EricMBloggie

If you’re close enough to go to Jose Pistolas for a bite, avoid it and head to Monk’s instead. Last night was my second time going to Johnny Gun’s for some grub, and will probably be my last. I really wanted this place to be good. The draft beer is pretty great, and the food is cheap enough, but it just doesn’t taste that good.

A great way to test a Mexican joint is by their carnitas. Jose failed. Twice I ordered the $5 (not $3.50 like it says in their online menu) tacos which come with two corn tortillas hugging raw onion, cilantro, and your choice of chicken, beef or carnitas. Both times the shredded meat was dry, lacking porky punch. The first time they came with rice and beans, the second time, no such luck. Or maybe it was better that they skipped the R&B since both my own and the side dish were bone dry. The rice was actually crunchy. I suspect that it wasn’t undercooked, it had just been sitting out far too long.

The carnitas did work well in burrito form, but it’s pretty easy to mask boring meat in all of that other stuff they shove in there. The pork empanadas were good because they are deep fried Hot Pockets. You could have stuffed paper in the shell and it would have tasted fine. The filling lacked character. The grouper tacos had so much spicy mayo slathered on that one of my eating companions could barely finish. I also watched other friends suffer through over-jalapeno’ed quesadillas. Maybe they just have low tolerances for spicy food, but it got in the way of enjoying their meals. I’m not done with those grouper tacos yet– the fish is battered and fried to death so it’s barely recognizable as fish. They might as well use tofu instead.

We also ordered the chips and guacamole. The guac was a good mix of creamy and chunky; the chips were salt licks.

Alvy Singer: [addressing the camera] There’s an old joke - um… two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of ‘em says, “Boy, the food at this place is really terrible.” The other one says, “Yeah, I know; and such small portions.” [Annie Hall, imdb]

I ate the chips.

Service was friendly and helpful both times.

This food would be good if more care was taken in the preparation. But it’s not. Yet I wonder if the food was better before chef Issac McCrimmon left to pursue his arcade themed restaurant, “Heroes.”

Go to Taqueria La Veracruzana for your Mexican food, and bring your own ‘B.’

Jose Pistolas
213 S. 15th St. (b/t Locust & Spruce)
Philadelphia, PA 19146

But you don’t have to take my word for it!
[Philadelphia Weekly Review] [Beer Advocate Review]