Behold the humble churro! Beloved by millions in countries around the globe; a dessert and breakfast staple at Mexican, Latin, and Spanish restaurants everywhere; a sweet-savory star-shaped pillar of fried dough that delivers the pure joy of something that is simple yet sophisticated.
Wouldn’t it be great to be munching on a warm, crispy, sweet, chocolate-dipped churro right now? But where…?
Dario Sotomayor and his brother David, a civil engineer, are aiming to fill the churro’s scarcity by making the crusty-chewy delights available in up to 10 convenient locations by the end of next year, beginning with their first outlet, Don Churro, Churros and More, which parked its wheels in the plaza at Clarendon Crossing five months ago to bustling business.
Originally opened on limited days, the bright orange food truck — actually, a custom-designed trailer — is serving high-quality, can’t-stop-eating churros out the window seven days a week.
It’s an admittedly daring and ambitious business plan. No tacos, no burritos, no pupusas, just four flavors of 6-inch-long churros: dulce de leche, chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and a rotating flavor of the month (which has included Nutella and cream cheese). Mexican pot coffee (with cinnamon, orange, and piloncillo), dairy-free hot chocolate, and water round out the menu.
“That was the idea,” Dario says of the limited selection. “I’m an entrepreneur at heart.”
Which means taking chances.
The high-energy 39-year-old was born in El Paso, Texas, to a bicultural family that spent significant time on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. On the advice of his businessman father, Sotomayor left Juarez, Mexico, where the family had settled, to visit his sister, who was working in the Washington, DC, area. His plan was to stay one year.
That was 13 years ago. While he found gainful employment, that entrepreneurial spirit nagged at him.
“I wanted to start something that kind of resembled my values and how I was raised,” he says. “I thought about many, many things.”
He eliminated plans for opening a restaurant, a bar, and a construction franchise before contacting friends in Texas selling churros. “They both told me very similar numbers. And that’s how it all started,” he explains.
He and his brother toured Spain to see how they do churros where they began. They concluded that Mexican churros taste better, and to start from there. After months of refinement, they created their own recipe that goes beyond the basics of water, flour, sugar, and salt. “It took about 30 tries,” he says.
I decided to give them a personal taste test, and purchased a box of warm churros bites with a spritz of whipped cream cheese to go. True to Sotomayor’s description, the nuggets were firm to the tooth, pillowy in the middle, and with a slightly sweet sensation that sneaks up. There were no survivors in the box by the time I made it home.
Open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., until 9 p.m. on Saturdays, and until 7 p.m. on Sundays. Clarendon Crossing: 2800 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington.
Feature image by Buzz McClain
For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine’s Things to Do newsletter.
