If questionable meat at some taquerias hides behind an overly charred crust, the beef at Dos Toros is more straightforward: it tastes like steak.
The very, very thick football of crust encasing beef Wellington is cooked only on the surface; deep inside, where it meets the tenderloin, is a mass of wet, gluey dough.
Empanadas, their thin cornmeal crusts enveloping beef, potato and a rich tomato- and onion-based sauce called hogao, seem more deserving of a starring role rather than the bit part of an appetizer.
Caramelised crust, pink juicy beef, simple bun, small plate.
And it browns, developing a dark, crisp crust like no beef burger I've ever had.
The golden pastry crust, made with beef tallow, is surprisingly light.
THE nicely browned meatloaf at Acme Bar and Grill is what I always wanted my mother's meatloaf to be: filled with other things besides meat, but never enough to overwhelm the satisfying flavor that comes from a nice crust on ground beef.
Best is the samsa ($2), whose flaky crust surrounds onion-laced beef with lamb fat.
WHAT WE LIKED Thukpa (noodle soup), chicken garlic soup, steamed vegetable or meat momos (dumplings), dal makhini, "nonvegetarian" thali, lamb or mutton (goat) curry, Himalayan curry, balgan bhartha (eggplant), sha phaley (chopped beef in crust), nan, rice pudding, mango lassi.
Entrees include char-crusted Black Angus sirloin steak with spicy onion strings and chile corn mashed potatoes; roasted chicken and wild mushroom potpie with gravy in a flaky pastry crust; and smoky barbecue beef brisket with brown-sugar-glazed vegetables.
