Philly’s best Mexican restaurants and mezcal bars, and more highlights from Craig LaBan’s Reddit AMA

The Inquirer’s restaurant critic Craig LaBan recently returned from Mexico to answer Philadelphians’ most pressing questions about his culinary excursion, plus how Mexican chefs and restauranteurs in Philly wear their hometown inspiration on their sleeves.

San Mateo Ozolco, a town in the Mexican state of Puebla from which many of Philadelphia’s Mexican community originate, supplies the ingenuity for many of the city’s best restaurants — including James Beard Award nominees like chef Dionicio Jiménez’s Cantina La Martina (whom LaBan traveled to Mexico with).

To dive in and spill his stories about their journey in Mexico through Michoacán, Jalisco, Puebla, and Oaxaca, LaBan logged into Reddit for an AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) forum discussion in the r/PhiladelphiaEats subreddit where any Redditor is able to ask him questions of the trip.

From explaining the Puebla-Philly connection to some of the best Mexican bites in Philadelphia — here are the highlights, answered by Craig. — Henry Savage

I ate SO many wonderful things in Mexico, from street food to fancy tasting menus, that I published an entire story listing my top 21 favorite things. But I keep coming back to the pure freshness of masa in Mexico, where colorful heirloom corns are nixtamalized and ground fresh on volcanic stones, then toasted fresh on comals fired with wood. We have a lot of fresh masa happening now in Philly, and I’m thinking primarily of the new Masa Cooperativa connected to South Philly Barbacoa. But nixtamalizing your own corn is actually really tricky. There’s a fine art to getting it right, and many folks (elsewhere) get it wrong. The texture isn’t right. But this is clearly a growing trend as chefs get the hang of techniques and sources for corn — some of them in PA — our fresh tortillas can only get better. As our masa quality rises, our Mexican food quality will rise with it. Also looking forward to more people making tortillas on traditional clay surfaces, as opposed to metal planchas, and maybe even comals fueled by live fires.

There are a lot of venues now showcasing great mezcals. Obviously, Tequilas has been the leader in educating us all on agave spirits — but they are unfortunately down by fire for the next six months at least. David Suro’s philosophy is not to have the “most” mezcals, but to have the best. So I definitely subscribe to that quality over quantity motto.

Some other bars that have worthwhile selections include Condesa, La Llorona, Cantina La Martina (whose collection has grown a lot), and now even places that you don’t think of as particularly Mexican, like Martha and Grace & Proper. I even saw a small but quality list of mezcals on the spirits section of the wine list at Vetri.

I’m sure I’m forgetting several. But I love that mezcal is now thought of as simply one of the world’s greatest spirits. And if you want a top-notch drinks list, having a strong selection of quality mezcals is every bit as important as the latest cask-strength rye or single-malt Scotch.

I don’t know that dish from Veracruzana, but I did have some scrambled eggs covered in silky, chocolatey mole Poblano at El Chingon last week and they were off-the-charts good. Another great place for Mexican breakfasts is Cafe y Chocolate, where I adore their huevos Motulenos, a towering rendition of huevos Rancheros, the scrambled eggs with chorizo. I’m also a fan of the chilaquiles at Casa Mexico.

I was really intrigued by the wave of young chefs in Mexico now looking to honor pre-Hispanic traditions by updating them for contemporary audiences. Lots of heirloom corn cooked on wood-fired comals and presented in myriad ways — rough-skinned tostada raspadas, tetelas triangle turnovers stuffed with various ingredients. Fresh huitlacoche everywhere. And dishes with chapulines (grasshoppers) mashed into complex salsas paired with seafood. You’d think that bugs wouldn’t fly in Philly, but Cantina La Martina in Kensington can go through 60 pounds of chicatanas (ie ants) in just a few months.

Outside South Philly? Oh, that is already definitely happening, as entrepreneurs like Dionicio Jimenez see South Philly as nearly fully saturated. That’s definitely one reason why he chose to open Cantina La Martina in Kensington.

But there are many other examples. Look at Nemi in Port Richmond, or El Mezcal Cantina in Point Breeze. Also, don’t forget the vibrant pockets of Mexican food centered around agriculture communities in Hammonton, NJ, and, as noted, Kennett Square and Avondale, where there are still several great Mexican venues (like the parking lot at Deanna’s supermarket.)

Camden is also a hotbed of great Mexican cuisine. A few years ago, I wrote about the proliferation of great restaurants serving genuine Mexican cuisine at the Jersey Shore, because there is a strong community there of Oaxaqueños from Cape May north to LBI.

In terms of flavors that are specific to Puebla: the complex brown mole Poblano (of course!), but also weekend tamales with champurrado (the hot chocolatey atole beverage), stuffed chiles en nogada, cemitas sandwiches (you must try the fresh-baked rolls over at Carlos Aparicio’s El Chingon!) and also tacos al pastor. I’m writing something right now about “trompo” culture in Philly — that is the vertical spit al pastor and Arabes spins on. It descends from the Middle Eastern migration to Mexico over 100 years ago, and though it has evolved significantly, it specifically originated from Puebla.

I can’t say for sure which menu items are being under-ordered, but in terms of the subject at hand — our vibrant Mexican scene — I’d encourage diners to veer away from the taco basics to explore dishes where the craft of fresh masa is on display.

Try the huaraches and sopes to see what’s up with the chef’s skill. I’m obsessed with fried and stuffed gorditas at Tamalex (definitely with chicharrone inside). During winter time, people should definitely explore the Mexican soup tradition more — the ultimate hangover cure in menudo, but also hearty pozole, which is a hominy meal in itself. I’m also more and more excited about the growth of Mexican sandwiches in this town. In particular at El Chingon, which is exploring the Puebla tradition of cemitas — the sesame-dusted round rolls filled with shredded quesillo (aka Oaxacan cheese), papalo herbs and a variety of meat choices (Milanese de pollo is classic) — and building some of Philly’s next greatest sandwich traditions along the way. The lengua torta at Taqueria La Prima, btw, is already a 2 a.m. Philly classic.

Looking for more? Read the full Reddit AMA thread here.