Great Egret
The average Texan doesn’t know much about Florida except for its general location. Of course we’ve heard of places like Miami by way of Miami Vice and that CSI show on television. We also know a little about Tampa and Jacksonville, only because our Dallas Cowboys sometimes travel there to beat up on their football teams. If it wasn’t for NASCAR’s big race, we probably wouldn’t know where Daytona was located – not that we know its exact location now.
So when I mention Deland, Florida, its not surprising that the usual response from a Texan is a blank stare. Of course, if you or someone close to you attended Stetson University, you’d have more of an advantage because the University is the major attraction in Deland. Located about an hour north of Orlando, I would have absolutely no reason to be there, except that my wife graduated from Stetson.
Come on in Texas boy - the water's fine!
Actually, it’s a nice little college town with plenty of watering holes for the student body as well as rivers and lakes close by for outdoor recreation. Of course, the whole state is just barely above sea level so swampy rivers and lakes are abundant throughout Florida. Unlike Texas however, you don’t want to swim or water ski here because of the snake and gator population.
In preparation for this trip, I jumped on the web to see what kind of Mexican restaurants might be in the area and was surprised to find six listings in Deland alone. Comparing menus and web page hype, I decided on the three places I’d like to visit if time allowed. As it turned out, the reunion festivities (including a road rally and two evening meals) filled most of our time there, but I was able to visit what I thought were the top two choices based on my research.
In reading the menu for Los Dos Compadres on the internet, there was a photo of their Nachos de Asada and I knew I wanted to hit this place. This was not a pile of chips with the other components dumped on top (ala El Mercado in Austin). Each chip was individually layered with beans, meat (chicken or beef), cheese and jalapeno, and then baked – the way nachos should be made.
Also listed were standard Mexican entrees like various enchiladas, chimichangas, burritos and many sea food offerings. The menu included several mole dishes which peaked my interest because mole recipes are fairly complex and vary greatly from one family to the next. Since I love some moles and hate others, this will be a subject we will revisit often.
We had a light lunch one day and went for some nachos a few hours before our reunion dinner. Located in a strip-center, Los Dos Compadres’ exterior is fairly understated except for neon beer logos and signs in the windows announcing various specials. Inside had a Mexican feel and the service from Leticia was warm friendly. We ordered a couple of Dos XX drafts and scanned the menu.
The Mild Salsa
Plenty of kick!
The beer arrived in frozen mugs and the pre-meal chips came with two salsas served in large bowls. The red sauce was the milder of the two while the green tomatillo sauce was tangy and had the extra kick I like – both had diced onion and cilantro mixed in.
We ordered the Nachos de Asada with chicken and asked if I could get a small sample of their mole sauce. When Leticia started explaining that each dish was created from scratch and they didn’t pre make anything, a man who was busing tables interrupted her and said he’d be happy to whip some up for us.
This man was the restaurant owner, Horacio Dominguez and he delivered the thick, dark sauce fairly quickly. It looked like the mole I prefer and had a rich taste that was almost as good as my all-time favorite. This sauce was just a little less sweet but still quite good – in fact I’d order this over the mole served at Fonda San Miguel or Manuel’s in Austin, but again I stress that my preference might not be what others like.
The nachos arrived almost as pictured – the individually layered chips were arranged around the outer edge of a large, oblong plate with shredded lettuce, sour cream, guacamole and sliced jalapenos in the middle. The guacamole was thick and chunky with tomatoes & diced onion, the way I like it and was very tasty. My wife thinks these were the best nachos she’s ever had. They were indeed scrumptious and my only suggestion would be to add a little more of that tasty guacamole and some more pepper slices – at least one per chip.
Carne de Asada (Chicken) Nachos
While chatting with Mr. Dominguez we discovered that he comes from Tolucca, Mexico and many of his family members are involved in the restaurant – in fact his mom makes the mole. He said mole sauces were usually associated with weddings in Mexico – so much so that when you inquired about a young couple getting married, you’d ask, “When will we eat mole?”
He said that many states or regions of Mexico have their own particular style of mole and that he also doesn’t care for some recipes. Many make the sauce too sweet while others make it a bit oily, which is consistent with my limited experience with moles in Austin. He said the complicated nature of the recipe is why mole might soon be removed from the menu. While some of his Hispanic customers will order it from time to time, the Anglo population in Florida just doesn’t seem to appreciate it.
In our brief conversation, I learned a little more about this thick, savory sauce and left wishing I could try his enchiladas verdes because something tells me they’d be really good – the nachos were great! If for some reason I had to live in Deland, I know I’d eat here often and I’m confident that Los Dos Compadres is a place where my gluttonous appetite for good Mexican food would be satisfied.
Tex-Mex Initiative 