Archive for December, 2005

SANTA FE BURRITO

Thursday, December 29th, 2005

santa fe burrito

When we first entered this faux Mexican fast food joint, we were pleasantly surprised to see an extremely vegetarian friendly menu listed on a gigantic chalk board to the right of the entrance. In addition to the standard Mexican fast food fare, the menu boasts items such as the Santa Fe Tofu burrito, the Totally Veggie burrito and a Faux Beef burrito.

We started off with a Quesadilla Especial: a flour tortilla loaded with melted jack cheese sauteed onion and fresh jalepeño served with sides of salsa, sour cream and guacamole. You can add chicken to that as well. The quesadillas turned out to be pretty mediocre: they were lukewarm and the cheese wasn't fully melted. The guacamole was similarly unremarkable. Messy opted for the Faux Beef burrito, and it was delicious. Picky went for the Chicken Mole burrito, his favorite item to order at the Mexican fast food joints, and he wasn't disappointed. The hot sauce they provided was a mild chipotle sauce. Picky prefers one that is near-burning, yet still tasty. He was surprised that there was not more of a selection of hot sauces in an establishment with so many varieties of burritos to choose from.

We took a seat in the back of the place. Most of the walls have pices of Isaiah Zagar's (the guy behind the Magic Garden on South St) artwork which is all for sale. The exorbitant prices for the artwork clashed quite a bit with the feel of the place. It was quite a sterile environment, with typical fast food furniture and a strong cleaning fluid smell. Maybe next time we'll get take-out — those burritos were big, filling and good.

Messy: **3/4
Picky: ***

The final word: Good non-authentic Mexican food — better than Chipotle/Qdoba.

Santa Fe Burrito
212 South 11th St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-413-2378
Mon – Sat: 11a m- 9pm
Sun: Closed
Delivery Hours: 4pm – 8pm
Delivery Radius: 4 blocks with a $10 minimum

Posted in Center City East, Mexican | 3 Comments »

TAQUERIA LA VERACRUZANA

Monday, December 19th, 2005

taqueria la veracruzana
Messy has been to this delightful joint several times for their vegetarian burrito and Huevos a la Veracruzana (over-easy eggs with beans, sour cream, cheese, onions and poblano green peppers), and each time, she found herself full and satisfied, but not too full, the way some Mexican restuarants leave her. We've had dinner together here a few times now, and Picky has found himself similarly impressed.

Picky's had two gigantic burritos, one grilled steak and one chorizo, and both lived up to the hype. The burritos are gigantic, but not overstuffed, just enough to fill you up plus another bite or two (at least for our apetites). There are good, fresh chips served with two kinds of spicy salsa: salsa verde and chipotle. The guacamole, which comes with cheese sprinkled on it, is a cooling companion to spicier dishes, but it can make for awkward eating, as the chips are placed on top of the guac, not underneath. In addition to the standard fillings, the vegetarian burrito has huge chunks of avocado and occassional peas, which make for a pleasant surprise. It's BYOB, but if you don't want alcohol there are plenty of drinks to choose from, including all kinds of flavors of jarritos and Coke in the original glass bottles.

The ingredients are all pretty cheap: iceberg lettuce, American cheese, but it makes for an authentic, filling but not overwhelming, not greasy meal.


Above is a shot of one of their burritos ordered for take out. This one is Picky's steak burrito. They pack up the burritos nicely in aluminum foil for the heat and some parchment paper to hold. They're also kind enough to include small containers of their homemade spicy salsas.

Messy ****1/2
Picky ****

The final word: Delicious, authentic and affordable Mexican food.

908 Washington Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-465-1440
7 days per week, 7am-Midnight

Posted in Bella Vista, BYOB, Mexican | 11 Comments »

PINE STREET PIZZA

Sunday, December 11th, 2005

pine street pizza

Although we have had pretty good experiences with Pine Street Pizza, there is one major disappointment: there are no single slices. A small pie, which costs $5.75, is slightly bigger than a Pizza Hut personal pan pizza. They come with six small slices, roughly equal to two and a half "real" slices. The pizza is thick, and Greek-style, with crust that tastes almost like French bread. It's a good balance of mozz and sauce, but still too thick and chewy for Picky's liking.

Also on the menu are other Greek specialities like souvlaki and gyros. Picky went for a gyro, which he found to be nice and overstuffed, served in tin foil wrapper. He found it to be quite good, with plenty of shredded lettuce and diced fresh tomatos as well as a nice helping of sliced beef and yogurt sauce, and, for a twist, sliced pickles which was new to him and not a good, but not a bad combo.

Two other important facts about Pine Street Pizza: it's open until midnight, which is pretty late for the neighborhood, there are always cops in there. Always. Like four officers every thirty minutes.

And how large are the small pies? Below is a photo with a CD for reference:

pine st pizza pie

Messy: ***
Picky: ***

The final word: Decent Greek pizza open til midnight, with lots of security.

12th St & Pine St
7 Days 11am – Midnight
Delivery to 11.20pm
215-922-2526

Posted in Center City East, Italian, Pizza | 6 Comments »