Mexican oasis spices up Northern Liberties

There are many oft-heard complaints about the city of Philadelphia.

There's the tap water, the lack of good pizza, the high taxes, the inefficiency of SEPTA and the lack of good Mexican restaurants.

A recent winner of Citysearch's national "Best Mexican Restaurant" competition, Las Cazuelas sits unassumingly on Girard Avenue near Fourth Street, a short five-block walk from the Girard station of the Market-Frankford El. Its location, however, gives few clues as to just how good the restaurant is.

Inside the cozy space, I was greeted by pale yellow walls and fresh roses on each table. Traditional Mexican music played over the speakers, and the eight-lane asphalt of Girard Avenue receded into a mere memory.

For an appetizer, my companion and I shared the ensalada de nopalitos ($6.50), a very light and refreshing mixture of marinated cactus leaves, mixed greens and avocado.

A bottled non-alcoholic Mexican sangria made an excellent accompaniment for our appetizers, though my companion and I both agreed that a little rum would have been ideal. Though Las Cazuelas is a BYOB, a state liquor store is located about three blocks away.

For a main course, I ordered the chuletas tentacion ($12), a tender porkchop topped with a smoky chile sauce and a thin coat of melted oaxaca cheese. My companion's mole enchiladas ($12.95) had all the hallmarks of great mole -- rich and dark, with the slightest hints of chili heat. Both were extraordinarily flavorful without being overpowering.

For dessert, I had the pastel de tres leches, a spongy cake almost tiramisu-like in its moistness. My companion had the less traditional "dark side of the moon," a rather plain but nonetheless tasty chocolate cake.

Overall, the medley of delicate flavors at Las Cazuelas was a refreshing change from the sour cream, melted cheese and overpowering canned spiciness that passes for much of the Mexican cooking to be found in Philadelphia.

While the 20-minute subway ride to Girard Avenue should not be a problem for anyone but the most vehemently immobile, the owners of Las Cazuelas have also opened up another location -- with a liquor license -- at the corner of Second and Bainbridge streets.

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