Restaurant Review: Lolita

Veggie friendliness: Four (out of five) stars

Lolita is a fabulous Mexican bring-your-own-tequila restaurant in Philadelphia. It's funky Mexican, with sides like smoked hominy and green apple-grapefruit salsa, and plantain and thick corn chips alongside the jicama guacamole. It gets four stars for veggie friendliness primarily because there's an all-important asterisk at the end of many of the entrees, which means that pan-seared tofu can be substituted for the meat. This is key, because otherwise there aren't any meat- or fish-free options. The four stars are also for general deliciousness.

I got the tofu substituted for a duck dish, with jicama slaw and fried plantains on the side. The flavors were so interesting -- a little spicy, a little Caribbean -- and the tofu was nice and crispy on the outside and seasoned well. The fresh margarita mixes are phenomenal. The first time I went to Lolita a few years ago, we had a blood orange mix that I have actually craved many times since then. During the most recent visit, in August, the nightly mix was watermelon, which was also delicious with the brought-our-own tequila.

Brian and his sister got meaty things, so I didn't try anything other than the wicked yummy guacamole and my tofu entree. Brave Brian tried an appetizer with huitlacoche, a scary-looking corn fungus that I'd recently read about in Edible Boston--check out the summer cover for the picture. I know that fungus is technically vegetarian, but seriously--it has a life of its own (yes, I'm talking to you, Quorn).