Lacking "flare," Mixto leaves plates and our reviewers cold
Joyce Liao, WG'08
Issue date: 1/22/07 Section: Insider
I was in shock when the owner of Café Habana told me that they now only operate as a bar and not as a restaurant anymore, so I could not make a reservation for dinner. In fact, they only just closed down the restaurant operations this month! Unperturbed and determined to have an authentic Cuban dinner that evening (since I promised a dear friend who LOVES Cuban food), I asked the Café Habana owner to recommend a place for me. Perhaps not so surprisingly, he recommended AGAINST Cuba Libre and told me to try Mixto instead.
I did a bit of research before calling Mixto. The restaurant website (www.mixtophilly.com) says it "offers a blend of traditional Latin America and Caribbean food with a contemporary flare." (I think they meant to say "flair"...my dish certainly did not come enkindled with a fire!) The description was acceptable so I went for it.
Located on Pine Street and between 11th and 12th Streets, the heart of Antique Row Center City, Mixto looked quite hip and trendy with its blue neon signs. The warm-colored interior, accentuated by the dark-wood furniture, created a nice welcoming sensation. Joined by my three lovely guests (my Cuban-food-loving friend, her very fun mother, and one of my partners-in-crime from the Healthcare program), we were promptly seated next to a floor-to-ceiling window.
We kicked off the meal with some drinks: Tropical Mojito and Caipirinha. As I have visited Brazil before and seen how caipirinhas were made, Mixto's caipirinha looked a bit suspicious to me. Caipirinha is made with Cachaça (which is made from sugarcane like rum and is as strong as vodka), fresh lime, ice, and sugar; the drink should have a refreshing and crystal clear look and be served with some sugar around the rim of the glass. I expected a classy restaurant like Mixto to serve it in an elegant cocktail glass, instead, it came in a tiny standard glass and had this muddy and yellowish glow to it, not at all appetizing. However, my two companions seemed to enjoy their caipirinhas...one noted how strong it was and that the drink was "easier to drink than it is to say." The tropical mojito, my guest of honor told me, was fruity (in a good way) but she wished that she had stuck to a traditional mojito.
I did a bit of research before calling Mixto. The restaurant website (www.mixtophilly.com) says it "offers a blend of traditional Latin America and Caribbean food with a contemporary flare." (I think they meant to say "flair"...my dish certainly did not come enkindled with a fire!) The description was acceptable so I went for it.
Located on Pine Street and between 11th and 12th Streets, the heart of Antique Row Center City, Mixto looked quite hip and trendy with its blue neon signs. The warm-colored interior, accentuated by the dark-wood furniture, created a nice welcoming sensation. Joined by my three lovely guests (my Cuban-food-loving friend, her very fun mother, and one of my partners-in-crime from the Healthcare program), we were promptly seated next to a floor-to-ceiling window.
We kicked off the meal with some drinks: Tropical Mojito and Caipirinha. As I have visited Brazil before and seen how caipirinhas were made, Mixto's caipirinha looked a bit suspicious to me. Caipirinha is made with Cachaça (which is made from sugarcane like rum and is as strong as vodka), fresh lime, ice, and sugar; the drink should have a refreshing and crystal clear look and be served with some sugar around the rim of the glass. I expected a classy restaurant like Mixto to serve it in an elegant cocktail glass, instead, it came in a tiny standard glass and had this muddy and yellowish glow to it, not at all appetizing. However, my two companions seemed to enjoy their caipirinhas...one noted how strong it was and that the drink was "easier to drink than it is to say." The tropical mojito, my guest of honor told me, was fruity (in a good way) but she wished that she had stuck to a traditional mojito.
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