Whenever there’s a festival going on in Downtown Rehoboth, I always try to slide by Dos Locos at some point, where some of the friendliest people hang out. It’s the type of place where you can go alone and know everyone at the bar before you leave. Even if there’s no festival in town, there’s always a fiesta atmosphere at Dos Locos.

For example, Mardi Gras weekend was "loco" at Dos Locos. Joe Zuber, one of the owners, was working the door wearing an impossibly large purple and gold feather boa. I hung out at the bar and waited for my honey, Sharon, to join me. I drank a low carb margarita and ate some chips with their amazing salsa. (I wish I could make salsa like that! Mine always turns out like cold spaghetti sauce.) I think the chips cancelled out the low carb effort, but they were worth it.

I wasn’t sitting at the bar long before owner Darryl Ciarlante slapped a Mardi Gras crown on my head and beads around my neck. As I looked around, I noticed that everyone in the place was decked out in this fashion and decorations were everywhere—including a whole wall that had been transformed into the French Quarter. There was a special menu with Creole-inspired food and specialty drinks for the event, some served in souvenir cups! What a hoot! Dos Locos always goes all out. They really know how to throw themselves into a theme.

Darryl and Joe are also always the first ones to volunteer in town to support the local nonprofits by participating in events or donating prizes for fundraising raffles, etc. They are a real asset to our community.

This article comes at a time when Dos Locos is planning a big move. They will be leaving their current location at 10 Wilmington Avenue and taking over the old Abizak’s space at 208 Rehoboth Avenue soon. It’s not the first time they’ve relocated.

It was in their previous location on North First Street, a tiny space next to Nicola’s, where Sharon and I fell in love with their salsa and their crab quesadilla, which is lump crab meat, tomatoes and melted cheese in a grilled flour tortilla, dusted with Old Bay and served with a side of sour cream. All of their quesadillas are good. A vegetarian friend of mine is addicted to the Arizona, which has mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and melted cheese.

If you’re a salad lover like me, you have to try their ginger vinaigrette. It’s one of the yummiest salad dressings I’ve ever tasted. It’s light and fresh, yet flavorful and substantial. It is especially complimentary to the shrimp if you get the House Salad with Grilled Shrimp.

When they moved to Wilmington Avenue, they kept the intimate feel even though the restaurant was significantly bigger. Joe still goes around to every table to make sure you are enjoying your meal and to chat a while. I’m always impressed at how he gets to know his customers.

When we were there for Mardi Gras weekend, we didn’t try the alligator on the special menu, but we did try the fajitas for the first time. As I write that, I am still surprised that I hadn’t tried them before. I didn’t know there was a fajita in this town that I hadn’t sampled.

Wow. I was impressed by the Dos Locos fajitas! They came on a sizzling stone grill and continued to cook while at our table. We had ordered the chicken version. The meat was tender and juicy, yet had that distinctive grilled flavor; the onions and peppers were sweet and wonderful. They were served with more than enough cheese, guacamole, tomatoes, sour cream and tortillas. We had wanted to try several new-to-us items that night, but were stuffed after the fajitas.

This excellent experience made me take a fresh look at the Dos Locos menu. I saw many things that I need to try, including the Pork Tomatillo Burrito. Tomatillos are a key ingredient in "verde" (green) sauces popular in the Mexican restaurants of my native California. I’m very much looking forward to trying the Dos Locos version.

The menu is only a couple pages, but Darryl and Joe have managed to have a wide array of items, offering everything from standard Mexican fare to filet mignon, from vegetarian items to Ahi, crab and lobster.