Rex 1516

Rex 1516
1516 South St
Philadelphia, PA 19146
Neighborhood: Rittenhouse Square

Another great Philly find.  Rex 1516 is a gem amongst all the other establishments of South Street.  We dropped by here for brunch, and surprisingly, it wasn't packed (perhaps it was the weather driving everyone to stay indoors).

I started off with the Huevos Rancheros, which was brunch heaven in every bite and by far the best rendition of a Huevos Rancheros I've had anywhere in Philly.   On top of two corn tortilla were a fried egg, crawfish etouffee, avocado, and pico de gallo.  The crawfish etouffee added a bold cajun/creole flavor to the mix.

Huevos Rancheros

I also had a bite of the Monte Cristo - the equivalent of the French's Croque Monsieur with house baked ham, pepperjack, and fig-bourbon preserves layered in between two slices of brioche.  Unlike the Croque Monsieur we had at La Petite Dauphine, the Monte Cristo was worthy of its name.  The portions were large and it tasted much better than the Croque Monsieur.

Monte Cristo

To wrap things up, we split the fried carrot cake - yeah, this can't go wrong.   I enjoyed this, but I'd admit that it tasted very much like a doughnut, with a hint of carrot cake.

Fried Carrot Cake

Overall, great spot.  If food is consistently this good in future visits and the desserts get a little bit more refined, I'll bump it up to a full five stars on Yelp.  Speaking of which, if you haven't already, become a fan to get updates on my Yelp reviews!