"Z" is for Zocalo

It's an unsettling feeling when you walk into a restaurant, especially a large restaurant, and you see that you are the only customers. For me at least, alarm bells instantly go off. "Run, run! There must be a reason no one is here, namely, the food sucks!" More than a few times during our yearly journey, this has unexpectedly taken place. And across the board, my instincts were proven right time after time. It would be great to think that you would get special attention being the only patrons at a place, but often, you are a nuisance that they just want to get out of there.

All this said, a bit of gratitude to the couple who walked into Zocalo a few minutes after us, saving us from this horror. While it's probably ridiculously to say that our food would have been any better or worse if they hadn't arrived, I'll give them some credit nonetheless.

Zocalo is oddly situated right in between the Drexel and Penn campuses, but it's a bit pricey for the college audience. It's a huge place that can probably seat at least 200, but on the cold, windy night we went, it was barren. Strangely, we were seated as far away from the front of the restaurant as possible, though I do have to give props for the fact that our grumpy hostess/waitress sat me on top of a heat grate. The wife and I both needed to warm up after the short walk from the car.

Unlike some of our recent duds, Zocalo was true to its theme, with Mexican decor, Mexican music, and (gasp!) an actual menu full of Mexican food. Now, this wasn't typical dumbed-down Mexican -- although they did have enchilidas. For the most part, it was more creative combinations of ingredients presented with flair. There was a lot on the menu that looked interesting, and it's always nice when I can pick between 3 or 4 entrees confident that I'll enjoy any of them.

I knew we would start off with the guacamole -- the wife just can't resist -- but even this wasn't your typical chips and dips. The guacamole and salsa were presented together on one platter and were meant to be combined with each scoop. I generally prefer a chunkier guacamole, but this was very good.

The entrees were even better.

I got shrimp with a spicy tomato sauce and charred peppers. Doesn't sound all that exciting, but it was served in a scalding hot (and I do mean scalding hot) lava rock bowl. Not only did the bowl serve as a hand warmer, but it ensured that each taste was fiery, which I love. Nothing worse than lukewarm food. It was a bit of a challenge to eat everything because I had to be very careful not to touch the lava bowl and burn myself. I had to reach around the bowl to take a taste of the rice and refried beans, which were served on a different plate but also much worth the effort. At first glance, the shrimp seemed kind of scrawny, but they were actually the perfect amount of food when combined with the tomatoes, onions, and peppers. It was an excellent dish.

The wife's entree was similarly good. I have had a fair amount of strip steaks in the last few years, but this was one of the best ones I have ever had. Incredibly tender and flavorful without a whole lot of fat. Really, really good.

Overall, an excellent end to the year.

On to the full review...

THE FOOD: What was so nice about Zocalo's menu was that there was a great amount of variety that catered to many different tastes, likes, and dislikes, but they didn't take shortcuts and just sticks tacos or burritos on the menu. That would have easy, but it would have made Zocalo just like so many other middling Mexican restaurants.

THE DRINK: I had a very tart Mexican margarita (although I was warned of this by our waitress when I ordered it). It wasn't awful, but it wasn't good. They had some interesting cocktails on the menu so I would definitely go in a different direction next time.

THE STAFF: Our waitress was grouchy. I was in a good mood and tried to lighten her up with some humor, but she would crack a chuckle or two and then go bad to being Mrs. Grumpy. Oh well.

MAD PROPS FOR: Our "friends" at the table across the room. We didn't share a word with them, but I appreciated the fact that someone else was there.

OVERALL: This was right up there with Xochitl for the best high-end Mexican I've had in the city (though just a shade below). Unfortunately , it's in a weird location that we can't walk to and isn't near anything else in West Philly so you really need to go pretty much for the food alone (though I guess the campuses aren't too far to walk on a nicer day)

THE CHECK: $80 for the two of us. Zocalo is probably a tad bit overpriced compared to other restaurants in its genre, but it's worth it.

And that's it! Twenty-six restaurants in 365 days! Phew!

I'll put together a "Year in Review" piece within the next day or two recapping everything we've been through, but it's nice to have completed this by the end of 2009 as planned. One more item to cross off of my to-do list.