Tropico little BYO in Old City

[tim olivett]

After looking through the threads I want to make sure to mention a little BYO in Old City called Tropico. I've been twice now, after going out to eat around most of Philly's hotspots.

Lately, I've had a real hankering for Latino food. I've been to Alma de Cuba, Cuba Libre and frequently eat at the bar at Pasion but now I have to say I'm more prone to go to little Tropico, it's on 2nd and Chestnut between Adriatica and Philadelphia Fish & Co.

The kitchen is run by one guy who seems to be the chef/owner and every meal I've had there has been tasty and carefully done.

Now don't expect Pasion type presentation, most main courses come with a little chopped salad and rice and beans and the bread basket is two little slice of cheap bread. But, the bread is warmed to order on a panini grill and spread with a little garlic - parsley oil and the tomatoes on the salad are marinated and seasoned to be sweet & vinegary.

One night I had a special of chicken piccadillo (a traditional stew flavored with capers & raisins) served inside a perfectly ripe fried plantain that had been split open. It came with a bowl of the house chicken soup which came served with all spice berries still floating in it. With dessert and tip it was just over 20 bucks and perfect.

The next time I went I had the app sampler which is a little downmarket, (fried string cheese, beef empanada & a creamy chicken croquette) but good and I had a more traditional rendition of the exact same dish I had at Pasion a week earlier - A delicious, homey stew of chicken flavored with peanuts and garnished with shrimp. While I've had chicken and clams and chicken with shrimp in gumbo, I never thought much of this combination until I had a bite of the chicken and shrimp at the same time and the shrimp just made the chicken seem extra juicy and sweet.

I really wanted to post something nice about this place since it seems to not be very busy.

Now when I go out, sometimes I almost get into a panic attack since I don't want to waste my money when I read dishes that could be good and then I start to worry about who's cooking it, who's watching them cook it etc. I've worked in enough restaurants and kitchens to know how the most foolproof combinations of flavors can be screwed up by poor cooks or because they were busy or which, oddly, can be the case a lot of the times, because the restaurant is slow -surprisingly enough, more things seem to go wrong when it's slow because people don't have the rhythm of a busy night. I also hate getting ripped off, as a chef I know how much it costs to put food on the plate and I don't want to pay $14 for some penne that was probably cooked in water that wasn't seasoned right and then tossed with some crappy tomatoes that got prepped 3 days ago etc.

So what makes Tropico special is that you've got a guy there who obviously grew up eating and appreciating this cuisine (I think he's Dominican). When my imagination is active I like to think of him at his grandma's side learning her croquettas recipe. I can't emphasize enough, that when you find a place like this that doesn't have a staff of 10 or more, all with a wide variety of skill and care, and instead everything on the menu is prepared by one guy who obviously tastes and tweaks everything as he goes along, it's a jewel.

Again, it's not the kind of place you'd go on a date or special occasion, but if you're hungry and just want some consistently good food without any pomp and circumstance, I'd head to Tropico. In fact, I started typing this to kill time (it's almost 6 o'clock) before I go right now.

I'll let you know.

[herbacidal]

i've only been once, also i was also there once at its predecessor.

based on those one meals each, i liked the predecessor better.

can't remember what i had at tropico, but as i recall,

my impression was that the quality wasn't as good as i would have liked.

but it is only one visit.

[Holly Moore]

Lately, I've had a real hankering for Latino food.

Tim - I gather you're relatively new to Philadelphia. You may not have yet discovered North 5th Street, Philadelphia's "Barrio."

Some places to try -

La Tierra Columbiana - The chef is Cuban, the owner Columbian. Detente - half the menu is Columbian, half Cuban.

Freddy and Tony's - Puerto Rican. Very good and the easiest for someone who doesn't speak Spanish. Be sure to order the mofongo.

El Bohio - You could just as well be in a small town in Puerto Rico. As authentic as it gets.

There's also a very good place at 3rd and Girard (or so) whose name I forget.

Cousin's Supermarket is a great source of ingredients. There's a great butcher shop across 5th and halfway up the block from El Bohio. I go there for the octopus salad and the morcilla (blood sausage). They'll also roast a whole pig, Puerto Rican style.

And plenty of other adventurous, culinary exploring along North 5th.

All that said, I haven't made it to Tropico, but will be doing so in the very near future. Sounds great.

[tim olivett]

Bless your heart!

Like I said, lately it's been latino food that gets me going and your last post has been the most exciting thing I've read yet. I'll go next week and get back to you.

!Mucho Gracias!

[KatieLoeb]

Bless your heart!

Like I said, lately it's been latino food that gets me going and your last post has been the most exciting thing I've read yet.  I'll go next week and get back to you. 

!Mucho Gracias!

Tim:

For Latino markets there's also El Mercado at 1751 North Front Street in Kensington. Nice article about it HERE. Over last summer, they sponsored jazz concerts on Friday evenings that were awesome. Market has a couple of produce vendors (one that makes an absolutely awesome home made Sofrito) and a few food vendors. Cute little market and well worth a trip. I'd be happy to show it to you some time when you're off.

[herbacidal]

Bless your heart!

Like I said, lately it's been latino food that gets me going and your last post has been the most exciting thing I've read yet. I'll go next week and get back to you.

!Mucho Gracias!

tell me when ya go.

i've gotten an itch myself.

you going will give me a good excuse, if you don't mind company.

[gabe]

Went to Tropico tonight -- not too busy, just one other couple besides us. We had a nice meal.

I had cholitos (sp?), little nuggets of mashed and spiced yucca that are deep-fried, with a piquant pico de gallo. Very tasty. I also had a tasty piece of pernil asada, pork marinated in sour orange and latin american spices, then braised. Very tender and flavorful, with a nice salad, beans and rice.

My fiancee had a cold marinated octopus salad and chicken soup. The octopus was a standout (it's technically an appetizer but big...)

Some nice tropical juices to drink -- pineapple and guava for us. A great, friendly, experience with fresh and warming tastes on a cold night.