Saturday Lunch in Philly?

[littlechinagirl]

Hello,

A group of us (from DC) are visiting Philadelphia this Saturday to take our pregnant friend out to lunch. We're looking for something relaxing, not smoky, not too upscale (we'll probably be in jeans), with great food, of course. I've been tasked with the job of picking a place. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. (Also, the 5 of us- sans pregnant friend- might stay on for dinner with other friends at El Vez, followed by gelato at Capogiro. I've heard tons obout Capogiro and am very excited to try it, but how is El Vez?)

Thanks so much!!

edited to add: One of us is a vegetarian.

Edited February 6, 2006 by littlechinagirl (log)

[Buckethead]

Hello,

A group of us (from DC) are visiting Philadelphia this Saturday to take our pregnant friend out to lunch.  We're looking for something relaxing, not smoky, not too upscale (we'll probably be in jeans), with great food, of course.  I've been tasked with the job of picking a place.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. (Also, the 5 of us- sans pregnant friend- might stay on for dinner with other friends at El Vez, followed by gelato at Capogiro.  I've heard tons obout Capogiro and am very excited to try it, but how is El Vez?)

Thanks so much!!

edited to add: One of us is a vegetarian.

←

the Continental Midtown is a great place to hang out, they have round tables that would accomodate a group of six very nicely. Tria is also near there, it's a little smaller but if they take reservations they do have a couple of tables big enough for six. Their food is excellent, it's mostly small plates with some sandwiches and salads. Their thing is the trio of products created by fermentation: wine, beer, and cheese. They get their cheese from Murray's in NYC, it's all great.

El Vez is decent, but not nearly as good as Lolita, which is practically next door. Lolita is also quite a bit cheaper, and you can bring your own beer, wine or tequila (they sell pitchers of margarita mix). The only problem with Lolita is that they don't take reservations on Saturday nights, and it's not all that big of a place, 5 people may have trouble sitting down. What I usually do in that situation is put my name in at Lolita and head across the street to El Vez for drinks while we wait. Last time I was there the hostess from Lolita offered to call my cell when our table was ready.

All four of these places are within 5 blocks of each other. I wouldn't say any of them are vegetarian places, but all of them have something on the menu that would be vegetarian friendly, especially Tria.

[philadining]

I actually rather like El Vez, but be sure to get seated away from the bar, or it can get a bit smoky. And on a saturday night it will be a bit loud (but so will Lolita, or most anywhere...)

I was just in there last night for a minute socializing, and a plate of chicken enchiladas served to a friend was considered "OK". And that had been my earlier experience too, the enchiladas were fine, but not a big thrill.

Things I did like are mentioned in this earlier post.

In any case, don't miss Capogiro!

[littlechinagirl]

Thanks Buckethead- Tria sounds great, and I'll look into Continental Midtown as well. Unfortunately, some friends (of one of the group) that live right around the corner from El Vez suggested that we meet there, and I'm not sure I have much say in that, though I suppose I could try. I've heard of Lolita from scanning another site, and I was hoping that was the "nice Mexican spot" to which they were referring, but alas, it's not.

Thanks again for your suggestions!

[Vadouvan]

Stick with your El vez plans.

Lolita isnt better than El Vez, its just cheaper.......plus they dont do lunch.

El vez actually has Latin people cooking the food.

lolita is cute but totally westernized.

Tria is good but where they get cheese from is irrelevant, cheese is cheese.

In fact I have seen the Tria cheese guy at Dibrunos.....!

Buying guess what......Cheese.

[littlechinagirl]

And thank you philadining and Vadouvan for the El Vez reassurance! I'll be sure to report back.