Last week L. and I made plans to have dinner. I walked over to her building, which is the building I started out in when I first moved to Philly, and took the elevator to my old floor (L. moved into the apartment I moved out of). A number of months back a water main of some sort broke on the hall and flooded a good amount of L.'s apartment and, obviously, the hall itself. So, what was always a pretty ugly hallway now has this wonderfully water damaged look. So. Glad. I. Got. Out.
We went to
Pura Vida, a Guatemalan place that L. and her boyfriend C. were very enthusiastic about. It's byob and in a sort of funny neighborhood...near Northern Liberties but still extremely rough around the edges. In another five to ten years, however, it'll probably be prime real estate. We started with the taquitos, which were so far superior to any microwaveable food item with the same name that I can't even begin to fathom it. They were stuffed with marinated chicken and the fresh salsa had a lovely cilantro kick.
I ordered the chorizo enchiladas. Definitely a generous portion and the green sauce that came with them really differentiated this dish from many other enchilada plates in my life. I did, however, remember that I prefer the Spanish form of chorizo over the South American version. L. had the chicken enchiladas, our plates looked pretty much exactly the same.
C. had a dish with 'gaucho' in its name. Steak and shrimp and potatoes and another really lovely sauce. If I were to go back, which I would because it was cheap and the food was tasty, I might try this...the vinegary element and the crunch of the shredded red cabbage (C. constructed a perfect fork for me) showed how much the cook/chef actually thinks about every element of the dish.
L. ended up buying the dinner. And I thank her for that, and them both for their eatmate companionship.
We went to Pura Vida, a Guatemalan place that L. and her boyfriend C. were very enthusiastic about. It's byob and in a sort of funny neighborhood...near Northern Liberties but still extremely rough around the edges. In another five to ten years, however, it'll probably be prime real estate. We started with the taquitos, which were so far superior to any microwaveable food item with the same name that I can't even begin to fathom it. They were stuffed with marinated chicken and the fresh salsa had a lovely cilantro kick.
I ordered the chorizo enchiladas. Definitely a generous portion and the green sauce that came with them really differentiated this dish from many other enchilada plates in my life. I did, however, remember that I prefer the Spanish form of chorizo over the South American version. L. had the chicken enchiladas, our plates looked pretty much exactly the same.
C. had a dish with 'gaucho' in its name. Steak and shrimp and potatoes and another really lovely sauce. If I were to go back, which I would because it was cheap and the food was tasty, I might try this...the vinegary element and the crunch of the shredded red cabbage (C. constructed a perfect fork for me) showed how much the cook/chef actually thinks about every element of the dish.
L. ended up buying the dinner. And I thank her for that, and them both for their eatmate companionship.
2 comments:
I think L.should get a break in the rent!
mc
Pura Vida is awesome. And also, totally within the boundaries of Northern Liberties, though a bit sketchier on that side.
Post a Comment