Brunch at Verde Mexican Kitchen & Cantina

Mexican brunch?

Yup, we have that here.  Actually, on Sundays, any meal between breakfast and lunch can be considered brunch.  Sure, you may have to get up early for church or an event, but even if you have two meals before dinner...I guess we could call that "double-brunch".

Yeah, I'm coining that.  Trademarked.

Verde has been doing brunch for several months now, and even did brunch on Saturdays over the summer.  Now they are down to Sundays-only, but that is the day when brunch is a must - especially since so many restaurants have great brunches in the area.  I've experienced great ones at the Tin Front Cafe, Root 174, Zenith, Bar Marco, Sugar Cafe, and Square Cafe - and now a Mexican restaurant with Sunday brunch?

Yes.  That's for me.

Verde Mexican Kitchen & Cantina

Even better, Verde was recently named the 3rd-best Mexican restaurant in Pittsburgh by readers of the Pittsburgh City Paper (in a tie with the Franklin Inn, which we had visited the night before!).  Finally, people of Pittsburgh are starting to recognize that there are greater Mexican restaurants around here besides the chains.

But I'll be happier when a non-chain is #1.  It needs to happen.

We made a 12:30 reservation, but arrived a little early and were seated right away, not far from where we had sat on our last visit.  The place was bustling with people - not completely packed, but definitely busy.  Jeff, the manager, re-introduced himself, as we had met on our previous visit almost a year ago.  He's one of the most hospitable managers in Pittsburgh, for sure!  So friendly and inviting - it makes the rest of the restaurant experience seem even better.

View from our seats - bustling!

Jacen was our waiter, and I adored him!  To start off, James and I both asked for coffee, and I also wanted to try fresh-squeezed orange juice - which is the best way to experience orange juice, of course:

I had such a hard time making up my mind, and Jacen had no problem suggesting something that he was sure I would like - the Caballeros Pobres.  Funny, because a Twitter follower had suggested the same thing, so it sealed the deal.  Two pieces (each) of brioche with a jalapeno cream cheese, mango marmalade, and cinnamon syrup:

Caballeros Pobres

I also ordered the Tortita de Patata, a sweet potato hash brown:

Tortita de Patata

Wow, was that a lot of food!  In fact, I only ate half of the Caballeros Pobres, and basically tasted the Tortita.  The Caballeros Pobres was not spicy hot - the flavor of the jalapenos was there, but in no way was it burning my mouth.  The mango marmalade plus the cinnamon syrup gave it a sweet flavor on top of that savory jalapeno flavor - genius!  Chef LBEE is a kitchen magician, for sure.  It was SO GOOD - but I was SO FULL!

Oh well.  I ate the rest for dinner the next day :-)

Caballeros Pobres leftovers!  Double meal!

James ordered the Ensalada de Pescado del Dia, which on this day included Mahi Mahi:

Ensalada de Pescado (Mahi Mahi)

He also ordered the Camote Hash, which included sweet potatoes, poblanos, red onion, and sweet peppers:

Camote Hash

Again - so much food!  I tried some of his things, too.  I was leery of the fish salad, but it wasn't "fishy" and actually complemented the rest of the salad nicely.  The hash was great, but so filling.

Darn.  More leftovers.  Nothing like prolonging a fantastic meal!

Everything was great - the food, the service, and the atmosphere were all awesome.  Jacen was amazing, and Jeff was so nice to talk to us about our experience after the meal (and offer us the to-go bags that we so desperately needed since we ordered too much food!)

Eat at Verde.  Brunch, dinner - it doesn't matter.  The people (of the Pittsburgh City Paper, at least) have spoken, and it's well worth the visit.

Now I need to figure out when I'm going back for dinner again...


Verde Mexican Kitchen & Cantina
5491 Penn Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15206

Website: http://www.verdepgh.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VerdePGH?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VerdePGH

...Salt of the Earth [off-topic]

I didn't know such amazing food existed in Pittsburgh.

I write mostly about the Hispanic/Latino foods in this town, yes, but that does not mean that I don't enjoy foods from other cultures - which should be obvious from some of my more recent, off-topic posts (Pho Van, Root 174, and Dozen, to name a few).  In addition, most of those visits have been courtesy of James, who has opened my eyes to the non-chain restaurants that are NOT Hispanic/Latino, as I have opened his to the ones that are.

It's a pretty awesome partnership, to say the least.

After our visit to Verde Mexican Kitchen & Cantina, we walked about a block to Salt of the Earth, where James is a regular, and to which I was a foreigner.  I have followed both the restaurant and their chef, Kevin Sousa, on Twitter for some time now, and given their interesting postings on the menu items, I was curious to see what it was like.  We ventured in and sat at the bar to talk to Maggie, whom James follows on Twitter, and ended up ordering dessert.

We couldn't resist, despite our fabulous and filling meal at Verde.

