adobe cafe

4550 mitchell street
philadelphia, pa
(215) 483 3947
www.adobecafephilly.com

type of cuisine: mexican
culinary excellence: 5
vegan friendliness: 8

lisa and i were on the verge of foregoing dinner together on account of there being no vegetarian restaurants in chestnut hill, but then we remembered the adobe cafe! located just outside of manayunk (conveniently en route to both west philly and the main line), this tex-mex tavern in the bright orange stucco building was just the thing. after a handful of dry and bland tritone chips with spicy salsa (don't get guacamole cause it's too creamy and smoky), i dug into my old standbies - seitan tips and a margharita. these are always a safe bet. the tips consist of a crunchy tortilla bowl full of wonderfully flavorful grilled seitan, with soft flour tortillas, an unnecessarily large heap of shredded lettuce and some kickin' soy aioli for wrapping:



you can also get this in the form of a sandwich on a generous bun with fries on the side, or kabob-style on smoky skewers with onions and peppers. the one time i ordered seitan enchiladas, i was very displeased. first of all, the soy cheese they used at the time was not vegan so i had to go cheeseless and the non-dairy sour cream was pretty gross. on another visit, i left the vast majority of my marinated portabello salad behind, finding the heavily balsamic shrooms atop a bed of iceberg lettuce and raw carrots, celery and onions rather inedible. drinks at adobe are also a bit inconsistent. the margharitas are good in a cheap-tasting way and i have liked the pina and peach coladas but their mojito's are not happening at all. avoid the stoli punch. the sangria is fine, but nothing better than what you would get in a box at your local wine store:



so i have somewhat mixed feelings about the adobe cafe. all in all, the seitan tips more than make up for the other clunkers. and their vegan dishes do appear to be getting better with time. recently, i enjoyed an order of vegetable quesadillas, this time made with totally vegan cheese:



i enjoyed the thin crisp tortillas and the combination of roasted peppers, mushrooms and spinach. i'm not sure what brand of soy cheese they use, but it was good and melty. the tofu sour cream on the top didn't add to or detract from the taste, it just made for a pretty decorative touch. in the center of the plate was a salad of shredded lettuce (they seem to love that stuff), pico de gallo and guacamole.

another nice appetizer or side are the french fried yams, topped with a smattering of tangy tomatillo salsa and melted soy cheese:



adobe cafe is a very easy place to go for dinner. the servers are really nice, you know that the seitan tips are gonna be amazing and in the warmer months, you can eat in their lovely garden: