“Order from the Texas page and you are limited to the Texas side items, as if striking a blow for sovereign Nationalization. ”

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By Ryan Kerrigan  |  Send to Friend

El Camino Real

Located, appropriately enough, in the most Disney-esque of Philadelphia “neighborhoods" -- Liberties Walk -- the Texas-Mexican cuisine of El Camino Real feels forced, as if this were the official Tex-Mex restaurant at the Epcot Center. From the classic Wurlitzer jukebox to the steer skull on the wall and the bare wood tables, the only thing missing was a portrait of Elvis, with or without tears. Technically, the menu itself shouldn't really even be considered classic Tex-Mex, consisting, as it does, of a Mexican side -- which includes burritos (lots of `em), nachos and grilled corn -- and a separate Texas BBQ side. There is to be no mixing of the two, you see: Order from the Texas page and you are limited to the Texas side items, as if striking a blow for sovereign Nationalization.

The food itself is tasty for the price point, including good-sized portions and, thankfully, the option of just one rib (a loosey, they call it) for those of us who want to indulge, but want to avoid the full rack. It is always a pleasure to see vegetarian fare co-mingled amongst the main menu: The seitan buffalo wings were definitely a treat, even though they tasted remarkably similar to the “Smokehouse” grilled seitan entrée that followed them.

The actual El Camino Real, “The Royal Road,” originally stretched from the Mexican port city of Veracruz northward to Santa Fe, crossing the Rio Grande at the Juarez-El Paso border. It was here in Juarez that Executive Chef Jennifer Zavala says to have pulled the inspiration for the many traditional Mexican burritos, utilizing only meat, cilantro and onion, the joint offers up. Tripitas, beef tripe; carnitas, a well known preparation of pork braised in fat; barbacoa, steamed beef; and machaca, a cured beef best known served with eggs for breakfast in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, here served on the brunch menu as the Machaca Burrito.

Knowing the neighborhood, owner Owen Kamihira, also owner of Bar Ferdinand (ECR’s immediate neighbor) has created a great place to drink if nothing else, stocking the bar with more than thirty tequilas and over forty whiskeys, where the locals can come to have a little taste of traditional Mexican and straight forward Texas Barbeque. It may not be the best Mexican or the best BBQ in the city, but for certain, it is the only place in town where you can get both.