Restaurant You Forgot About: Tequila’s
Where to eat dinner when you didn’t plan ahead? A forgotten restaurant, those no-longer-new, not-quite-classic places where the food is still solid and the atmosphere is still up-to-date, but the crowds are gone.
It’s the margarita trick that gets me every time. The servers present your margaritas balanced on their heads. I know: it’s awesome. And it’s the only piece of kitsch you’ll find at Tequila’s. Everything else is classy/cool while honoring its South of the Border genre. Think Day-Glo Day of the Dead meets Frida Kahlo, with gobs of clustered candles. It’s alluring and funky, perfect for a date, dinner with the in-laws or a 32nd birthday party. And the longest I’ve ever waited was 25 minutes on a Saturday night for a party of six. Plus, if you do have to wait, the roomy bar, with its gold-framed plasma and dizzying tequila options is a rather enjoyable place. (And because they give you a free tequila shot on the big day.)
But it’s the food that completes the visit. The recently tweaked menu includes a mix of traditional what-you-would-expect dishes like carne asada and chiles rellenos and upscale twists like enchiladas filled with crab and shrimp and bite-sized chicken breast pieces smothered in a chile de arbol sauce and served in a lava-rock bowl. It’s all tasty, filling and consistent and falls somewhere between El Azteca and Xochitl. What else is consistent? Regulars will learn that langoustines are really always a special, but that the chapulines (fried grasshoppers to you and me) do hop on and off the menu.
Image, tequilasphilly.com