The enormous chalkboard menu at Salt of the Earth

 We ordered the S'more.  This was the fanciest S'more I have ever seen in my life, not to mention the most delicious:

S'more at Salt of the Earth

 The "graham cracker" part was actually Cinnamon Toast Crunch, the chocolate was delectable, and the marshmallow part was nice and well-toasted (just like I like it - I always set my 'mallows a-flamin' over a campfire!)  The ice cream was a maple-flavored variety that helped to cool down the warm cereal and marshmallow fluff.

And then we ordered another dessert: Honeycrisp.

Honeycrisp at Salt of the Earth

I liked this a lot, but I was not a fan of the thyme in the dessert - thyme is probably my least favorite herb, so that is just my personal taste bud preference.  Besides the thyme, it was prepared amazingly.

So, when James and I were trying to decide where to eat on our night out the next week, there was no question that we had to go back and try the appetizer and entree portions of the menu.

Loft version of the menu, Salt of the Earth

We made reservations for the loft, or upstairs seating area, which offers a great view of the downstairs seating (picnic tables and bench-like individual seats, essentially) and food prep area - not to mention the larger version of the menu that takes up almost the entire side wall.

View of the downstairs seating from the loft

I let James take the lead on what to order, since he was a regular, after all (although the menu does change periodically).  For our first appetizer, we ordered the Risotto, made with octopus, prosciutto, cantaloupe, and miso:

Octopus Risotto

This is probably, no exaggeration, one of the most amazing, fabulous, out-of-this-world things that I have ever eaten - EVER.  I felt like I did when we visited Root 174 - I can't believe that food this fantastic exists in Pittsburgh.  I have only ever eaten octopus in Mexico, at a restaurant right on the Gulf of Mexico - and this was so much better.  The prosciutto was crispy, the octopus was tender, and the flavor of the risotto itself was indescribably, insanely excellent.

For our other appetizer, we ordered the salmon, made like lox on an everything bagel, sans bagel:

Salmon

This appetizer was made from salmon, caper, roe, cream cheese, and poppy seed and sesame seeds (like on an everything bagel).  Although the Octopus Risotto completely stole my heart, this was a commendable appetizer, as well as creative.  I would never think to combine the ingredients quite the way that Kevin Sousa did in his creation.

I was torn on my entree choice.  I wanted to try the duck, as I have never had duck, but so did James.  We agreed that he would get the duck, and I would get the scallops, a usual selection of mine in most restaurants of the same type.

However, I never had scallops - or mussels - quite so fabulous:

Scallops

Both types of seafood were partnered with red potatoes, olives, sunchoke, artichoke, and pancetta.  There is no way that anything in any chain seafood restaurant would ever taste as savory as this did.

And the duck?  Wow.

Duck

I tried the duck, and fell in love.  As cute as ducks are, and as much as I kept remembering my many visits to South Park to feed the ducks as a kid while I ate it, I will eat duck at Salt of the Earth again.  Tender, flavorful, and so much better than any land animal meat.  This came with parsnip, haluski (the hunky in me appreciated this), brussels sprouts (a new obsession of mine, due to Keith Fuller's version at Root 174), apple butter, and pomegranate. 

I was tempted to swap plates with James.  I controlled myself.

And do you think we could resist dessert?  No way!  We ordered the S'more again, and it was as sweet and rich as the first time.

S'more, take two

 I have run out of adjectives to describe my meal at Salt of the Earth, so I will end with this: Bravo, Kevin Sousa, bravo.  If there is anything that the Pittsburgh City Paper's Reader's Poll got right, it is that you are "Pittsburgh's Best Chef".  

I can't wait to see what Union Pig and Chicken (his next restaurant venture) will have to offer.

Salt of the Earth

5523 Penn Ave.

Pittsburgh, PA 15206 (Garfield)

Website: http://www.saltpgh.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Salt-Of-The-Earth/159871574028612?ref=ts&sk=wall

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/saltpgh

For more on Union Pig and Chicken, click here and follow them on Twitter.

...Verde Mexican Kitchen & Cantina

Different does not equal bad.

Sometimes the negative connotation of "different" causes people to think so - when you want to be nice, and you try a new food, you often say, 'Well, it's different..."  Unfortunately, this can cause confusion, in that people tend to think that any food described as "different" isn't delicious.

Verde is different, but in a good - as in unique - way.

I have been eagerly awaiting this restaurant's opening for months - in fact, I have been eagerly awaiting its opening since being inspired to start this blog, as it was mentioned in the original China Millman article in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that caused my epiphany.

Verde has been running a blog since April, which I have been following since June.  It's refreshing to see a business that reflects upon its doings and is excited to share its progress, whether it's progressing positively or negatively.  They commented on their research, their vision, their progress, and their successes and failures alike, which goes to show that the restaurant industry, no matter how much education, planning, and vision you may have, is always a learning experience.

I like that.

I was so thrilled when the soft opening was announced for November, but I didn't want to visit until the soft open was over.  It's not fair to review a restaurant when it first opens - that would be like doing someone's annual performance review in their first week on the job or giving a midterm exam during the first week of classes.

No es justo.

James suggested going to Verde, and I couldn't hold off any longer.  We made a reservation for the Thursday of the official opening week, and I was thrilled to see a post on their blog about what they had learned during the soft open and what they were going to do to improve.  That in itself showed me that they were doing everything possible to make this restaurant a success.

