Two-world order

The mark of a true chowhound is the willingness to go anywhere for good food, no matter how unlikely the neighborhood or how unprepossessing the façade. Just as the food at a pricey four-star establishment can be disappointing, the food at a hole-in-the-wall can be a real gem.

And that’s the case at Dos Mundos Mexican Café, tucked into a strip mall in the car dealership wasteland of Fulton Avenue, just south of El Camino across from a Chevrolet dealership.

The menu at Dos Mundos covers the standards of enchiladas and burritos and tacos with no real surprises. Dos Mundos does offer both beef tongue and beef head tacos, in a nod to authenticity, as well as menudo on Friday and Saturday. And it serves horchata (rice milk) and homemade tortillas, two of my personal tests for a Mexican restaurant.

While there are no interesting specialties of the house here, those standards are done very well indeed. The chile verde ($7.99 for the dinner) at Dos Mundos is one of the best versions I’ve had in a while, hitting a delicate balance between heat and tanginess without veering too far in either direction. The chunks of pork were tender without much fat and without any of the gristle that so often mars pork stews. The chili peppers were roasted, a nice touch that lent an additional depth to the sauce. All dinners come with a side of Spanish rice, refried beans, tortillas, sour cream and guacamole.

The carne asada, which was ordered as a dinner ($8.99), went above and beyond the call of duty. Some restaurants will serve you random pieces of chopped-up beef and call that carne asada. I’ve even been served carne asada that was sautéed, not grilled. At Dos Mundos, what you get is a whole, very thinly sliced piece of steak that has been seasoned and grilled, resting on a bed of slivered grilled onions, bell peppers and carrots. The meat was tender and flavorful, tasting lightly of lime and spices without being overpowering.

The owner and chef, Salvador Perez, moved to Sacramento from Michoacan six years ago. Perez was reluctant to part with any information about his recipes, saying only that he uses “a lot of chilies, a lot of tomatoes, and a lot of love.”

My husband—the man who converted me to his diehard love of Mexican food—said the best thing about Dos Mundos is that they serve very good basic Mexican food at great prices. Well, what he really said was: “You can power all the food you want down and still have an extra beer or two because it’s so cheap. Plus, their beer is really, really cold. And they serve it in those frosty mugs.”

How cheap? You can get a breakfast burrito packed with chorizo, eggs, rice and beans for $3.25. Their lunch specials change daily and will run you $4.99. Or you can order a la carte. Tacos are $1.25 to $1.35, burritos are $3.75-$4.99, depending on the filling, and a quesadilla will set you back $3.25. Dinner prices range between $6.25 and $8.99. I haven’t seen prices this good since I left Watsonville, where I really got an education in down-home Mexican food.

What you won’t find for those types of prices is any kind of ambience. Dos Mundos, which is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., is at the end of the strip mall, and most of its tables face the parking lot. The café is clean but sparsely decorated with a serape or two. It didn’t even have the requisite television blaring Mexican soap operas, which I find wildly entertaining. Two sides of the café are floor to ceiling glass, which can present a problem when the sun sets. Although the waiter tried to block out some of the light, I was still blinded and had to shift seats.

But these are minor quibbles. I’ve eaten at plenty of other Mexican restaurants in the area that charge more and offer less. Dos Mundos Café reflects a pride of ownership that is obvious in the care it takes with its food. And that’s priceless.