Philadelphia Inquirer announces, "Avenida Coming to Mt. Airy"
By Michael Kline
Philadelphia Inquirer
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Husband-and-wife chef team Edgar and Kim Katz Alvarez are hammering out Avenida — an affordable, neighborhood-friendly Latin American restaurant, based on his Guatemalan roots — at 7402 Germantown Ave. Opening is pegged for December.
They’re fashioning Spanish-Colonial decor out of the 18th-century building that last housed Cresheim Cottage Cafe; it also has one of the best outdoor patios in the city. They met while working at Striped Bass in the Neil Stein era, and now have two small kids and a house in the burbs.
His other stops: Dock Street, Chin Chin and most notably, Black Sheep near Rittenhouse Square.
Hers: San Francisco’s One Market, plus Philadelphia’s Beaujolais and Striped Bass. She got the cooking bug at age 7 when she took a cooking class at the Bloomingdales in Jenkintown.
Most recently, they ran Gladwyne’s 100-year-old Delaware Market House, a gourmet takeout and catering operation. Their partner here is Wayne Zukin, a real estate developer and Mount Airy-ite.
They vow to keep all prices under $20 as they keep things simple: quesadillas, tamales, enchiladas and fresh salsas, plus clams with chorizo, served with tequila-roasted poblanos and tomatoes; queso fundido with black beans, tasso and roasted chiles; mole-glazed spare ribs with corn fritters; grilled octopus with lime cilantro vinaigrette; mitad de pollo, grilled half chicken with achiote pumpkin and adobo, with green rice and garlic spinach; whole fish, grilled or roasted with adobo and citrus, served with ancho-roasted potatoes and red onions; and vegetarian chayote “lasagna” on lentils with tomatoes, grapes and capers. Children’s menu, too.
Bar will serve tequilas and Mexican and Latin American beers, plus a small list of affordable wines and signature cocktails.
Set in a historic Mount Airy home built in the 1700s, patrons will sit by the stone fireplace or on the romantic outdoor porch sipping margaritas and sampling Chef Edgar’s signature guacamole with homemade tortilla chips and salsa. 
