El Vez
Corner of 13th and Sansom streets
215-928-9800
Credit cards accepted
Bathrooms down two long flights of steps
Open daily
It’s safe to say that Stephen Starr’s ever-growing culinary empire spans the globe. Asia is represented by Buddakan, Pod and Morimoto while the Mediterranean strongly influences Tangerine. American-style comfort food is served up at Jones, my personal Starr favorite, while martinis take center stage at the Continental. (A second Continental will open at 18th and Chestnut soon.) Angelina looks to Italy and Alma de Cuba is pure Havana. And Starr recently purchased Neil Stein’s ill-fated Striped Bass, so a seafood house soon will be added to his list.
When Trust closed after only a year-and-a-half run, Starr looked at the spot at 13th and Sansom and decided to go Mexican. The result is El Vez, a casual corner restaurant and bar that opened in early November.
The quality of Mexican fare is iffy in our town. Las Cazuelas in North Philly and Garibaldi in South Philly serve up some of the finest. Now I can add El Vez to the list.
Unfortunately, the decibel level at El Vez was so high, I couldn’t hear a word my husband was saying as we were being seated one recent weeknight. It was 6:45 p.m. and a group at the bar was enjoying some beer and having a rousing good time. The hostess showed us to a quieter spot and we settled in.
Three tips of the toque straightaway to our server, Julia, of South Philly. She explain-ed the menu, answered our questions with a smile and made some recommendations.
Julia brought us an earthenware bowl filled with delicious spiced nuts and pumpkinseeds. She and her assistant watched our table, serving and clearing with ease, filling our water glasses and bringing us clean flatware when necessary. Even the hostess came over to us midway through our meal to make sure we were enjoying dinner. El Vez is a well-run establishment where service is as important as the bill of fare.
Edward and I sipped nice-sized martinis ($7.25) and discussed the menu. The print is small and much of the restaurant lighting is dim, so I moved to the bar where the light — spotlighting a colorful Chicano low-rider bicycle hanging overhead — was bright.
I told our server that I prefer crispy tacos or nachos to the softer corn or flour tortillas used in Mexican fare. We began our trip to Mexico with a confit of duck ($12) and seared tuna ($12), both of which were delicious. Julia told us the tuna is served on a crispy, nacho-like savory confection, so I decided to try it. The confit of duck was shredded and seasoned with the right touch of cumin, chili powder and spice and rolled into three small, slightly crispy enchiladas. They sat on a pool of creamy pureed avocado.
Julia was right about the tuna. I received a long earthenware platter containing five or six crispy confections topped with sliced, perfectly seasoned rare ahi tuna. The rim of the platter was dusted with cinnamon, a favorite spice used in Mexican cooking.
We shared a glass of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale ($5) and decided on a salad. "The chopped salad is large enough for both of you," said Julia. Culinary license was taken with this dish. Israel may have invented the chopped salad and its Mediterranean influence spread to Italy. I don’t think Mexicans eat chopped salads, but El Vez’s version ($7) was large and fresh. It contained an interesting mix of ingredients that married well: a large mound of chopped romaine, peppery watercress, bits of chayote squash, grilled sweet corn, charred tomatoes, toasted almonds and some crisp tortilla chips — all dressed in a light lime vinaigrette redolent with cumin. I could taste that the corn and tomatoes were fresh, even at this time of year.
While we were enjoying the salad, Philadelphia’s most famous foodie and restaurant booster, Gov. Ed Rendell, arrived with his wife, the Hon. Midge Rendell. They were shown to a brightly lit corner booth and dug in. No one in the restaurant noticed them. A few staff members did, including Julia, but the couple received the same courteous service as everyone seated in the dining rooms.
I still had tacos on my mind when I considered an entrée. A woman at the bar was noshing on a sampler plate that looked delicious and most intriguing. Julia told me it consisted of several tacos, not really crisp like I prefer but not soft or mushy either. "The platter is $16," she said. I went for it.
My dinner consisted of three small round tacos and one long rolled taco. One was topped with strips of crisp mahi mahi, while another was crowned with shredded chicken, bits of ripe avocado, shredded iceberg lettuce and grated queso fresco, a fresh mild cheese. Another taco contained grilled portabello mushrooms topped with tomatillo-corn salsa and cheese. The long wrapper was filled with delicious cumin-spiced ground beef, refried beans, salsa and crisp onions. My dinner arrived with a side of rice with black beans, which could have been hotter.
Edward’s spit-roasted chicken ($17) was unusually delicious. He received a whole boneless breast of bird with the wing bone attached, as it is often served in Europe. It had been spit-roasted to perfection, then sliced and napped with a slightly sweet creamy sauce with cornbread and an ancho chicken chile relleno. The breast meat was juicy and succulent, retaining a fine texture and not one iota overcooked. We both liked the chile pepper, which was good-sized and filled with spicy shredded chicken.
El Vez is a bit pricey. A pork entrée is $22 and red snapper is $24. An order of nachos and guacamole — the latter of which is sometimes prepared tableside when the dining room isn’t too full, and served in one of those lava-like deep vessels — is $12. Most diners seemed to be making a meal of moderately priced appetizers and a glass of beer. I guess you could call it Mexican tapas.
Rendell and his wife left El Vez the same time we did. When we stepped outside, I asked him about the Eagles. "Are we going to the Super Bowl?"
"I think so," was the governor’s reply. "But I’m not sure we will win."
Since I’ve spoken with Rendell during numerous culinary events, I asked him about his dinner. Why not get an unofficial opinion?
"I love the nachos," he said. "If only Stephen Starr would bag them and sell them. And I liked the shrimp enchiladas, especially the sauce."
Two-and-a-half tips of the toque to El Vez.
