Muy Caliente!

While in Philly staying at the Downtown Marriott, a group of friends and I wandered down 13th street in order find a fun place for dinner. The bright lights and music drew us in and as we entered El Vez we knew we were in for an experience. The brightly decorated modern Mexican restaurant is a mix of retro sixties diner and modern fun house. Since we had to wait for a table we decided to head to the bar and grab a drink. It was here that I found The Perfect Mojito - A Guava Mojito. The bartender with the dark spiky hair made me one of the BEST mojitos I have ever tasted in my life. Though I had another very good one later in the evening, this first one was so good I am not sure if it could be duplicated. Made with 10 Cane Rum, Bacardi Limon, Pink Guava Puree, Lime and Mint it is exactly as mojito’s should be; light and refreshing! My friends tried the El Vez Margarita (your class Margarita) and the Frozen Blood Orange Margarita. For Margarita fans the Frozen Blood Orange is the better choice as it combines gold tequila, triple sec, and fresh blood orange puree. The final cocktail chosen by our group was the Mexipolitan. A twist on a Cosmopolitan, it combines Jose Cuervo Classico, Cointreau, fresh lime juice, and a splash of cranberry in a martini glass.

We were set on drinks and headed to our table. It was a gold shag carpet covered circular booth with more than enough room for 5 adults with hips! Our server Alicia was friendly and outgoing without being overly chatty and shared the specials of the night. El Vez is known for its guacamole and has 9 varieties that they make fresh tableside. Not feeling very adventurous we stuck with classic El Vez Original with tomatoes, onions, cilantro, jalapeños and limes. The guacamole, like my Guava mojito, was AMAZING. So far El Vez was setting the bar for Modern Mexican restaurants in my book. 

So what did we have for dinner? 

 The Open Faced Shrimp Quesadilla provided a tasty compliment to a large bowl of Tortilla Soup. Though it is not huge I wanted to save room for dessert. More about that later…

The Black Bass Tacos are served like Tapas over a sweet potato puree with grilled scallions and fried jalapeños. The tastes mix together well even though they each have a very distinctive flavor. This is not a huge entree so if you are hungry add an appetizer or guacamole to your order. The dessert is also great so if you are not full at the end of the main course that is not a bad thing. Still more about dessert in just a few seconds…

Finally our table also had the El Vez Enchiladas Mixtas which is a serving of all three of the El Vez Enchiladas:Crab, Black Bean, and Red Chile and Chicken.

 

 

We ended our meal with the Dulce De Leche Sopapillas and the Sorbets. The Sopapillas are caramel filled pockets of dough sprinkled with powdered sugar and more caramel sauce. It is served with a coconut rum sorbet which is one of the three sorbets that come in the sorbet dessert. The other two flavors; Strawberry Margarita and Passion Fruit round out a trio that makes you think you just landed in the tropics. Each sorbet is served in a small scoop and is light and perfect at the end of a heavy meal. Both desserts are just the right size to share with friends.

The restaurant has some unique features like a low-rider bicycle turning above the bar where the bottles of alcohol sit and the locker room style shared sink between the separated men’s and ladies restrooms. And we can’t forget the classic photo booth. Each server has four pictures from the photo booth on their shirt and you can capture your night forever by cramming into the booth for photos with your friends or a significant other. The restaurant is great for a girls night out, date night, or even just a group of friends.

 El Vez
121 S. 13th Street
Philadelphia, PA
215-928-9800 

www.elvezrestaurant.com