Mixto, Philadelphia PA (Review from 3/28/09)

Located just off the corner of 12th and Pine, it is not always easy to find parking in Mixto's neighborhood. On a recent Sunday morning, a brunchmate arrives a few minutes after we are seated because of parking trouble. She lets the hotstess know she is meeting people, and the response is: “Oh I don't know. You can take a look around.” The service overall is so-so, but the food is good enough to make up the difference.

Half-tempted to order the Croissant French Toast, I choose a savory dish for once: Sopa de Tomate ($4) and Ensalada de Espinaca ($7.50).


The soup tastes very fresh and is nicely seasoned. It comes with chunks of perfectly ripe avocados in it. At first I'm wary about avocado in my soup, but it is divine. The soup is dairy-free but the richness of the avocados creates a lovely cream flavor. The soup is garnished with two plantain chips.





The salad is delicious and the mango salad dressing is bursting with flavor and not too sweet.





I order a small fresh-squeezed orange juice ($2.95). The juice reminds me of childhood hand-squeezed oj, made with a bright plastic juicer. It is for pulp-lovers only though; my brunchmates looked on in horror at the massive amounts of pulp.






One brunchmate orders the Orange Spiced Scrambled Eggs ($7.00) which are served with chorizo, peppers, onions, and arepas (corn meal patties). The subtle flavors beg the question: “Do I taste the orange because I really can taste it in the eggs, or do I taste it because it's supposed to be there?”




Another brunchmate orders something else.







Because I did not write down the name, and later could not find it on the menu, I put off publishing this review for almost a year.





Whatever it was, she is pleased because: “The hot sauce is actually hot.”






Saving just enough room to split a dessert, we order a flourless cake (whose name has also slipped my mind). It is so delicious, that I forget to take a picture until we've almost entirely devoured it.




Perhaps the best part of this dessert is that the moist, airy layers of “cake” are made with hazelnuts and are completely flourless.

If Mixto's service would step things up a tad, this would be a slam-dunk Sunday brunch.

If you go:

Sunday Brunch starting at 8AM

• 1141 Pine St, Philadelphia
  
• Phone: (215) 592-0363
• They accept credit cards.
  
• Mixtophilly.com