Twisted Tail

Good dinner at the newly minted Twisted Tail on Headhouse square the other night. Nice list of bottled beers, and a good sampling of drafts from Yards & Stoudt's to Rogue & Left Hand brewery. The drafts are available in normal sized pints, along with 1/2 and full gallons, if you're really feeling thirsty. I had a few Left Hand Sawtooth ESB's that were tasty, but a bit flat.

What you should really be coming here for is live blues music & the bourbon. I have never seen a collection of whiskey and bourbon like the one that The Tail has assembled here. It's as extensive as Village Whiskey and definitely cheaper. They also make a decent old fashioned, which always scores points in my book, but their mint julep is what really defined the experience here. Just enough fresh mint so you know it's there, but not so heavy a hand with it that it masks the good bourbon lying underneath. This is an OLD drink that your grandparents used to drink on Derby Day, and for good reason. It tastes like spring and gets you well on the path to inebriation, quickly. Muddled mint leaves, a tsp. of sugar + bourbon = delicious. Try one - it'll change the way you think about brown liquor.

a proper mint julep

Onto the food!  We had a small dinner - split a salad, then an entree each - so as not to be sporting the proverbial food baby before heading out to meet friends later on. The bibb & bacon salad was great, and large enough for two. Boston lettuce, blue cheese crumbles from Point Reyes creamery in California, ripe red tomatoes and warm, delicious bacon for a salty, creamy, crunchy salad. A great place to start dinner.

We ordered the St. Louis ribs & cedar plank salmon for entrees. The ribs were tender and nearly falling off the bone, with just a hint of sauce brushed on at the end of the cooking to give them a nice crust. Served with "wicked greens" that seemed to be either collard or mustard greens braised southern style with a ham hock and dressed with some good vinegar. The tang of the greens, with the hint of smokey ham, cutting through the sweetness of the ribs offering a perfect foil to the pork. There's good reason these have been paired on the same plate for decades.

The fish was tender but a bit mild. I tend to think salmon should taste like, well, salmon. The best is always fresh, snatched out of the hands of a hungry bear trolling class II rapids in Alaska. This version was likely of the frozen variety, snatched out of the back of a food service truck that was scoping a salmon farm in New Jersey. I did really enjoy the braised broccolini though; the skinny, somewhat bitter cousin to standard broccoli was the most distinct flavor on the plate. All served alongside some pickled kale that was curiously good. Tasting like it had just a light pickling, maybe 2-3 days, it was a clever take on a tough to like vegetable with a bad rep.

My only knock on the menu at Twisted Tail would be the pricing. With appetizers ranging from $5 to $12 [$7 for fries, really?!?] and entrees hovering around $20, it's not cheap eats. With two drinks each, we dropped about $90 for dinner. Not that there's anything wrong that ("they've got a good team over there") but based on the setup of this place as bourbon bar and blues joint it seemed pretty expensive. There's nothing particularly fancy about the menu: ribs, a burger, chicken, salmon, blue fish, shepherd's pie, lamb shoulder and a "cowboy" steak make up the entrees. Southern style cooking involves making the best out of cheap ingredients - necessity breeds innovation. The cooking and presentation here are good, but basic and simple. This is not fine dining, so don't try to charge for it.

Is this a bar that serves food? Or a restaurant that has a bar? I think that question has yet to be answered. While the management figures that out, I would stick to the upstairs bar for bourbon, live blues and the killer old school shuffle board table. Twisted Tail is a great place for drinks and live music on a Saturday night - something Philly seems to be lacking lately. On these points alone, it's worth a trip and even the $5 cover for the band. Hold off on the dinner plans for now though.

Food Baby rating - It's a girl!

The Twisted Tail

509 South 2nd Street
Philadelphia PA 19147
Phone: 215-558-2471

http://www.thetwistedtail.com/home.html
Email: info@thetwistedtail.com

Hours: Mon-Sat: 11am-2am
Sun: 10am-2am

Xochitl

A cold Tuesday night found us celebrating the arrival of my sister (very pregnant and home from London for two weeks) at cozy little Xochitl on Headhouse Square. This was my first time there, but the fiancée had been for drinks with the girls a few times, and I have to say that the cocktails did not disappoint. She had the margarita (perfectly made) and I went with the Senor Barriga - a great mix of tequila, muddled lime, sugar, thyme and a kick of jalapeño to warm you up on a chilly December night.

Having lived in London myself for a brief stint on a study abroad program in college, I understand the dearth of decent Mexican available there. Shocking, really, given the amazing collage of cultures and foods - it's where I had my first Thai & Indian meals, sparking a love affair with curry that has only gotten more intense with the years. So, dutifully, we escorted the big sister out for a night of guacamole, tequilas and perfectly made tortillas.

We decided to skip the big meals - although they all looked very good (must come back to try those veal tongue meatballs). Instead we went with a bunch of appetizers, each one excellent in it's own right and reminiscent of dishes I'd had in Mexico. Guacamole made table side started us off, mashed in an authentic molcajete, with your choice of additions including minced onions, jalapeños, habeneros, and cotija cheese. Spot on, and the hot chips right out of the fryer were perfect - we had to ask for more to nibble on after the guac was gone.

Along with the guacamole, we had chicharrones - a wonderful Mexican version of pork rinds that are puffy and light with not a hint of grease, served with a spicy salsa verde for dipping. We'd had a different version of chicharrones in Peru that were actually fried bits of pork, but these were excellent in their own right and a nice little surprise. Sopa azteca was a tasty soup served with fried tortilla strips, chunks of avocado and cheese, all floating in a deep flavored broth that was poured into bowl at the table to keep the tortillas crunchy. Well played.

The mackerel ceviche was served on big crunchy tostadas, mixed with a tangy pico de gallo. Not quite as good as ceviche I've had at places like Amada or Tinto, but for $11 I was happy. This brings us to the queso fundido - one the most amazing bits of Mexican cooking that I've come across. The dish couldn't be simpler, melted chihuahua cheese served in a hot skillet with fresh tortillas. You scoop some cheese into your tortilla and add in the accompanying mushrooms, peppers, or pickled red onions and then slowly savor this gooey little delight from the gods.

The only disappointment was the cazuela de chorizo y papas (chorizo served with kale and potatoes). The dish was a bit bland, and not nearly enough chorizo or spice. Kale & potatoes don't lend much to the party, but do give it some backbone. I'd skip this next time back.

Prices are affordable for a decent meal with drinks (appetizers average $10 and entrées are between $15 and $20), and I'm looking forward to exploring more of the menu. They've also got a sturdy tequila menu that I'll be sampling on my next visit - not a school night.

-T.Kaso

Xochitl is located at 408 S. Second Street on Headhouse Sq. They are open for dinner from 5pm-12am 7 days a week, with the bar staying open till 2am. All major credit cards are accepted.