PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After months of delays, a new restaurant is finally open in Kensington.
Located at 1800 N. American St., Jill Weber’s fourth restaurant Sor Ynéz serves Mexican food with a focus on indigenous, native ingredients. The menu is also heavily plant-based.
“Think about pumpkin seeds, beans, tomatoes, corn — lots of corn. And we do have some meat dishes but we’re very vegan-friendly,” she said. “Al pastor tacos, which are pork and pineapple. This is alt-pastor, which is cauliflower roasted the same way as the pork, like on the rotating trompo and marinated. Then that’s cut up with the pineapple and put in a taco.”
There are also indigenous ingredients in the cocktails.
“For instance, we have a nice hibiscus drink with vodka. We have charred corn in a margarita,” she described.
Weber chose the name Sor Ynéz based on the 17th-century Mexican writer, philosopher and feminist.
“Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz threw off the shackles restraining her femininity and her desire to be a scholar and do research in the 17th century,” Weber said, but to do so, “she had to become a nun.”
Her restaurant is finally open after several setbacks.
“When the pandemic happened, there were times when even construction stopped,” Weber said. For now, Sor Ynéz is open for pickup and delivery. Tables are available but there is no table service.
Hear more about Sor Ynéz on the KYW Newsradio original podcast What’s Cooking on the Audacy app.