On weeknights, Mark and I like to cook our own meals, often having leftovers for lunch throughout the week. Sundays are generally our all-day cooking days, where we’ll watch football and simmer a pot of red beans & rice, chicken & andouille gumbo, or spaghetti & meatballs for dinner. Fridays and Saturdays, however, we tend to dine out.

One of my favorite things about Mobile is its restaurants. For what it lacks in upscale shopping, live shows, and other entertainment, it more than makes up for it with delicious eateries. Most of my favorites are hole-in-the-wall, local joints that are off the beaten path.

Tonight, we opted for Mexican! Located in The OK Bicycle Shop (a bar downtown that was—you guessed it!—a former bicycle shop), Dauphin Street Taqueria offers fresh, locally sourced (when possible) Mexican cuisine.

For years, we’ve kept saying we had to eat here, but we always seemed to pass it by. We’ve eaten at its “sister” restaurant next door, Liquid Sushi Lounge, but we weren’t huge fans, finding the trendy seating uncomfortable and the sushi mediocre. We haven’t returned—but we’re always willing to try something new, and tonight was the night for a fiesta.

We opted to sit outside in the covered courtyard area. The atmosphere is laid back, and it would have been nice if a live band had been playing. (For the record, my photos are horrible. It was dark outside and I didn’t want to be that girl and draw attention to myself, photographing my meal with a flashing camera!)

To begin, we had margaritas: Mark tried the Hibiscus Lemon and I opted for Blackberry Mint. I wasn’t too impressed; the bartender seemed to have forgotten to strain the muddled blackberries, and I couldn’t taste a hint of mint. Mark’s was tasty, but both contained too much fruit/syrup and were too sweet for our taste.

We shared an appetizer of chips and salsa chipotle. The salsa had a nice smoky flavor, and you could immediately tell the ingredients were fresh. We both thought it was a little too spicy, however.

The menu is à la carte, so I ordered both the crispy fish taco and the black bean empanada. The mahi mahi was lightly battered and remained crisp under the cabbage, cilantro, and pico de gallo. The empanada was good, but the black bean filling didn’t “wow” me. A dip similar to the chipotle salsa was served on the side.

While the service was a little slow, we enjoyed our meal. I was disappointed in the margaritas, but the food was filling and high quality. While we may not hurry back, we’ll certainly dine here again in the future.

After our meal, we dashed home like the old married couple we truly are and watched some Real Time with Bill Maher before heading to bed.