La Lupe - what's the deal?

[mrbigjas]

Thanks for the replies--maybe it's just her.

A couple weeks ago I got the goat soup at TLV, which was excellent, if slightly pricier than most of the things on their menu at $11. I'll never understand the logic behind leaving meat on the bone in soup, but damn was it good.

[stephenc]

I'll never understand the logic behind leaving meat on the bone in soup

Easy,

It adds to the flavor, and separating the meat from the bone is such a hassle later.

[herbacidal]

You know, I've gotta try breakfast at LL one of these days. I loves me some huevos rancheros, and there's nothing better than beans at breakfast. The problem, of course, is getting my lazy ass down there in the morning...

You know, I haven't had huevos in a while.

Hmm, it'd be a good choice for a brunch one of these weekends.

[mrbigjas]

I'll never understand the logic behind leaving meat on the bone in soup

Easy,

It adds to the flavor, and separating the meat from the bone is such a hassle later.

Sorry, I didn't say what I meant: I understand the logic behind it, but I wish it weren't that way. Sometimes when I'm eating soup like that (or for instance how you often get chinese soup with chopped up duck breast on the bone, where you have to contend with a bunch of fat, too), I get exhausted with it and give up. Even if I like it.

[Andrew Fenton]

You know, I haven't had huevos in a while.

Hmm, it'd be a good choice for a brunch one of these weekends.

Hey, if you want a brunch partner, let me know. Now I'm all psyched for huevos...

[herbacidal]

Stopped by Garibaldi Sunday.

Was thinking about TV or La Lupe, but I parked closer to Garibaldi.

Plus it was the one of the trio I haven't tried yet.

Wanted huevos rancheros, but it was too late in the day for breakfast (1PM).

Ended up getting chorizo tacos. Quite tasty anyway.

[Andrew Fenton]

Hey Herb-

You still up for brunch on Sunday?

Anybody else wanna come along? Tacos de lengua, huevos, maybe some menudo in all its tripey goodness? You know you can't resist...

[KatieLoeb]

Hey Herb-

You still up for brunch on Sunday?

Anybody else wanna come along? Tacos de lengua, huevos, maybe some menudo in all its tripey goodness? You know you can't resist...

I'm in. What time?

[Andrew Fenton]

How does 11 AM sound?

[KatieLoeb]

How does 11 AM sound?

It will undoubtedly wake me from my weekend Beauty Sleep

but I suspect I can manage...

[herbacidal]

How does 11 AM sound?

We should call and see if they stop serving huevos at a certain time.

[Mummer]

I'm in...I could really go for some huevos rancheros!

[KatieLoeb]

How does 11 AM sound?

We should call and see if they stop serving huevos at a certain time.

According to the lovely lady I just spoke to:

"Se puede tener desayuno todo el dia..."

OR

Breakfast is served ALL DAY.

I'll see you gentlemen there...

[herbacidal]

So we stopped by La Lupe today for a little Mexican brunch.

That's Andrew Fenton, KatieLoeb, Mummer and myself.

I'll let others elaborate where I've left details out.

Lessee, we had:

1 of each kind of tamale (2 total), can't remember what the types were

4 tacos, 1 each lengua, enchilada, goat and pico de gallo

some chorizo in grease, which we made into tacos with additional tortillas

Plus Mummer. Andrew and I each had huevos rancheros, while Katie satisified herself with huevas mexicanas.

I liked everything, but I wish the lengua was more interesting texturallly.

Neither the lengua nor the goat was that interesting as far as taste.

The goat had really good texture though.

I enjoyed everything nonetheless.

And, I'm sorry but no, no one brought a camera.

[KatieLoeb]

My Huevos Mexicanos were scrambled eggs with lots of onions, tomatoes and jalapenos. Ordered a side of chorizo per Holly's instructions and the crumbled sausage was a delicious addition. The boys Rancheros looked really good too, with squiggles of Salsa Verde all over the top. I just don't groove on runny eggs, so Sunny Side Up wasn't for me. The Mexicanos were a great alternative for someone like myself.

The tamales were the Rojo which was red and pork based and the Raja which was white corn, chicken and jalapeno. I really liked the tamales.

The tacos were a mixed bag as Herb mentioned. The Enhchilada (spicy pork) and the Picadillo (ground meat) tacos were definitely the better of the four. The Barbacoa (goat) and the Lengua (tongue) were both sort of lacking in flavor and were kind of a disappointment. But the platter they made for us with all four tacos and cucumbers, radishes and limes was a thing of great beauty. It's a shame we didn't have a camera as I was pleasantly surprised by the presentation of our food today. Everything was very attractively plated.

I know that bad service has been a real issue for some folks at La Lupe but our service today was excellent as well. We were brought "real" menus to the table fairly quickly after our arrival. Big root beer mugs of coffee were constantly refilled and sides of chorizo and extra Ranchero sauce were not forgotten. The only thing we never got were the glasses of water we'd asked for. It was a truly gorgeous afternoon for sitting outside and eating like Mexican farmhands for breakfast.

(of course after that big breakfast and a stroll through the Pine Street Food Festival with Herb and Andrew I came home and crashed like a disabled aircraft. The food was delicious, but definitely nap inducing!)

[Mummer]

Each of us had an huevos platter with beans and rice. We shared the rest, including the chorizo side, Chinese restaurant style. The side was generous and tasty; loose sausage on a small plate has to have some run-off, after all.

One tamale was spicy chicken, the other spicy pork. The cornmeal wrapping the pork was a red orange color similar to the chorizo run-off. Both were very tasty.

