Tacos mi Pueblito

Have y'all seen the silver Mexican food truck that parks near the corner of Washington Ave. and 8th St? I don't think I've heard nary a peep or mention of the nondescript, silver box truck hawking Mexican fare from the Philly foodie community. The truck's name is Tacos mi Pueblito, but is written so tiny on an advertisement poster that it's hard to find.

What caught my eye when I noticed the truck's appearance last fall is that the handwritten poster board menu plastered to the side of the truck expressly listed a handful of items as vegetarian. Failed lunch attempts last fall, then a miserable winter where no one would dare eat on the street kept me away, but I finally got on over to Tacos mi Pueblito a couple of weeks ago.On our visit the poster board menu had recently been ripped off the side of the truck unbeknownst to the owners, so when we asked what was available, they just pointed to the side of the truck. I had to tell them that their menu was missing, which is a shame because, besides wanting to post a photo of the menu, without a menu or the name of their business plastered prominently, it's hard to tell what they're selling. A week later, a new food menu had not appeared that I could snap a pic of, so I'm going on with the post. Just know that they sell standard Mexican fare — tacos, quesadillas, tortas, horchata, and Mexican sodas.
Vegetarian tacos are a corn tortilla piled high with refried beans, seasoned rice, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, queso fresco, and crema with radish slices and lime wedge on the side. One of these is pretty filling.The vegetarian torta has the exact same fillings as the vegetarian tacos, but in even larger quantities. The toasted, soft sandwich roll is monstrous. Order a torta if you are starving.

Green and red salsas are available, and the green is their mild. The green is pretty hot, so we haven't even sampled the red, yet.

Tacos mi Pueblito is good, and they're certainly generous with their ingredients, but the food is pretty standard Mexican fare. With so many other traditional Mexican restaurants in that area along Washington Ave. and the Italian Market, I'm not sure I'd seek out Tacos mi Pueblito for a dining experience, but grab-and-go, on-the-street convenience is sometimes just what you want, especially if your main mission in the area is shopping the markets.

Also, Tacos mi Pueblito advertises some of their menu items as vegetarian (when there's a menu!), so that's something, although, I never 100% trust traditional Mexican restaurants on their vegetarian claims when refried beans and seasoned rice are involved.

Tacos mi Pueblito
Washington Ave. and 8th St.

El Rey Happy Hour

We intended to hit up Steven Starr's Ranstead Room, the speakeasy-esque cocktail bar, immediately after work for pre-dinner drinks, but it turns out that Ranstead Room doesn't open until 7 p.m. Ranstead Room, apparently, is best for post-dinner drinks if you take your dinner early like I do.

That's cool, because we saved, like, a gazillion dollars by skipping Ranstead Room's pricey drinks when we settled for the happy hour at El Rey.

El Rey is Ranstead Room's adjoining Mexican restaurant that's been all Stephen Starr-bedazzled with colorful, kitchy paintings and posters. Yeah, Starr really lucked into the retro bones of the Midtown Diner that formerly occupied the space at 2013 Chestunut St. for this roadhouse Mexican-themed restaurant. The serpentine Formica-topped bar, and arched alcoves behind the bar could not have been improved on, and thank goodness Starr kept them.El Rey's "uno, dos, tres, quatro happy hour" runs Monday through Friday from 5 p.m to 6:30 p.m. Steak, chicken, fish, cheese, and veggie tacos are $1. Tecates are $2. Coronas are $3. House margaritas are $4.House margaritas are on par with most bars and restaurants. The salt crystals on the salted rim were unpleasantly boulder-sized.
We got a platter of fish, cheese, and veggie tacos. The fish-eater declared the fish, and the fish taco in general, bland. Much better were the cheese and veggie tacos. A rectangular slab of mild cheese was the centerpiece of the cheese taco, but the pickled vegetables added a zing. The vegetable tacos with sauteed mushrooms, pickled onion, and carrots were the most flavorful of the bunch, and, if I had to do it again, I'd order all vegetable tacos.

The tacos are pretty small — about 3 to 4-inch diameter corn tortilla shells — so these tacos are priced right at $1.

