Las Bugambilias

Back when Michelle Zimmerman and Carlos Molina were falling love in the kitchen of Tequila's, where he was chef and she washed dishes, the local Mexican landscape was as barren as the Sonoran Desert.

Fifteen years later, and just a few months into the launch of Las Bugambilias, their own cozy South Street cantina, the city's Mexican options are considerably more bountiful.

The full range, in fact, is on display only a block north on Headhouse Square. During warmer months, when the marvelous new farmers market is in full flush, long lines of produce shoppers wait beside the portable grill of Los Taquitos de Puebla, a no-frills taqueria stand from the new South Philly barrio that griddles fresh huaraches and spit-roasted tacos al pastor.

Just a few feet across Second Street, meanwhile, you can discover modern Mexican at sophisticated Xochitl, where ex-Vetri sous-chef Dionicio Jimenez riffs on his native flavors in stunning contemporary ways, from tasting menus of different moles to truffled gordita masa pockets bursting with huitlacoche. A recent revisit landed Xochitl a well-deserved third bell.

That Las Bugambilias has blossomed (like its namesake bougainvillea) nearby may be entirely a coincidence. Zimmerman and Molina, now married, found the former Primavera space because they live less than a block away. But Las Bugambilias has also settled into a niche that falls neatly between those two viejo and nuevo poles - channeling the authentic flavors of a taqueria, but presenting them in a more polished, upscale way.

Las Bugambilias is not quite as elegant (or as pricey) as Los Catrines (formerly Tequila's), David Suro's mural-painted, chandelier-hung paean to agave on Locust Street. But there is a sweet warmth and personality to this narrow, 45-seat room that could almost be romantic if only someone dimmed the harsh lights.

Black-and-white glamour shots of vintage Mexican movie stars, like Dolores del Rio, grace the vibrant yellow and exposed brick walls. The tabletops are fitted with painted tile. The comfortable chair seats are made of woven grass. And the servers wear white vaquero shirts lined with bright red piping, a crisply formal touch that doesn't feel too chainy.