Each taco had a large spoonful of guacomole and the filling in a flour tortilla shell. We told them they could put all of them on a single plate, which had several juicy lime slices and some cucumber and radish slices. There are several other tacos on the menu, but only the two tamale choices.

We finished the basket of fresh chips with good salsa before the eggs arrived. We sat at one of the outside tables on a beautiful Sunday morning and were fininshed in an hour. They kept our coffee mugs filled. With three coffees and a Mexican Coke, the bill was $45.

If I were to brunch again with fewer people, my first choice after eggs would be both tamales. Be sure to schedule an afternoon nap!

[Holly Moore]

Y'all picked an ideal morning for La Lupe. One reason I tend toward La Lupe over the other Mexican restaurants in the area, at least this time of year, is it's open dining room and outdoor seating.

[Andrew Fenton]

Not too much to add, except that I could eat those huevos every day and be a happy boy.

Also that, as noticed I've in the past, service was reasonably quick. Well, except at the end, after our table had been cleared. I think that they forgot about us, and maybe thought we'd paid already: Herb had to flag down a server to give us our check. That may be because we were outside, and kind of out of sight. Anyway, the food service was as fast as I could ask for.

[Holly Moore]

Also that, as noticed I've in the past, service was reasonably quick.  Well, except at the end, after our table had been cleared.  I think that they forgot about us, and maybe thought we'd paid already: Herb had to flag down a server to give us our check.  That may be because we were outside, and kind of out of sight.  Anyway, the food service was as fast as I could ask for.

That has always been the case with me too. I expect it is a cultural thing. Like often happens in Europe, they won't present the check until it is requested by the customer. To do otherwise would be to rush the customer - considered uncivilized in most parts of the world.

[Andrew Fenton]

Works for me.

[herbacidal]

That has always been the case with me too. I expect it is a cultural thing. Like often happens in Europe, they won't present the check until it is requested by the customer. To do otherwise would be to rush the customer - considered uncivilized in most parts of the world.

That's fine, but there are choices in between.

In situations like that, I used to continually wander around near to such a table so that I could be easily accessed. Alternatively, I'd look over to make sure they weren't trying to flag me down.

In our case, if we were all noticably deep in conversation, that's one thing. But I happened to be turned around, facing the restaurant and not the rest of my companions. That should be one distinct clue.

Ah well, I'll chalk it up to youthful inexperience. I was a 14-year old busboy once.

[Scoats]

I finally had the 3 for $5 tacos at TV last Saturday.

Hey-Zeus effing Christmas were they good. I went with Pork, Sausage and stuffed chili. Wow, oh wow.

The greenery part of the taco was rather light, but the soft tortillas were amazingly fresh and the meat fillings were top notch. This has to be the best value in town.

[Carlson1105]

For excellent anything Mexican, it's worth the drive out the White Horse Pike to Lindenwold, NJ to La Esperanza. Run by the Cordova family, everything is fresh, authentic, and not blanded to American palates. Try the steak and shrimp, the tamales, and the homeade beans.

[Furious Flav-or]

I second the earlier mention of La Taquería Michoacana in Norristown. We've been going there since well before they expanded backwards into the next property, even before the addition of the tiny Tiki-Mexican fusion bar with the terra-cotta roof tiles. It used to be a hole in the wall with about ten tables and a huge rear projection TV set. The place is the best balance between price, quality, and atmosphere around. The horchata kicks booty, they have menudo, birria, and pozolé on the weekends, but expect to stand in line for a table at normal dining hours. The staff is friendly, and somewhat bilingual. I'm an ex-Spanish teacher and translator, so fine-tuning orders and getting little extras is usually fairly easy for me.

Now, if you were to go towards the downtown in Norristown, away from La Michoacana, as if you were to make a right going out the door, there's another place called Sol de México (IIRC) about three blocks up the hill on the other side of Rt. 202, on the left, as the cuervo flies. The place has zero atmosphere, the tables and benches are one-piece, right out of 1974, with molded, curved seat bottoms that are gut-unfriendly, but the food (so far, been there twice) is better and significantly cheaper than that served at La Michoacana.

Now then, option three. Instead, if you were to make a right at McDonald's on 202, and then make a left at the next light and go up the hill about three or four blocks, there's a little hole in the wall place that makes kick-a$$ tacos and sopes. He doesn't have a huge menu; in fact, his menu is microscopic, but, as he says, he'd rather do a few things very well than be a middling generalist. The only beverages are Jarritos and the omnipresent Mexican-bottled Coca Cola. It's clean and bright inside and a great place for an in-and-out taco experience. You really, really need to try what he calls "cochinitas," which seem to be a play on the standard "al pastor." I was a bit confused at first by the name, because a "cochín" isn't a very nice thing to be called.

Edited July 29, 2004 by Furious Flav-or (log)

[philadining]

Quickie run for lunch today, got one barbacoa and one enchiladas taco.

Barbacoa was OK, kind of stewey and didn't taste too distinctly goaty, which I guess might be a good thing, but it almost could have been chicken. There were a couple of sizable bones, which were an unwelcome surprise... Had a nice dollop of guac, but could have used something more, some onions, or cilantro or something.

The enchiladas filling is billed as "spicy pork" and this was quite tasty, but not at all spicy. I think their "Al Pastor" has a bit more kick. Still, I'd get this again.

DP had a chimichanga, which he liked a lot.

All together, cost, like, nothing? Pretty close....

It's a good alternative to a cheesesteak when you're in that neighborhood. I think I like the tacos at Veracruzana and Plaza Garibaldi a little bit better, although this is a nicer spot to sit.