So, for the price of one drink at the Ranstead Room, you can have three or four happy hour margaritas at El Rey. Win! And, for much less than the price of an entree you can have a whole platter of tacos. Win!

As for the regular menu? I've heard some dishes are great, but others are duds. We only tried one dish from the regular menu, and came up losers.Chilaquiles is a Mexican dish that makes the best use of stale, day-old tortillas by frying them, and simmering the fried tortillas in sauce until softened. El Rey's version were still crisp and whole, more like nachos covered with salsa verde and two fried eggs. Not inedible, but these are not the soft chilaquiles I'm used to.

So . . . happy hour at El Rey is a yay! Just know that if you're getting off work and are around the corner from 20th and Chestnut.

El Rey
2013 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-563-3330

Xochitl - Lentil Stew

Around the second I posted about my new favorite veggie burger in the city, the deeply spiced black bean burger at Xochitl was off the menu. And, that's the downside of seasonally changing menus. Turn around, and gone are your favorite dishes. The upshot is that a new favorite dish may take it's place and be just what you're in the mood for.

Xochitl's menu of modern and traditional Mexican food is small, but they always have at least one vegetarian entree. On the first cool evening of the season when I donned a scarf and hat, Xochitl's warm beluga lentil stew with squash, trumpet mushrooms, wilted kale, and walnuts hit the spot perfectly. Buttery on first bite, then a hint of spice. All yum, and seasonally satisfying. Get it before it's gone!

Xochitl
408 S. 2nd St, Philadelphia 19147
215-238-7280

Xochitl: Veggie Burger

This one really came out of the left field, but I've found my new favorite veggie burger!

Xochitl's La Azteca veggie burger — a torta, really — is a dreaded, mushy, black bean burger and doesn't even come on a hamburger bun, but it's flavors are so darn good, with peppery spice and a little intrigue from huitlacoche and corn in the patty, that the mush is forgiven (it helps to make a thin patty like Xochitl did, if you're going the bean route), and I was left begging for more. Chihuahua cheese, avocado, crispy onion, and chipotle mayo round out the torta. Vegetarian entree specials are mostly unheard of, so I rarely pay attention to servers as they spout off their memorized lists. Xochitl realized that the best of the summer season is not meat, but vegetables, and offered an heirloom tomato torta as one of their specials. Meaty, sweet, and so juicy, there was no way the bun was escaping the flood of tomato essence. Pure summer joy.

I'm kinda digging Xochitl's more casual menu redo and interior remodeling from the last time I reviewed Xochitl. The taco and torta-heavy menu is still quality, and not having the table linens crumbed after each course puts me much more at ease.

Xochitl
408 S. 2nd St, Philadelphia 19147
215-238-7280

El Camino Real

Can't decide if you want Mexican or Texas bbq? Do you like mounds of seitan? El Camino Real in Liberties Walk has you covered!

Endless chips and salsa are not complimentary at El Camino Real. They'll set you back $1 per person, which is a tad lame, but the chips do come dusted with a tasty mix of spices, if you're into that (I am). Smoked pico de gallo and salsa verde will be your chip dips.

Pitchers of margaritas are di rigueur, and our passion fruit margaritas, one of the fruit flavors of the day, did us just right. We did not measure the contents, but my gut feeling (and from experience) is that the pitchers at the popular and neighboring Cantina Dos Segundos are a tad larger, albeit $2 more expensive. El Camino Real lets you spice up your margaritas with cayenne and chili, though. But they don't do frozen margaritas, like Dos Segungo does. Ah, the margarita conundrum!
This crispy fried jalapeno popper (one of four) stuffed with cheese and topped with a sweet and tangy homemade apricot red onion marmalade, might be one of the best jalapeno poppers I've ever had. I have a thing for sweet and tangy onion marmalade, though.
That would be melted cheese in that there popper. (I keep typing "pooper.")
I blame the boy's expert enchilada-making family, but if there is an enchilada in sight, it's on his plate. Cheese, seitan, fried egg, and fried corn dough made soft with red chili sauce. What's not to like? Well, El Camino Real puts a crispy fried tortilla under all that mess adding an unexpected and desirable crunch. It's like a way, way, way better (and different) Taco Bell Double Decker.
This picture is a little deceiving, but there is a ton of locally made Ray's seitan bathed in bbq wing sauce on that plate of veggie wings. And it's not even the double order. At $7.50 for the normal order, I'd consider buying seitan from El Camino Real instead of the grocery store if I lived a bit closer. Tangy, mustardy, with a little heat, the only improvement to the wing sauce for my tastes would be to make it a tad sweeter . . . but not sickly sweet.

