Don’t you love how I get awesome 90’s songs stuck in your head all the time?  One of my many charming assets, I tell you.  C&C Music Factory should pay me royalties.

Speaking of charming, while on my little weekend getaway to Philly, one of the places that was on my must-go list was El Vez.  I actually really wanted to go here for my bachelorette party weekend, but it was all booked so we went elsewhere. (Which by the way- the elsewhere we went was La Viola in Rittenhouse.  It was BYOB and fantastic.  If you’re looking for really good authentic Italian food at a good price, you will find it there.)  But back to El Vez.  One of the perks was that I finally get to meet Krissie, who could not be any sweeter.

We started off by ordering Margaritas. 

See? A margarita glass. One would think I’d wait until there was liquid in it, but there may have been some pre-gaming…just sayin’.
The first round were the El Vez margaritas (Cuervo Gold, triple sec and fresh lime juice) and they were delicious.  STRONG.  But delicious.  The second round were the Grenada margaritas (Gold tequila, triple sec, fresh pomegranate juice and lime) and they were… meh.  As Kacy said, they kind of tasted like tacos.  Maybe you just had to be there.

Then came my favorite part of the meal: the guac.

This was phenomenal.  Really fresh, lots of flavor, and my only complaint was that I didn’t order an entire bowl for myself.  Although I suspect I ate most of it.  Sorry, ladies.  For our entrée, Kacy and I split the black bean enchiladas, and once again…. not the greatest.  They were good, but I’ve had better. 

Also my biggest disappointment had to be the salsa which was really just not very good.  Mostly smoky flavor with little to no cilantro, and tasted  like it could have come from a bottle in the grocery store.  Authentic it was not.  I did have a taste of one of the girls pulled pork soft tacos and it was really good.  Apparently I am not a great orderer.

Overall, I’d say El Vez was decent.  The drinks made me happy and the food was priced very reasonably.  Although next time I’m in Philly I’d really like to try out a different Stephen Starr restaurant, Buddakan, which I’ve also heard great things about.

Despite getting a decent night’s sleep, yesterday was a little rough for me.  I could definitely tell my body could have used a rest day after the 10,000 miles I walked in Philly between Saturday & Sunday.  (PS when am I going to just accept I’m old and wear sneakers when I walk around cities?  No one cares if my shoes are cute.  Let it go, Jess.  Let it go….)  So as a result from what I’m sure was total dehydration, my legs cramped up like crazy in my noon class at the gym.  In an attempt to try and prevent even more soreness the next day, I decided to go for a run when I got home to shake them out a little.  And I have to tell you, it was really the best run I’ve had in a long time.  I actually felt faster (which for most people is probably still slow) and lighter on my feet.  The weather was unbelievably gorgeous and I felt amazing afterwards.  Will I be able to walk tomorrow like a normal human?  Probably not.  But it will all be worth it once my booty is poppin’ from getting back into running.

And since I finally found my camera, which for a short time I thought was either left on the train, or stolen, here are two more of my favorite picks from the best trip eva:

Where was the last trip you took?