March 22, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

‘Cantina’: fine foods, not barflies, do the smoking
by LEN LEAR

Executive chef Mark McKinney is serving up food that is healthful as well as tasty, which is confirmed by the fact that while eating his own food, he has lost 77 pounds over the past year. (Photo by Len Lear)

When restaurant/bar smoking ban legislation was being considered by Philadelphia City Council last year, there was weeping, wailing and grinding of teeth by some restaurant/bar owners about how much business a ban would cause them to lose. The opposition was orchestrated, at least in part, by the cynical tobacco industry which knows full well that such bans have usually increased, not decreased, restaurant patronage in other cities that have passed such bans. (Corner bars in working class neighborhoods may lose business, but some of them continue to allow smoking, anyway.)

Generally speaking, smokers are not going to stop dining at restaurants if all eateries are included in the ban, just as smokers did not stop flying in airplanes after Congress instituted a smoking ban in that industry two decades ago.

Cantina Los Caballitos is a perfect example. Since it opened last May at 1651 E. Passyunk Ave. in South Philly, I heard from my occasionally reliable sources that the Southwestern/Mexican eatery had terrific food, large portions, reasonable prices and a charming, rustic atmosphere and neighborhood vibe, but that the smoking at the bar was unbearable. We deliberately stayed away for that reason.

However, now that the smoking ban has gone into effect, we knew we could go to Cantina without wearing gas masks. “I hated all the smoke in here,” admitted Mark McKinney, chef at Cantina. “It is so much better now. It’s a pleasure to walk out into the dining room and not have to worry about being hit by a blast of smoke.” And I find it hard to believe that Cantina’s business has declined since the smoking ban went into effect. We were there last Thursday night in a monsoon-like storm, but every seat at the bar was occupied and almost all of the dining tables by about 8 p.m.

McKinney, previously the chef de cuisine under the famed Guillermo Pernot at ¡Pasion!, is a name you’re going to be hearing a lot more of. I would call his cooking “Mexican fusion” because it is an elegant amalgam of vividly authentic Southwestern/Mexican fare and Continental techniques and sauces. There are several other Mexican restaurants in the immediate area, but Cantina Los Caballitos is a cut above.

Typical of McKinney’s fusion cuisine is what he does with leftover salmon, curing it with spices and brown sugar and smoking it over hickory. The night we were there, he put this smoked salmon together with squash into three triangular quesadillas for a special-of-the-day entree for just $10. The textures were luxurious, and the flavors were titillating. The only negative for us was the complimentary salsa and chips. The chips were crisp but, taste-wise, not even close to places like El Vez or Coyote Crossing, and the two salsas were watery and tasteless.

McKinney, 36, a Delaware culinary school grad who was a vegetarian for 14 years, will tweak a traditional recipe until the fat is reduced and the flavor enhanced. (“I grew up in Newark, Delaware, eating lots of nachos,” said the tall, handsome, heavily tattooed chef.) Obviously this healthy style of cooking has had a salubrious effect on him since he has lost 77 pounds in the past year. (Lots and lots of walking daily also helps. He has no car.)

Every night Mark offers blackboard specials in addition to the menu choices. The daily specials always include four soups, two of them vegan; at least one taco dish and one extra salad, maybe two entrees and desserts, either homemade or from a vegan dessert company (vegantreats.com), and the obvious thought that goes into them is a triumph of mind over platter.

I am not exaggerating when I say that the nachos jardineros — with melted cheese, roasted corn, pickled jalapenos, black beans, pico de gallo and crema ($9) — was so good and so huge that by the time both of us were finished nibbling on it, we were full. For the sake of this article, we ordered more food (no desserts), but we took almost all of it home.

The vegetarian quesadilla with delectable chihuahua cheese, wild mushrooms, roasted garlic and other goodies ($9), and vegan fajitas entree with smoked tofu, peppers and onions, black beans, guacamole and much more ($14) were also very satisfying and bargain-priced.

The day this article comes out, a new menu will be introduced by McKinney at Cantina. One fascinating new entree will be a fish that is rubbed with hogasanta leaves (in the tobacco family, ironically) to give it a mild licorice flavor, pan-seared, brushed with achiote paste and pureed with red wine vinegar. All of the meat dishes are brined, marinated and smoked. This is not the kind of fare you get at a faux Mexican chain restaurant. As I wrote once before about Mark when he was at another restaurant, “Trying to restrict this chef’s creativity would be like putting lead boots on Baryshnikov.”

Cantina is located at the junction of 12th, Morris (1700 South) and Passyunk, and its orange stucco facade cannot be missed. One wag referred to the corner as “the world’s most disorienting intersection for the directionally challenged.” (The bizarre Passyunk Avenue, which cuts diagonally through so many north/south and east/west streets, should be used for the state driver’s license exam. It would cut down considerably on the number of new licenses issued.)

Cantina is owned by Dave Frank and Stephen Simons, who also own the Royal Tavern in South Philly and The Khyber, an entertainment venue in Old City. Cantina, which can seat 72 in two rooms, is dimly lit with recessed lighting and lots of votive candles; it has lived-in wide-plank tables and floors, banquettes, tin lanterns and adobe-lookalike walls. It’s a little kitschy without overdoing it.

There is a huge variety of tequilas, beers, margaritas and other cocktails to choose from. The number of choices is dizzying. To order wine would be like going to an ice cream parlor that offers 56 flavors and ordering vanilla. The strawberry mojito ($6.50) was as good as I’ve had anywhere, and we also enjoyed the sangria ($5.50), a sweet mix of red wine, spices and fruit.

Sterling, our server, was ideal. Handsome with a big smile and rich speaking voice, he was knowledgeable, pleasant and efficient. In the warmer weather, Cantina can also seat 18 outdoors. There is a municipal parking lot directly across the street, although every spot was filled when we drove around in it. For more information, call 215-755-3550.