El Camino Real: a little bit Mexican, a little bit Texas bbq, and a whole lotta seitan.

El Camino Real
1040 N. 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19123
215-925-1110
Lunch: Mon-Fri, 11am-4pm
Dinner: 5pm-1am, bar til 2am
Brunch: Sat & Sun, 10am-4pm

Tortilleria y San Roman

Hi, I've been walking around the Italian Market blind — more like focusing intently on the ground so as not bruise shins on suddenly halting carts being pulled by old ladies, or step in puddles of fish juice — and was wondering if you have, too?

'Cause did you know that there's a tortilleria at the corner or 9th and Carpenter churning out fresh tortillas? Neither did I. And it's apparently been there for about a year. Seriously, where have I been?For $1, we got a half kilo of warm, fresh tortillas (16 total in this paper wrapped package). A kilo will cost you $2. I like simple math.

Tortilleria y San Roman
951 9th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147

Tijuana Taco Shop

People in Wilmington love them some Tijuana Taco Shop, a Mexican restaurant and bar (the bar is tiny) near Wilmington's Little Italy neighborhood. I've heard Tijuana Taco Shop mentioned on multiple occasions as the best Mexican fare in Wilmington, so decided to finally check it out.
Step up the stairs past an open window with a view into the kitchen, then past the tiny bar where servers can be seen doing their homework when times are slow, and the restaurant opens up to a warm and casual dining room with bones that look like a once pizza or Italian restaurant from the 80's. Free chips and salsa are de riguer. Chips are average, but the slightly smokey salsa is nice.
Cheese enchiladas are covered in a dark brown, very chocolaty mole sauce. Mexican rice studded with peas and beans accompany, along with a side of re-fried beans.

Asked if the beans contain lard, our server said,"No." I could eat a steak and not have tummy problems, but my highly sensitive dining partner reported no problems afterward, so perhaps they're telling the truth.
The a la cart veggie burrito filled with Mexican rice, re-fried beans, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, and avocado was surprisingly Plain Jane, even with all those ingredients stuffed in there. A slap of mole sauce from my partner's plate and salsa from the table livened things up.
In the veggie taco department, you can choose a mushroom, a potato, a bean, or a poblano taco with your choice or corn or flour tortillas. Above are the mushroom and the potato tacos. Savory sauteed mushrooms with raw diced onions, cilantro and cheese were my favorite. The potato taco was interesting in that the fried potatoes had the texture of a cross between mashed potatoes and grated potatoes.
Need more veggie taco options? Look under the salad section. The salty and tangy nopales salad with fresh tomatoes, onions, cheese, avocado, and cilantro comes with a stack of tortillas, and is a meal in itself.

The menu at Tijuana Taco is quite large, and even has a section dedicated to vegetarians, but look around, and I'm sure you can find something to eat elsewhere on the menu by asking for omissions and substitutions. For example, there's a Torta section with only meat options, but take the meat out and you're still left with beans, cheese, and a whole slew of veggies tucked in a roll.

And for you meat eaters, they do tacos al pastor and lengua, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I don't care enough about to memorize (tried to get a take out menu, but they didn't have any, and they have a really bad website with no menu).

I can see why people love Tijuana Taco Shop. It's solid Mexican in a casual environment. The only thing that would make Tijuana Taco better would be if it were BYOB, 'cause Mexican food is so much better with an entire bottle of Tequila. Aw, well! You'll just have to purchase your liquor from the restaurant.

