Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Taqueria Los Dos Compadres (Campbell, CA): Super Nachos with Chicken

Situated right next door to TGI Sushi (yum!) in Campbell, this taqueria was apparently started by a couple of friends from Mexico (kinda reminds me of those pizza joints called "2 Guys from Italy").  This is the first place I've gone on my Nacho Quest that calls itself a taqueria but has a waitress serve you.  Maybe they wanted the extra money for tips or something?  In any case, let's get to the nachos.  Great home-made chips (maybe second only to Taqueria Vallarta's?), a small layer of refried beans, and a heap of really good shredded chicken, monterey jack cheese, guacamole, sour cream, tomatoes, and jalapenos made for a very satisfying, flavorful lunch.  The portion was large enough that I didn't finish them all, either.   But, just when I thought everything was going well... Chicken McKnuckle!  For those of you who haven't heard me use this expression before, it refers to the dreaded piece of cartilage or bone in the chicken you're eating that gives you a rude textural awakening and makes you grab a napkin and disgustingly spit it out of your mouth.  This happened to me not once, but twice during this meal, and I'm pretty sure I grossed out the young couple at the next table.  Surprising, considering the quality of the ingredients.  Other than that, I did enjoy my nacho experience here.  See "Bonus Bloggage" below for reasons that I'd return to Los Dos Compadres...

Rating: 3 out of 4
Rating notes:  Watered-down guacamole and the Chicken McKnuckles cost this otherwise tasty batch a point.  Because I also had to tip a waitress and the cost of the soda was a bit steep, this ended up being a much more expensive lunch than I'd bargained for.
Map to Location:  http://mapq.st/oYtaWl

BONUS BLOGGAGE!:
Although the score for the nachos was relatively low, I might come back to this place in the future for 4 reasons:
1. This taqueria has a wide selection of seafood dishes that looked really good (maybe I should attempt to order shrimp nachos next time?)

2. Check out this wacky 3D under-sea (bajo el mar?) mural they had on the wall.  It's like 20 feet long!

3. While I was eating, this big, tall, long-haired Mexican guy came walking in who had the top 4 buttons of his shirt undone with his chest in full view - very tough and menacing looking indeed.  He sat down at the table behind me and started munching chips.  When the waitress walked over to him, I fully expected him to sound like that guy from the movie "Machete" when he ordered his food.  Instead, he had one of the smoothest, most friendly voices I've ever heard - I almost wanted to go say hi!

4. They have a sauce at each table called "Guacamaya".  This sauce is basically a slightly different version of Tapatio, but what a great name!  Sounds like one of those goofy word combinations that I'm always spouting off!

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