Mixto

Mixto. I pass it all the time on Pine St., but can never remember what type of food they serve. I've asked my partner countless times if he's eaten there, always forgetting that he has on multiple occasions. For whatever reason, the place does not stick in my head. Well, Mixto has finally been solidified in my head with a recent visit. They serve Latin American and Cuban cuisine.

The dinner menu is fish and seafood heavy, so vegetarians are limited to one entree, and few appetizers and soups, but considerably more salads.

The two appetizers we tried were guacamole with fried green plantain chips, and sweet plantain filled with cheese (beef omitted). With only a bite of each due to the large party at our table, I can only say that they both were fine.

I went with the veggie plate, a huge plate that included beans and rice (choice black or red beans; and white or yellow rice), sweet plantains, fried green plantains, yucca, assorted sauteed veggies, avocado, and arepa.

The vegetables were bland, and the fried green plantains were extremely dry. There was so much food on the plate that I ignored what interested me least - the vegetables, fried green plantains, and arepa - and ate the beans and rice, yucca, avocado, and sweet plantains. The black beans could have used bolder flavors.

My veggie platter had me wishing Mixto offered a couple more vegetarian entree options with more thought, instead of a plate filled with a little of this and a little of that.

The service at Mixto was only marginal. The appetizers and drinks (both white and red sangrias are great) arrived quickly, but there was an extremely long period between appetizers and entrees. So long we joked that they had to run down the street to kill the chicken.

No pictures, but the boy lurved his fish entree. I also hear people lurve Mixto's brunch.

Mixto
1141 Pine St, Philadelphia 19107
215-592-0363