Tijuana Taco Shop
1815 Lancaster Ave., Wilmington, DE, 19805
302-777-3565

More Café con Chocolate Love

I've already expressed my love for Café con Chocolate, the sunny-hued corner restaurant in South Philly serving up reasonably priced, vegetarian-friendly Mexican and Japanese food, in a write up from almost a year ago. Then I named Café con Chocolate's mole sauce in one of my yearly roundups as the "Best Thing From A Restaurant That I Put In My Mouth." And, a few weeks ago, when the Food Blogger's Brunch panel I sat on was asked what memorable food item from a Philly restaurant they recently ate, I chimed in with Café con Chocolate's mole sauce. So, yeah, I like Café con Chocolate.

Above is a picture of the awesomely delicious and huge vegetarian torta, a Mexican sandwich stuffed with spicy scrambled tofu, mushrooms, cheese, onions, avocado, beans, lettuce, and tomato. I ate half, and, too full to finish it all, had the other half boxed up to go.That bittersweet (but not too bitter) mole sauce I like so much can be ordered as a side from the menu. Thinking I'd receive a little ramekin of mole when I asked for a side, I had to pop my eyes back into my head cartoon-style when a large soup bowl of mole arrived. But, for $4, I guess a side of mole should be generous. This was also wrapped up to go and got me through many happy meals at home.
Cheese and scrambled egg enchiladas with mole, crema, queso fresco, and a side of corn-studded rice are damn good...and more food than you should really eat for breakfast.

Café con Chocolate
2100 S. Norwood St., Philadelphia, PA, 19145
267-639-4506
Thurs-Sat: 10 am - 8 pm
Sun: 10 am - 3 pm
Mon-Wed: closed
BYOB

Mas Cantina

What's this? Another post on Cantina los Caballitos, the South Philly Mexi-bar that holds the honors of having the most posts on this blog of any other restaurant? Nope. It's a post on Cantina Dos Segundos, Cantina los Caballitos younger sister restaurant in Northern Liberties.

Cantina Dos only differs slightly in the food menu from the South Philly location (although brunch is served daily at Cantina Dos, but only on the weekend at Cantina los Caballitos), and all the fabulous margaritas are still there, as are the relaxed vibes, so I can't say it's worth going out of your way to visit Cantina Dos if Cantina los Caballitos is closer. But I was already in Northern Liberties, and a pitcher of margaritas sounded right on!

I have my favorites at Cantina -- vegan fajitas, big-ass bean and rice burrito, and Mexican corn on the cob -- but decided to try something different.Not on the South Philly menu, the salad of julienned green papaya, papaya escabeche, avocado, red onion, radish, cilantro, and papaya seed vinaigrette is a snazzy, snappy, fresh salad with lots of flavor and acid, and I was glad I tried it, since their nopales salad I've tried on previous occasions has left me bored. Papaya salad: upgrade!
The vegetarian sopes with vegan refried black beans, lettuce, salsa verde, salsa rojo, queso fresco, and crema are also not on the South Philly menu, but are not an upgrade. I've been spoiled by eating many sopes in Mexico (sopes are one of only a few vegetarian items on Mexican menus), and these fluffy corn cakes lacked the density and corniness of the sopes in Mexico. Also, the vegan refried beans (not visible in picture, but are underneath all the toppings) were watery and the beans were almost non-existent. Yeah, as much as I love Cantina, I'll admit that not everything there is stellar.The boy had the special of the day, grilled baby octopus in garlic oil sauce. He loooved these! I, on the other hand, a person who is not at all squeamish -- talk about poo or maggots all you want while I'm eating, or skin a deer in front of me; I don't care -- covered the view of his plate with the basket of tortilla chips. All I could think about while he happily chewed was these critters crawling out of his ass in the middle of the night and attacking me in my sleep Alien-style. TMI! And TMM (too many magaritas)!

Cantina, whichever one you visit, is always a good time.

Cantina Dos Segundos
931 N. 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19123
215-629-0500
Open daily, 11-2am
kitchen open 'til 1am
brunch served daily, 11am-4pm

Burrito Bandido

After my lackluster lunch date with Qdoba's rice and bean burrito, I figured I'd bump Burrito Bandido in Wilmington towards the top of my list, since I've heard good things about this (mostly) authentic Mexican restaurant that happens to do an off-the-menu big-ass rice and bean burrito (not authentic).

