El Vez, Philadelphia, PA, USA
As the eleventh node in the restaurant empire of Stephen Starr, the reigning king of Philadelphia's dining scene, El Vez was launched with high expectations, and fortunately it does not disappoint. The restaurant's website describes its atmosphere as a sexy, festive vibe of Mexican - American pop culture, with “Day of the Dead” motifs and kitschy Mexican accents bringing to life the authenticity of Tijuana, with a hot and flashy Vegas twist. I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but somehow it works. The interior is an eclectic mix of trendy and funky touches, including Mexican-style murals on half the walls, a montage of pictures and colored panels on the other half, plush semicircular booths, and a very kitschy gold-plated low-rider bicycle on top of the large, circular bar, all bathed in a deep southwestern red.
The menu is similarly eclectic, offering an "updated" Mexican cuisine with touches of fusion. At El Vez, tostadas might come with wild mushrooms, enchiladas with carmelized onions, or tacos with mahi-mahi, red cabbage and a chipotle pepper remoulade (a French- style mayonnaise- based sauce). We started what turned out to be a huge meal with a Mexican chopped salad of romaine lettuce, charred corn, tomatoes, toasted almonds, green olives, cotija cheese, and crunchy tortilla strips with a cumin-lime vinaigrette. That was followed with an open-faced grilled shrimp quesedilla, with oaxaca and chihuahua cheeses and a pasilla chile sauce, and duck confit flautas, with poblano avocado sauce, cotija cheese and crema fresca. The descriptions of the dishes themselves are a confusing jumble of ingredients, but in nearly every case the unusual combinations worked well together.
For instance, our first entree was tamarind barbecue babyback ribs; the ribs were tender and the tamarind (a fruit best known for its used in Asian cuisines, including Indian and Thai) added a dash of the exotic. Similarly, the carne asada was just as advertised - tender, charcoal beef steak, and again the unexpected inclusion of a three chile sauce, tomatillo and arroz con crema added a new twist to the standard dish. The intriguing, almost fun mix of flavors often led us to double-check the description to see just how that taste had been concocted. The meal rolled on, with red chile and chicken enchiladas with crema fresca, radish and cotija cheese next, followed by yucatan seared tuna with rock shrimp, black bean salad and plaintain chips, along with sides of grilled corn on the cob, creamy poblano corn rice, and poblano corn bread.
Though El Vez is just over two years old, the restaurant's servers still seemed eager to please, giving us complimentary snacks to make up for a (very) long interlude at the bar while waiting to be seated. The service was also surprisingly well coordinated and looked after our party of over twenty people without any of the usual large-group problems. However, the restaurant's critics argue that the eclectic touches don't justify the prices - most of the entrees ranged between $19 and $24, and the starters were priced between $8-$12. A big bowl of guacamole, served with chips and salsa roja, will set you back $12, a high price even if the guacamole is made fresh right in the main dining room. After all, the entrees, while fresh and different, are hardly haute cuisine. Half of the fun is the restaurant's trendy, kitschy atmosphere, which certainly won't work for everyone. For those who do like it, though, El Vez is refreshingly interesting and, best of all, fun.
El Vez
121 S. 13th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-928-9800
www.elvezrestaurant.com
The menu is similarly eclectic, offering an "updated" Mexican cuisine with touches of fusion. At El Vez, tostadas might come with wild mushrooms, enchiladas with carmelized onions, or tacos with mahi-mahi, red cabbage and a chipotle pepper remoulade (a French- style mayonnaise- based sauce). We started what turned out to be a huge meal with a Mexican chopped salad of romaine lettuce, charred corn, tomatoes, toasted almonds, green olives, cotija cheese, and crunchy tortilla strips with a cumin-lime vinaigrette. That was followed with an open-faced grilled shrimp quesedilla, with oaxaca and chihuahua cheeses and a pasilla chile sauce, and duck confit flautas, with poblano avocado sauce, cotija cheese and crema fresca. The descriptions of the dishes themselves are a confusing jumble of ingredients, but in nearly every case the unusual combinations worked well together.
For instance, our first entree was tamarind barbecue babyback ribs; the ribs were tender and the tamarind (a fruit best known for its used in Asian cuisines, including Indian and Thai) added a dash of the exotic. Similarly, the carne asada was just as advertised - tender, charcoal beef steak, and again the unexpected inclusion of a three chile sauce, tomatillo and arroz con crema added a new twist to the standard dish. The intriguing, almost fun mix of flavors often led us to double-check the description to see just how that taste had been concocted. The meal rolled on, with red chile and chicken enchiladas with crema fresca, radish and cotija cheese next, followed by yucatan seared tuna with rock shrimp, black bean salad and plaintain chips, along with sides of grilled corn on the cob, creamy poblano corn rice, and poblano corn bread.
Though El Vez is just over two years old, the restaurant's servers still seemed eager to please, giving us complimentary snacks to make up for a (very) long interlude at the bar while waiting to be seated. The service was also surprisingly well coordinated and looked after our party of over twenty people without any of the usual large-group problems. However, the restaurant's critics argue that the eclectic touches don't justify the prices - most of the entrees ranged between $19 and $24, and the starters were priced between $8-$12. A big bowl of guacamole, served with chips and salsa roja, will set you back $12, a high price even if the guacamole is made fresh right in the main dining room. After all, the entrees, while fresh and different, are hardly haute cuisine. Half of the fun is the restaurant's trendy, kitschy atmosphere, which certainly won't work for everyone. For those who do like it, though, El Vez is refreshingly interesting and, best of all, fun.
El Vez
121 S. 13th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-928-9800
www.elvezrestaurant.com
posted by steve at 3:16 PM
1 Comments:
Yum!
Post a Comment
<< Home