HORSING AROUND My latest favorite spot for a cheap date is Pegaso Café Mexicano y Taquería, a bustling eat-and-run place in the heart of Dallas’ downtown financial district. At breakfast and lunch, this retro-hip creation of local restaurateur Monica Greene is all business. You line up, place your entrée and drink order with one of the efficient counteristas, pay with a ten, and—likely as not—get change back. Then you settle in at one of the nifty aluminum-topped tables or at the long bar spanning the front window. In less time than it takes to check the condition of your portfolio in the Wall Street Journal or on your Palm Pilot, a runner shows up with your food. Given that Pegaso—named for Dallas’ beloved city symbol, the winged horse Pegasus—is a sibling of Ciudad, it’s no surprise that the food is stylishly presented. The shrimp cocktail came in a cool parfait glass brimming with small bay shrimp in a lusty red sauce, a twist on the classic Vuelva a la Vida (Return to Life) mixed-seafood cocktail. Pungent green olives and capers boosted the tomato sauce on sautéed tilapia filets a la veracruzana. I’ll try Pegaso’s new dinner menu the next time I fly up to Dallas.
