Husband-and-wife chef team Edgar and Kim Katz Alvarez are hammering out Avenida -- an affordable, neighborhood- friendly Latin, based on his Guatemalan roots -- at 7402 Germantown Ave.
Opening is pegged for September.
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.
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