Oh, how I wish all restaurants, regardless of their size, would make a website so I could check out their menu before traveling to god knows what ugly neighborhood they reside in (MenuPages doesn't cover every city). If Burrito Bandido had a website, I would have known that there was nothing vegetarian, save a cheese quesadilla, on the menu. But, really, I kinda knew that was coming, as most authentic Mexican restaurants are all about the meat.What $5 will get you: one rice and bean burrito with two salsas.

And just so you know, Buritto Bandido's beans and rice contain lard and meat juice. I, of course, didn't think to ask about the presence of lard or meat juice in my off-the-menu rice and bean burrito until after I had arrived at home with my take-out and taken a bite into what would have been an otherwise fine, but not rockin', rice and bean burrito. Whoo, the beans had enough sodium to sub as a salt lick.

And, don't worry, this lard-in-bean/chicken-stock-in-rice thing happens all the time to me unbeknownst, and it doesn't make me sick or flinch. I don't like it, but it ain't no thang.

But...the people who work at Burrito Bandido are really friendly, the bright building is quite a cheery site in it's wasteland-of-Wilmington location, and meat-eaters say great things about their food. So get on it, Wilmington!

And here's their muy cute, single-fold, business card-sized menu. You're welcome.
Burrito Bandido
227 N. Maryland Ave., Wilmington, DE 19804
302-652-5749
Mon.-Thurs. 10am-10pm; Fri.-Sun. 9am-11pm

Café con Chocolate

I'm so, so sorry to have let Café con Chocolate sit in my restaurant to-do list for as long as it did. Don't even bother reading the recap of my meal at this small café in deep South Philly serving Mexican and Japanese dishes; just go there. You won't regret it.

Wait. Huh? Mexican and Japanese? Yes. The owner is of Mexican and Japanese decent, so it only makes sense to serve up what one knows best. One of my favorite restaurants of all time serves Mexican and Korean food (sorry, it's 600 miles away), but it works because it's what the owners know best.

We arrived at Café con Chocolate's sunny yellow building at the corner of Snyder Ave. and Norwood St. (that's between 21st and 22nd) at prime brunch time on a Sunday, and were the only ones dining in, besides a couple of older men that were obviously regulars from the neighborhood. The only reason I can guess Café con Chocolate sits nearly empty while there are long lines at other hot brunch spots is because of Café con Chocolate's location in deep South Philly. I admit that the reason Café Con Chocolate sat on my to-do list so long is it's location in a part of town I have no other business in, but now that I know how good the food is, I don't mind walking the thirty minutes it takes from our house into no man's land.Since it was cold out, we started with a big cup of Cajetuccino (basically a cappuccino with a shot of caramel syrup) and a cup of Chocolate Oaxaca. Both were awesome, but I especially loved the subtly spicy Mexican hot chocolate. There was something else about the hot chocolate other than the cinnamon and chili that I loved, but I couldn't place my finger on it; it tasted almost slightly minty.

When it's warmer out, we'll have to try some of the milkshakes, smoothies, tamarind and hibiscus water, Mexican juices, and other beverages on their menu.

I had the hardest time choosing from Café con Chocolate's menu, since almost every item is or can be made vegetarian. Tacos, flautas, burritos, enchiladas, empanadas, quesadillas, tostadas, or tortas? But what about the Japanese red curry, tempanyaki (grilled vegetables), and itokognaku (sauteed vegetable and noodles served with rice)?
I went with the Mollete from the breakfast menu. The buttered and toasted roll topped with refried beans and melted cheese with a side of pico de gallo is a simple meal, but the sesame seed roll was excellent, and the pico de gallo was so fresh I wouldn't be surprised if it was prepared after I put in my order. The Mollete was also filling (I took half home) and a bargain. The printed menu said $4.50, and the chalk board menu said $4.00, but our bill said $3.50. No matter which price you're charged, it's still cheap.My partner had the Chilequiles, fried tortillas covered with your choice of mole sauce or salsa, two eggs, and a side of refried beans ($7.00) from the breakfast menu. He chose mole sauce, and I am so glad he did. I want to buy buckets of Café con Chocolate's mole sauce, that's how much I like it! I scraped my partner's plate with my fork after he was done to get all of the sauce I could into my mouth. Not classy, but, hey. I like mole sauce, but sometimes the bitterness puts me off. Bitterness is not a problem with Café con Chocolate's mole; it has a sweet edge and ends with a warm spiciness. So good.

