Mexicali Rose

The owner of Marigold Kitchen classes up South Street — Pueblan style.

by Elisa Ludwig

VIVA MEXICO: Xochitl's scallop-watermelon ceviche is spiked with smoked paprika and garnished with microgreens. Photo By: Michael T. Regan (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

The liquids are as serious as the solids at Xochitl (pronounced "so-cheet"), the Mexican restaurant that opened in Headhouse Square two months ago. Owner Steven Cook of West Philly's Marigold Kitchen has turned what used to be Filo's den of herbal merriment into a warm but restrained dining room and bar with a downstairs lounge. The pale gold walls, punched tin mirror and blue and white pottery signal the serious authenticity of the meal to come, while the adjacent mahogany bar, lined with more than 50 different tequilas and jugs of house-made aguas de frescos, signifies that this is still an enticing place to tie one on.

Indeed, bartenders whip up inspired cocktails like the Señor Barriga, a tart tipple of blanco tequila, lime juice, sugar and thyme. Another intriguing offering is the Michelada, a frozen beer mixed with spicy tomato juice and lime with a cayenne- and smoked-salt-rimmed glass — something like a mellow, carbonated Bloody Mary.

The tequilas are available in tasting flights organized by producer, style or premium. To additionally accommodate the drinking crowd, Xochitl's kitchen stays open until 2 a.m., though the regular menu is swapped out for a late-night selection.

On the food side, co-owner/chef Dionicio Jimenez keeps the focus squarely on Pueblan cuisine, and there are plenty of deep, dark dried peppers, thick corn cakes, and huitlacoche, the corn fungus alternately referred to as "corn smut" and "Mexican truffles." If you've never had the pleasure of eating corn smut, consider this your chance. Huitlacoche makes its first appearance here as a stuffing for the appetizer gorditas, golden grilled masa pockets. The chopped mushrooms have a sweet, smoky tinge and an almost creamy texture.

Masa cakes are also the dark-edged, disc-shaped bases for sopes with three different toppings: creamy goat cheese and nopales, crumbled rosy bits of spicy chorizo, and plump duck breast. These joyful snacks are embellished with lettuce, salty cotija cheese and crema.

Sopa de mariscos is a pleasant if light tomato broth swirling with shards of crisp lettuce and an ocean of seafood: cockles, delicious tiny clams, shrimp, big fluffy scallops, delicate white fish and rings of squid, all tender and evenly cooked.

There are five different ceviches on the menu, including a beef carpaccio with jicama salad. I love the simple but inventive pairing of cool, thinly sliced scallops and juicy, faintly floral watermelon, tinged with smoked paprika and garnished with a handful of microgreens.

The entrees are a hearty lot. Chamorro de puerco is a Fred Flintstone-size braised pork shank that is quietly, almost demurely infused with achiote. The real kick on this plate is the pickled red onions and sauteed peachy-hued manzano peppers, cousins of the habanero that pack digestive tract-searing heat. Fortunately, there's also some rustic, chunky guacamole, white rice and a dish of warm blue corn tortillas to bring your tastebuds back to working order before you take your next endorphin-blasting bite.

There's a similar presentation with guacamole and tortillas for the less-successful Barbacoa de Borrego. The goat, which comes with sides of grilled scallions and cactus salad, is a rich, fatty hunk of meat that falls luxuriantly off the bone, but its dusky mole sauce is too salty to savor.

Among the most attractive dishes is the pechuga de pollo rellena, a thin-pounded, sesame-crusted chicken breast rolled up then sliced in cross-sections that show off its plump filling of more spinach, pine nuts and a mother-and-child-reunion combination of huitlacoche and corn. The sesame coating gives the meat a wonderful texture, but on the whole, the chicken lacks gusto. The accompanying fingerling potatoes are also a bit lackluster.

There's no arguing with one of the house specialties, the decadent chiles en nogada. Two mild Poblano peppers are stuffed with ground beef studded with dried apricot gems and pine nuts, then bathed in a creamy walnut sauce sparked with bright pomegranate seeds and served at room temperature. It's a traditional Poblano dish that's usually eaten at harvest time, though it's no less tempting in late winter.

Desserts are among the more audacious menu items, showcasing creative configurations of Mexican flavors. The clever combination of tomatillo coulis, homemade sesame ice cream and pasillo pepper chocolate cake is marred only by the cake itself, which is chalky-dry and a bit shy on chocolate intensity. An individual-size tart filled with pastry cream is topped with delicate slices of sugar-glistening mango, avocado and kiwi, the dense and subtle flavors of avocado providing a balance for the sweeter-fleshed fruits. Dulces tacos are crisp cookie tubes filled with a caramelized banana and guava mousse that has the slightly metallic but altogether pleasant tang of tequila. No need for an after-dinner drink — it's a brilliant cocktail on its own.

(e_ludwig@citypaper.net)

XOCHITL

408 S. Second St. 215-238-7280, www.xochitlphilly.comHours: Tue.-Sat., 5 p.m.- 2 a.m.Appetizers, $7-$15; entrees, $16-$26Credit cards accepted.