the tomato was terrible. It was pithy and tastless, basic hopelessly bland grocery store variety, and they asked. She seemed taken aback. We repeated this to the waiter after he inquired a second time about our evaluation of the insalata and then tells us "it's only May". Not long after the manager, I guess, came out and tells us that they were using "heirloom" tomatos but they had become unavailable and so now they were using what they could get. We told her that the greens were impecable, the dressing was amazing and that the lousy tomato detracted from an otherwise delicious dish. It was pretty small to be priced at $12.
The entres came. Mine was the Mole Manchamanteles, $23. The grass-fed pork was very dry.
Carnitas at the local Mexican eatery is vastly superior. The mole was good if overpriced and sweet. My companion got the Poblano Relleno de Primavera. A single stuffed pablono, $18 was excellent but 2 would have been more appropriate at those prices, as in dos. We opted to share the Capirotada de Higo, $6, and while tasty was also very dry. I've never had a bread pudding that was so dry. The ice cream saved it from being a disaster.
My overall view is that this place is long on pretention but short on delivery. Ambition hasn't caught up to image. I saw nor tasted anything that could justify the pricing scale. Nothing was offered in the way of compensation for the tomato debacle. I doubt we will return.
It seems the Creedmoor Road Dos Taquitos still has a more reasonably priced menu and I have enjoyed past meals there. Haven't been recently though.

Dos Taquitos Centro
106 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, NC, 27601
(919) 835-3593