We had already picked out the fruit-filled empanadillas from the dessert menu, but were too full to even consider eating more after finishing brunch. Thankfully, we had a thirty minute walk home ahead of us to burn off some of what we just ate.

As we walked home we could not stop talking about how much we loved Café con Chocolate - a café serving food they know and love, doing it well, and not inflating prices. We wished this small café were closer to home, but then thought better of that dangerous idea. A little walk never hurt anyone.

Café con Chocolate
2100 S. Norwood St., Philadelphia, PA, 19145
267-639-4506
Thurs-Sat: 10 am - 8 pm
Sun: 10 am - 3 pm
Mon-Wed: closed
BYOB

Adobe Cafe, Dos

We tried out the new, second location of Adobe Cafe way down at the bottom of E. Passyunk Ave. a couple of weekends ago. I've never been to the original Adobe Cafe, a Southwestern and Mexican restaurant in the Roxborough neighborhood of Philly.

From our South Philly (almost Queen Village) house we strolled past the authentic taquerias along Passyunk, deeper into South Philly past Cantina Los Cabalittos, and finally reached Adobe's new abode.

One smaller room holds a horseshoe-shaped bar with TV's, and the other larger room (quite large!) holds booths and tables surrounded by walls covered in hand-painted murals and glue-gunned decorations. I felt as though I had been transported to a suburban Mexican restaurant where square footage is cheap, and cheap decor is the norm. Kind of refreshing, actually.

On a late Saturday brunch, there was no one in Adobe. No one! Except for a couple of people drinking beers at the bar. We had the entire dining room to ourselves. The bartender was our waiter, and since we were the only table we got mediocre service. You'd think it would be the other way around, but I guess since we were the only ones there he didn't have much reason to poke his head around the corner frequently.The complimentary chips were tricolor from a bag. I'm not a chip snob or a chip lover, so could care less. The complimentary salsa was slightly spicy with hints of marinara. Huh?
The taco salad with finely shredded iceberg lettuce, shredded cheese from a bag, runny guacamole, sour cream, and diced stewed tomatoes that tasted like a cross between Italian and Mexican tomatoes from a can was the worst thing that we ordered. It came with a side of some very sweet dressing that we never even considered pouring on top. I imagine something of this caliber is offered at college cafeterias. I wouldn't know, though.
What is awesome about the Adobe Cafe is that they have a lot of vegetarian options. I just couldn't resist ordering vegetarian chicken wings. I secretly hoped they'd be in the shape of chicken wings (kinda how you hope someone makes a seitan turkey in the shape of a turkey), but we got hunks of seitan smothered in sweet and spicy barbecue wing sauce. The accompanying ranch dressing, shredded iceberg lettuce, and paltry celery sticks and baby carrots was lame. But isn't that about right with wings? I'd probably feel the same about real wings. Meh. Order this dish on the bar side of the restaurant when watching a sports game, not while eating Mexican.
Adobe's sweet and slightly spicy seitan tips were the best thing that we ordered if you discount the shredded iceberg lettuce, and overly sweet chipotle aioli sauce that didn't taste a thing like chipotle or aioli. Seriously, that little bit of seitan sitting in the blue corn tortilla cup was the only decent thing we had at Adobe.

With Mexican food that's as good as when I reach into my fridge and pull out a tortilla from my grocery store pack of ten and fill it with leftovers and a dab of salad dressing for a quick snack, Adobe Cafe is going to have some stiff competition with the always packed Cantina Los Caballitos just a few blocks north. And the funny thing is that, considering we were the only people in the entire place, we waited longer than we should have to get food comparable to my late night snacks.

