Taquería Moroleón

Taquería Moroleón is the best mexican restaurant in the Philadelphia area. It is also the best mexican restaurant I've been to on the entire east coast, and I've been to a number of fairly good ones in the Manhattan area. The difference is that this is real mexican food. I mean, during the day, most of the people who eat their aren't white. This is the real deal. It is nestled away in a strip mall between an Acme Food Market and a Big Lots store. If you didn't know it was there ahead of time, you'd probably never give it a try, which is a real shame.

On Friday and Saturday nights, the place is usually packed with people, sometimes even involving a wait for seating (which says a lot for a "seat yourself" place in a strip mall). The tables and chairs are cheap, and the dress code is pretty much "wear some clothes", but the food is absolutely flawless.

Some of my favorites include their Cheese Nachos, Cheese Enchiladas, Pollo Ranchero, Bistec Ranchero, Tex Mex Enchiladas, Tex Mex Fajitas, Carne Asada, and of course, the hot sauce and salsa. They serve chips right after you've ordered, and bring out one bowl of "hot sauce" and one bowl of "salsa" to eat with them. Personally, I think the perfect mix of flavour is to mix the two bowls together, but that's up to you. If nothing else, the salsa alone would have me coming back here, as it rivals salsa that I've had shipped in from the Pacific coast (and I'm really not sure which is better). It is made fresh daily, which means that somedays it is only "really good" and others it is "amazingly fantastic", but either way, I've always been pleased to have some.

The restaurant is about 30 miles (one actual hour drive) west of Philly, just a few minutes from Longwood Gardens at:

Many maps don't show this, so you can get there by taking Route 1 South from Philadelphia (or from I-476), and following that down about 19 miles past I-476. You'll see a sign for Longwood Gardens, and then a little ways after that (a couple lights) you'll see a sign for Kennett Square. Take that exit, and continue down that road, through Kennett, and turn when you see a small road at a light going down a hill. It is fairly easy to miss, although there is an Acme Market and a Giant Food Store (those are the real names, I'm not making this up) in the shopping plaza. You'll turn towards the Acme, and go into that shopping center, and on the right you'll see a little sign labeled "Mexican Food". That's the place. If you want directions from Google Maps, try using this address instead:

That isn't quite the right address, but you should easily be able to see the Acme from there. If you want to call ahead (to make sure they have seats, or to order takeout, or maybe for more directions if you are lost) their number is 610-444-1210. They are open 10am-9pm Mon-Fri, 9am-10pm Sat, and 9am-9pm Sun.

Possible new address: