my foodie heart belongs to el rey

j.carr came into the city for some hanging out on wednesday. we decided to go to el rey (on 20th and chestnut for philly phriends) for some dinner and holy crap. best. choice. ever. made. it's a steven starr restaurant with a kitschy mexican vibe and fairly cheap fare (in the $8-15 range). julie's friend emily happens to be a hostess there and when she got off her shift she sat with us. now emily is the kind of girl people just seem to gravitate towards- small, pretty and absurdly friendly. it was pretty obvious her coworkers like her because we got hooooookkkeeddd upppppp. i'm talking free margaritas, shrimp things, mini tacos, crab salsa, churros with caramel goat cheese dipping sauce, salt lime ice cream, roasted mango ice cream, and chocolate chilli ice cream. the only thing we were charged for was our original entrees. (i got the zucchini and corn quesadilla. so good.) we even doubled check to make sure it wasn't an accident. but nope. all free. total vip treatment. i was feeling pretty pimp. as a bonus our waiter was addoorrrabblllle. the kind of beautiful where you just look at their face and smile and nodd to whatever they're saying. he could have told me to try the steaming hot plate of feces with a side of cat vomit and i would have just nodded and stupidly stared at him.

but seriously: go to el rey. baller food. hottie staff. decent price range. doooo ittttt.