I wish any business the best of luck, but I can't see myself returning to Adobe Cafe. I always have tortillas in my fridge.

Adobe Cafe
1919 E. Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia, PA, 19148
215-551-2243

Las Bugambilias

We finally went to Las Bugambilias on South Street after our first attempt a few months back was stymied by the South Street Mexican restaurant's vacation closing...and I'm declaring Las Bugambilias with it's small, vintage Mexican photo-filled interior one of my favorite Mexican joints in the city. Really!

Authentic Mexican taquerias don't do much for me, simply because they don't offer up much for the vegetarian. I admit that a big-ass rice and beans burrito is my absolute favorite (hello, Cantina), even if it is far from authentic. And Distrito with their fancy Mexican tapas is just heavenly, but sometimes you want a platter of enchiladas with a side of beans and rice. Good enchiladas. Not the crap you find at Rosa Linda's Ranchero in the strip mall (I made that up. If there's a Rosa Linda's Ranchero, I'm sorry).

Say hello to Las Bugambilias. A nice compromise between all of the above. Also the best enchiladas I've ever had. ¡Hola!
It's a tight squeeze in Las Bugambilias, so we had drinks at the tiny corner bar while waiting ten minutes for a table. We were dining without a reservation, but at a late hour. I recommend a reservation for prime time.

I was a little scared of the Coche Mexicano I ordered from their cocktail menu because it contained licorice infused tequila, but the bartender assured me it did not taste like licorice. I went for it and enjoyed the citrusy (Cointreau and lemon), but woodsy (that's the licorice infused tequila talking) cocktail.

Three other cocktails (don't remember which ones) and one pitcher of red sangria were also consumed. By four people!Comlimentary chips and salsa: fried tortillas with one fresh type salsa, and one spicier mole type salsa.

Three of the above four dishes contain meat, so I can only repeat what the other eaters told me. Everyone loved their dishes, but since they know I write this blog, people tend to mention what bothered them.

Top left: Ceviche mixto with flounder marinated and cooked in lime juice, crabmeat, shrimp, onion, jalapeno, scallions, mango, jicama, cilantro, tomatoes, avocado, and olive oil went fast at our table. The one Peruvian ceviche purist said it reminded him of seafood salad. He poo-poos almost every ceviche I've seen him eat, but, yet, he orders ceviche almost every chance he gets. This is a case of wanting something exactly one way. Sort of like me and mac and cheese.

Top right: Corn Empanadas filled with corn, zuchinni, and pumpkin blossoms. While eating Distrito's empanada-like quesadillas, I longed for Las Bugambilias' tangy, veggie-filled empanadas, if that tells you anything about how good these were.

Bottom left: Grilled achiote-marinated grouper filet topped with marinated shrimp, avocados, and salsa, with fried plantains, rice, and beans. No complaints on the fish. The only complaint was that the fried plantains were overly mushy. But it's a plantain. What's not to love.

Bottom right: Shrimp stuffed with cheese, pumpkin blossoms, zucchini, and corn wrapped with bacon, served with a chipotle sauce, rice, and salad. The biggest eater in our group ordered this and was a little afraid that five shimp would not be enough, but he was stuffed when it was all done. Shrimp, bacon, and cheese in one bite! It must be awesome. Believe it or not, he actually thought there was too much bacon. He was perplexed at that declaration.
Now, what I ate...the best enchiladas, ever.

I'm not a lover of cheese enchiladas because I just don't need that much cheese in my system, but even though these three vegetarian enchiladas are covered in Chihuahua cheese, the tart, assorted vegetable filling made me so, so happy. The menu says it's filled with carrots, zucchini, and spinach, but I remember corn in there, too. This may become the dish I have to order every time I visit Las Bugambilias. Thank you for not making a vegetarian enchilada by simply filling corn tortillas with cheese. And thank you for making it so tasty.

My only complaint about my meal was the black beans. I found them thick and grainy. But a friend across the table kept groaning about how she loved the beans, so...

Let's all do a ritualistic dance to preserve Las Bugambilias' presence on South Street. Or just go support them. But not when I want a seat!

Las Bugambilias
148 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-922-3190