Avenida

On the fourth day of Christmas blogging ... my vegetarian friend suggested to me that we go to Avenida, the cute Latin restaurant in Mt. Airy.

Avenida is very cute, under its colonial stone exterior, with its separate red rooms and seating that manage to retain the charm of a home. I understand that you can reserve one of the separate rooms upstairs where, on the night I ate there, unbeknownst to me, MCRF's mother was meeting with her book club. Not a bad book club place.

Avenida has received much hype and I confess expectations were high for me. Which is why when service was slow and fairly unresponsive, I was disappointed. Avenida did pass the guacamole test, offering chunky, freshly made, flavorful avocadoes with a hint of citrus. It comes with "dos salsas," one of which that night included the "enchilada sauce," a cheesy looking sauce that was cold and slightly bland although, in the style of all vaguely cheesy sauces, had a comfort food appeal.

I elected to get the Pork Pibil, with green mole and zucchini cheese pastel. After assurances that it could be made to be less spicy (yes, I like mild food, no, it's not a reflection on my personality), it was, in fact, pretty spicy. This lent itself to my really wanting those tortillas that our server promised many minutes ago. Finally they arrived and with the tortillas cutting some of the spice, I enjoyed the pork's intense flavor but was not blown away. The zucchini cheese pastel was as good as it sounds, a fluffy baked mix of cheese and zucchini, without being too heavy.
My vegetarian friend got, appropriately, the chef's vegetarian plate, a fully loaded plate that included the zucchini cheese pastel, along with fresh sauteed vegetables, greens, a fried potato or corn something-or-another, and asparagus topping. Although reported as tasty, it lacked a certain thematic coherence to me that spelled "side dishes on same plate," but then again, side dishes can be pretty tasty.

All in all, worth a return trip for the ambience, armed with lower expectations around service and a willingness to branch out on menu choices.

Avenida is located at 7402 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa, 19119, http://www.avenidarestaurant.com/.

Earth Bread + Brewery

I don't really get the name of the restaurant, nor have I fully wrapped my mind around its premise - brewed beers with cryptic names, "flatbread" that is really pizza - but I did enjoy Earth Bread + Brewery. After going a couple of more times, I may in fact conquer my penchant to call it "Earth, Wind and Fire."

Several folks had recommended this place to me so I was persuaded to drive out and see what all the fuss was about. I should add that there is, in fact, a lot of fuss. The place was teeming with people. It's a large, cavernous, two story, two house establishment, with tall windows and large bars on each floor. The walls are butter yellow and the rest honey colored wood, giving a warm but light feel to the place. While pleasant, the feel was odd for a brewery. Nevertheless, it is a central spot for Mt. Airy, filled with a diverse clientele made complete with a 30 minute wait for a table (but we snagged a bar table without the wait).

With names like "Total Blank" ale, the beer list takes a bit of deciphering. Printed on a chalkboard and lacking descriptions other than "ale" or "stout," you are left to your own devices. The wait staff seemed pretty friendly though, so I'm confident they could have helped. I went with the "We heavy, yo!" EBB's hip hop homage to a "wee heavy" scotch ale. Caramel, strong and a little bitter, the wee heavy hit the spot on a cold night. EBB also has an interesting selection of "guest" beers on draft, including Philadelphia Brewing Company's Walt Whit, a lighter beer than the scotch ale, but still flavorful and good.

We started with edamame, which came dressed with sea salt and lime. I enjoyed the novelty of having edamame at a brewery, but EBB's real specialty is the flatbread, or as the rest of us might call it, pizza. Between the two of us, we tried three. My dining companion ordered the pesto, with roasted potatoes and fresh mozzarella. A fan of EBB, he knew what to get -- it was the best of our choices, with fresh pesto rounded out nicely with a hint of potato and the perfect amount of mozzarella.


I went with the traditional, with "house made tomato sauce, roasted onion, fresh mozzarella, garlic olive oil, topped with seasonal greens." The "seasonal greens" were a bunch of arugula, which I found a little distracting. I also found the sauce a bit sweet for my liking, but the mozzarella was spot on, in both quality and quantity and the overall bite was tasty.


Our last pie (or flatbread) was the Mexican, with tomatoes, black beans, corn, cheese and cilantro. The beans were surprisingly sprinkled judiciously and the sauce was a nice complement to the other flavors. I didn't quite taste the cilantro.

At 11:30 pm on a Friday night, we explored the upstairs. It was fairly packed, considering how much space it consumed. Again, it had a light but cozy feeling, as though your friends were kind enough to open up a part of their house for you to hang out. Which seemed like the perfect atmosphere for Mt. Airy - a good mix of urban and suburban, yuppie and hipster, young and old.

Earth Bread + Brewery is located at 7136 Germantown Avenue, Mt. Airy, www.earthbreadbrewery.com.

Tiffin

Tiffin's arrival on the Philadelphia scene has been met with great fan fare. Filling a gap in this city's food offerings, it began as a delivery service only (which still exists, albeit with some confusing time-related requirements) and has since expanded into small restaurants. One such restaurant opened around the corner from My Chiles Rellenos Friend and I had been eager to try it.

Arriving a bit after 7 p.m. on a Thursday night, we somehow managed to beat what became an amazing rush, given that the wind outside was ridiculous. The outside was pretty much the only waiting area, save for the four somewhat oblivious souls that stood directly behind MCRF while we dined. Really, folks? I guess I'll skip the intensely personal conversation tonight (ok, it didn't stop me).

In any case, the menu is more straightforward than the on-line delivery menu and features daily specials. We tried one, the lamb keema samosas. I loved them, but probably more for the dipping sauces than anything else. Speaking of dipping sauces, the garlic naan offered plenty of opportunity to dip, along with a fresh fragrant bread. The garlic was powerful but not overwhelming.Having been spoiled by first eating Indian food during a semester abroad in London, I often crave - and miss - chicken korma. Which is what I ordered and enjoyed immensely. I was impressed that I could easily pick out the fresh ginger in the sauce, combining with other magical spices to offer a fragrant, mild, thick sauce for the all white meat chicken.

MCRF ordered the eggplant, which she described as spicy and delicious. It certainly was wonderfully fragrant. The dining room is covered in lovely butter-colored paint, a perfect complement to the warmth of the food. It's BYO, too, which is always nice and the service was accommodating and kind. A place to which I will likely return and, if I ever decide what I'm doing for dinner before 2 p.m., a place from which I would love to order delivery.

Tiffin is located at, among other locations, 7105 Emlen Street, Philadelphia. Full information is available at www.tiffin.com.