Cuisine: Mexican
I’ve eaten a quesadilla at a dine-in movie theater. There, I’ve said it. And I did it. I’m an American, and this type of Mexican food is also American food. So much so that you can simultaneously watch Spider-Man and maw some shredded chicken and cheese stuffed inside a quesadilla with a side of guac, sour cream and salsa to your heart’s content. Dorado is pretty much that without the web-slinger. A bare bones, workman-like approach to a pretty innocuous foodstuff that is neither notable, nor particularly unique. Which doesn’t qualify it as good or bad, per se, but a sustenance that you can put in your face and be satisfied to be satisfied.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say I was here the day this joint opened. Or at least I hope that’s the case. It felt like the model house where they hadn’t quite gotten the finishing touches done or the appliances in. There was a woman on a ladder on a phone hovering over the drink machine clearly trying to figure out how to insert the parts to make it work. Some of the signage felt temporary, and the place just generally felt unfinished. That said, it clearly hadn’t accumulated the age and grime of your typical NYC eatery and felt very clean and generically modern. The long, thin space housed exactly no customers while I was in there, but has maybe ten tables for folks to eat in the actual restaurant. Though, frankly, I don’t see a lot of people doing that — and the space itself is a little awkward. They may have miscalculated there. Of course, I’m no restaurant expert, so I imagine they did their homework on the neighborhood, the customer habits and the business their other downtown location does.
The quesadilla, like the restaurant itself, was reasonably generic. Not that you can do that much magic to a carne asada quesadilla to make it special. It’s relatively unadorned with meat, cheese and a crunchy tortilla. With some salsas into which you can dip the thing. Of course, I knew what I was ordering, so I wasn’t expecting much more than that. The meat was well seasoned and well grilled. It seemed relatively high grade if you were going to compare it with one of NYC’s famous Chinese taco joints. Not chewy or sinewy. I’d call the fill generous. Probably a function of it being a new place and them still working out ratios to build the best profit margin. You know what I’m saying. When you used to go to Chipotle, for instance, they would pile that meat on there. And, over time, the portions just got smaller and smaller to adjust for costs and output. This same thing happens at restaurants across the board and is totally understandable. It’s a business after all. But, for now, this Dorado location is giving you a decent portion for your $12.75. Welcome to 2026, I guess. But, yeah, I got my meal back to the office, sat and ate it with a nice, cold Coke Zero and was happy with things. It certainly wasn’t going to garner any culinary kudos or Michelin stars or anything, but it’s a totally serviceable lunch spot if you’re just looking for a solid bar-type quesadilla or taco. It’s still no AMC dine-in quesadilla, but nothing really is.
138 E 34th St. (bet. 3rd & Lexington Ave.)
646/477-0702
doradotacos.com
