Can Jose Garces Bring the Baja to Philly?

Fast casual set up at Buena Onda. Bit of a line on a weeknight!

Buena Onda is Jose Garces' latest Philly opening at 19th & Callowhill, bringing his local empire to 12 restaurants. It's his most casual, "inspired by the fresh, tranquil, do-it-your-way spirit of Mexico's Baja peninsula." Order at a counter, pick your own seat and they'll bring out your food.

Having been to La Paz, the gorgeous Baja beach town 3 hours north of Cabo where we feasted on heavenly ceviches and fish tacos caught that same day, we had much more reasonable expectations for Buena Onda. It didn't exactly transport us back to the Baja, but we have to say "fresh" was the best word that came to mind after our visit and the ambiance did give off a more tranquil vibe than most fast casual joints.

Tacos de Pescado Por Favor!

With fish tacos at the center of the menu, we tried each - Atlantic mahi mahi, jumbo pacific shrimp and the catch of the day (perch). You choose to have the fishes fried or tequila-lime glazed, and all are served with a chipotle remoulade, avocado, red cabbage and jícama slaw in a house made flour tortilla. Both of us really enjoyed the light tequila-lime glaze on the mahi mahi and the shrimp, and the fry batter on the perch was similarly airy but flavorful. Might as well split up your order and try some of each.

Mahi mahi, perch and carne asada tacos

Shrimp and carnitas tacos

Off the meat tacos menu, Bradd  liked his chili-glazed carne, served with chile de arbol, queso fresco and cilantro in a corn tortilla, but had to improvise when the bottom quickly fell out. He made good use of both house sauces on the table, a spicy tomato and a salsa verde, to punch things up, too. I was a big fan of the pineapple topping that gives Garces' carnitas taco a tropical twist. The menu also includes quesadillas, tortilla soup and other smaller items, as well as margaritas and beer.

Chips and salsa, always a pleaser

Bueno?

I wouldn't call the shrimp "jumbo" but other than that, our only major feedback is that we'd love to see more tables out on the sidewalk. Pizzeria Vetri is two doors away and has quadruple the outside seating.

Could Garces have offered a more innovative food experience? Sure. For a chef of his acclaim, Bueno Onda isn't exactly the next Garces destination. But the ingredients were fresh and balanced each other out well - it was a solid, light dinner for a nice spring night. If we lived within walking distance, we'd be back more quickly. Given the short line that formed by 7pm, the Callowhill neighborhood doesn't disagree.

For 3 fish at $3.50 each, 2 meat at $3 each, salsa and chips ($5), and a margarita ($7), our bill was $31. Not bad, but not cheap when compared to South Philly taquerias. In the end, Bueno Onda is not trying to be the next El Jarocho so give it a try if you're feeling fishy one night this summer.

The Best Thing at Pizzeria Vetri is Not Pizza.

Sometimes you have to dig a little into a menu to find the real gems.

Recent example: Pizzeria Vetri displays a simple chalkboard menu of 8 pizza options, plus 3 house special items, 3 salads and 3 desserts. It also offers a healthy list of draft, canned or bottled beer, wine and cocktails.

Marc Vetri + pizza. What could be better than that?? I'll tell you what's better than that. The house specials. Don't get me wrong, the pizza my friends and I inhaled at Pizzeria Vetri was great. Was it noticeably better than Zavino, Stella, Osteria, Nomad or the plethora of other fancy pizza/wine spots in Philadelphia? Not really. But that's ok, they're all great.

Neighborhoods: Where to Eat and Drink in Fairmount

In the second post of our neighborhoods series, let's talk about Fairmount.

The Fairmount section of Philadelphia offers a haven from the bustle of Center City and distills a unique neighborhood charm at all times of the day. Brunchers, dinner parties and afternoon boozers in between pack the area's growing number of approachable restaurants and bars during all seasons.

Expanding from its traditional hub along Fairmount Avenue, anchored by London Grill at 23rd St. and Bishop's Collar at 24th, Fare, BlueCat and Hickory Lane are pushing the local food scene further east a few streets. La Calaca Feliz and Paris Wine Bar fill in the 2300 block with new concepts for the area.

A Look at Lemon Hill in Fairmount

We’re big fans of Supper, where Philadelphia chef Mitch Prensky cooks up an excellent American-style menu that we recommend all the time. So when Prensky opened Lemon Hill in Fairmount earlier this year we knew it was on our hit list of new places to try.

House made pretzels

Lemon Hill is more gastropub-ish than Supper so this would be your place if you are looking for that type of vibe. You can choose from two seating areas - the bar with high top tables or the more private dining section. We typically prefer the more casual bar section, but it was filled so we settled for the dining area.

The prices are very reasonable, averaging about $10 - $15 for sandwiches and large plates with a solid beer list to accompany them. I’ve been on a Negroni kick lately, though, and Lemon Hill served up one the best, which I’ll attribute to Prensky again partnering with the cocktail specialists at The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.

McCrossen's Tavern, a Gastropub in Fairmount

A more casual dining experience, compelling beer and wine lists and darn good food make us frequent visitors of gastropubs. Thank goodness there's no shortage of them in Philadelphia. Since we often dine just the two of us, a gastropub makes it seem like we are not on a private date by offering an inviting, friendly vibe.

On our gastropub list for some time has been McCrossen’s Tavern in the Fairmount neighborhood. Frankly, we had never heard of the place until Craig LaBan’s review in October. If you have delayed trying McCrossen's for any reason, you should make plans to go soon.

McCrossen’s is as good as any gastropub we’ve been to. We’ll still favor our own neighborhood joint, Pub & Kitchen, but the food and atmosphere puts McCrossen’s on our short list when friends want a recommendation or we want to venture out of our neighborhood.

Between the two us, we had the steamed clams, wild boar cavatelli, braised short rib and almond tart. We licked the plate clean on each.