Mexican Food in West Philadelphia

I was putting a property under contract in West Philadelphia recently and had the opportunity to have lunch at Distrito -- a newer Mexican restaurant at 40th and Chestnut. The property was a few blocks West in Overbrook -- a nicely maintained and updated rowhome which will settle for around $100,000 at the end of this month -- but 40th and Chestnut is about the closest culinary experience, inside the City limits worth a trip.

For years the corner of 40th and Chestnut has provided some of the best ethnic food in the city. There have been several Indian, Thai and Mexican restaurants over the years. The current balance of Indian (my favorite being Tandoor India on 40th Street just south of Chestnut) and Thai (my favorite being the Thai Singha House on Chestnut just east of 40th street) restaurants has been signigicantly upgraded with the addition of Distrito, however.

The experience is jarring. Brightly colored woven chairs and ratan benches with cushions surround the tables. Postcards held in clips decorate the walls. The bar sits beneath illuminated white, text-only, signs that promote specials of the house.

The food also challenges. We ordered lunch specials which consisted of two small plates each, plus a beverage. We each ordered yellow tail tacos which were spectacular. Soft tortillas topped with batterd yellow tail, avocado and red cabage were beautiful to behold and magnificent to taste. My other course was a shrimp ceviche, which was a Mexican version of a shrimp cocktail that included guacamole and a Mex'd up cocktail sauce. We didn't try them, but the margaritas, according to a friend and fellow realtor, are yummy as well.

Over the years I've had Mexican at many locations throughout the City, notably El Vez -- great table-side guac -- Tequila, Mexican Post, and not far from Distrito my heretofore favorite Zocalo. It's been a decade since I've been to Zocalo, actually. Located at 36th and Lancaster, they also serve up-scale "Mexico City" mexican and make a mean margarita.

All Buyers Should Get a Home Inspection

I woke up this morning and smiled. Not only was it not snowing -- no school delays or closings after all -- but it was raining steadily.

I love the rain.

I had a home inspection for a buyer in Manayunk today and, as I wish for on every home inspection day, it rained. I’m not a big fan of standing in the rain, and certainly have never been one to sing in the rain, but a home inspection in the rain allows the inspector to really get a good look at any water penetration issues that a home may have, and really tells a buyer whether or not the basement is dry.

I use that phrase intentionally because as Howard Shanker from Apex Inspections likes to say (and explained today), “there’s no such thing as a waterproof wall, or a dry basement.” Truth be told, today’s basement was pretty dry. No standing water (“in-ground pool” in Realtor parlance), but as Howie always points out, concrete and stone leach ground water and at the very least add humidity to every basement.

In addition to uncovering basement problems, rain water is quick to illuminate other issues with a home: clogged down spouts and gutters, leaky roofs, leaky windows, exterior drainage concerns, clogged sewer lines (in some urban areas run off from the roof, as well as the discharge from sump pumps is collected into drains and fed into the sewers causing them to back up in heavy rains) – the list goes on and on. Apart from fire, or maybe termites, water can cause more damage to a home than any other external factor.

During the home buying process, buyer’s typically have the option of having a licensed home inspector review all of the systems within a home – structural, plumbing, roofing, electrical, etc. Inspectors are generalists. They look for safety concerns and overall functionality issues, but are not experts (usually) in one specific area – like HVAC systems. They also are not code-enforcement officers and do not use municipal building codes as their yard stick for evaluation.
The home inspection is paid for by the buyer, and can be the basis in some cases to negotiate for the seller to make repairs to the home, or in some cases terminate the transaction. I tell all homebuyers that they should not expect to get any concessions at all after a home inspection and that they should be comfortable with the negotiated terms as they stand. That said, if the inspection truly brings to the fore an issue, or issues that were not expected, buyers should not be shy about trying to see if repairs can be made by the seller or in lieu of those repairs if they can be compensated. Regardless, money spent for a home inspection or inspections is not refundable.

Gooey Looie’s
Somehow today the subject of cheesesteaks came up and Howie, posed the “what’s your favorite” question. I noted that I am not a Pat’s vs. Geno’s guy (for non-Philadelphia area residents both of these South Philadelphia institutions build sandwiches with thinly sliced beef (with or without grilled onions) layered with cheese on a hoagie roll) but instead I am a big fan of a lunch truck in University City (Sophie’s) and in the suburbs, am partial to the Hungry A in Broomall. Turns out that Howie also thinks the Pat’s/Geno’s debate is for out-of-towners, and that although he lived around the corner from Cosmi’s (see Savoring South Philly), his favorite cheesesteak comes from a Pennsport deli called Gooey Looie’s at Moyamensing & Moore. Perhaps on my next rainy day inspection in Pennsport I will taste for myself!

Savoring South Philly

No matter what people are saying about the awful state of the real estate market, this is a great market for first time homebuyers and investors. There are lots of homes to choose from in most areas, interest rates are extremely low, sellers are motivated and buyers are in short supply. That all spells a great Buyer’s Market.

I showed houses to Evan and Katie today – first time homebuyers looking to purchase a 2-3 bedroom rowhome in Philadelphia, perhaps in South Philadelphia. Today we looked at one home in Fishtown (just northeast of the Northern Liberties along the I-95 corridor) and several other properties on both sides of Broad Street below Washington Avenue. On the west side of broad we looked at new construction and some rehabbed properties right around $200K. Many of them featured granite kitchens and finished basements and ranged from 960 square feet to 1700 square feet. The neighborhoods were south of Graduate Hospital and ran from Broad over to Point Breeze. On the east side of Broad we looked at similarly priced rehabbed rowhomes in the 1000-1200 square foot range as well below Bella Vista.

Philly Delis
At the end of the day Evan mentioned that we were really close to Cosmi’s, a South Philly delicatessen that I had never been to. I love deli food, and Philadelphia more than holds its own against the great lower Manhattan eateries that pile on the corned beef. I am partial to Koch’s Take Out Shop in University City (4309 Locust St), which I have been frequenting for more than 20 years. Now run by Ezra and Raffi, they still build the great sandwiches with mounds of fresh, thinly sliced lunch meat that would have made Frances Koch proud. In the Italian Market area (abutting Bella Vista), I am very fond of Chickie’s Italian Deli at 1014 Federal Street for “The Original Veggie Hoagie” which is piled high with baked eggplant, sautéed broccoli rabe, roasted peppers and sharp provolone on a seeded Sarcone’s roll. So at 4pm today, with a new deli to experience just a few blocks away, I ventured to 8th and Dickinson to check out Cosmi’s Deli.
It’s a very unassuming corner store – a neighborhood staple on many city blocks – which I have passed dozens of times over the years (mostly on my way to Termini Bros bakery a block further south on 8th Street). Inside the menu boasts it’s 2004 and 2008 “Best of Philly” Cheesesteak awards and offers an Italian Chicken Hoagie (Missanelli’s) that Evan speaks highly of – marinated, grilled chicken breast topped with prosciutto, sharp provolone and either roasted or long hot peppers. It was 4pm, and I was going home to make dinner (Indian Chicken and Potatoes with ginger, onion, garlic, cardamom, turmeric and cinnamon from Madhur Jaffrey’s “An Invitation to Indian Cooking”), so a hoagie was not on my agenda; if it were, I think the prosciutto with fresh mozzarella and roasted peppers on a seeded roll would have been my choice. Instead, I cruised the center aisle which featured packaged foods including DiBruno’s cheese spreads, sharp provolone bites and Zayda’s Kosher Hot Pickles, the latter of which I took home.