I arrived first and was seated at a booth near the restrooms.  James arrived shortly thereafter, and we started to decide upon our vittles.  While debating upon our appetizers, we were served our complimentary basket of fresh cut chips with roasted tomatillo salsa.  Although I am partial to red tomato salsa, this tomatillo salsa was far superior to any kind that I had had before, including the apple tomatillo salsa that I had made myself.

We knew that we had to try the table-side guacamole, where the guacamole is concocted right at your table with the option to adjust the ingredients to your preferences.

Making the guac, table-side (pardon James' hand!)

 Neither James nor I are super picky about fresh guacamole - we love every ingredient, so it wasn't as if we wanted anything special.  It was wonderfully fresh (it couldn't BE any fresher!), and the mix of ingredients was perfect, but I would have been just as happy if it had been made in the back; however, if you have special preferences (such as no cilantro, not a lot of lime, no onions, etc.) this would be the perfect way for you to enjoy guacamole the way that you prefer it to be. 

Our guac - the final product

 We also ordered the "Ceviche del Dia", made with barramundi, a fish sometimes referred to as perch.  I was mostly intrigued by the red-ish topping - we thought that they were beets, but our waitress informed us that they were pickled jicama (say that three times fast).

Barramundi Ceviche topped with pickled jicama

I love a good jicama, especially if I get it at a good price.  I wasn't sure how I'd like it pickled, but it was almost like pickled beets.  Regardless, this was great ceviche - fabulous flavor from the lime, onions, peppers, and herbs, plus it wasn't fishy-tasting, proving that it was made well.  It was served with plantain strips, which were perfect planks upon which to perch the perch ceviche (now say that three times fast...)

Barramundi Ceviche & Plantain Strips

Although I need to try many different types of Hispanic/Latino foods, I cannot ever resist the Pollo en Mole Poblano on a menu - and so that is what I ordered; moreover, it came with yucca fries, a staple in my visits to Chicken Latino.  James went with the Chiles Rellenos, since many of his Twitter followers suggested it from their visits to the restaurant during the soft open.

Pollo en Mole Poblano, yucca fries, grilled spring onions

I'm so glad that I chose the Pollo en Mole Poblano, because their version is truly unique.  I commented on the mole at Las Velas (which still holds the ranking as my favorite!), and how bland the mole was at Gran Agave, and how much sweeter and more chocolate-y the mole at the Franklin Inn was - but this mole was unlike any other.  In fact, it did not taste chocolate-y at all - more like nutmeg, or a similar autumnal flavor.  In addition, it was not very spicy, which I can take or leave in a mole.  I'm not saying that the mole wasn't delicious - I definitely enjoyed the flavor of the mole, and James agreed.

Like I've mentioned - different does not equal bad.  Not at all.

The chicken itself was not shredded, as it was in every other chicken mole dish in every other restaurant - it was served as half of a chicken, which also set this apart from the others.  I felt as if I got more chicken than sauce, making this a better value than most dishes, as I'm usually left with a plateful of sauce with nothing else with which to clean it up.

If it were socially acceptable to lick sauce off of a plate, you had better bet that I would.  Fortunately, I didn't have to at Verde with all of that chicken!

The yucca fries and spring onions complemented the dish well.  The fries were as crispy and well-salted like those at Chicken Latino, and the grilled spring onions were cooked well enough to dilute the strong onion-y taste that raw onions have, while maintaining the flavor of a fabulously cooked onion.

Chile Relleno

James' Chile Relleno was quite tasty - it was stuffed with quinoa and a black bean succotash, and covered in queso blanco and chipotle asado sauce.  I only took one bite to try, but I am a fan, based on that bite.  It was quite spicy - spicier than I expected, actually, and spicy enough for James to sweat like a menopausal woman having a hot flash.  Perhaps some of the membrane of the pepper was still intact, or maybe the sauce was spicier than we thought; either way, it was much spicier than the chile rellenos I have tried previously.

I was surprised during our meal when a man came over to our table, looked at me, and said my name, questioningly.  I replied, "Yes?" and he proceeded to introduce himself as Jeff, the owner of the restaurant.  I was in disbelief mostly because this was the first time that any restaurant owner recognized me without me first introducing myself to them or a member of their staff.  He thanked James and I for coming in, and at the end of our meal, returned to ask for feedback.

He wants constructive criticism.  He wants this restaurant to be spectacular.  I love Jeff for that reason.

We commented on the uniqueness of the Pollo en Mole Poblano, mostly, and how much we enjoyed everything else, especially the ceviche.

I'm sure that the menu at Verde will continue to change and evolve as feedback comes in, whether explicit or implied.  Regardless, there are many things on the current menu that are great options for my next visit...which will occur in the near future, hopefully...

Verde Mexican Restaurant & Cantina

5491 Penn Ave.

Pittsburgh, PA 15206 (Garfield, at the Glass Lofts)

Website: http://www.verdepgh.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Verde-Mexican-Kitchen-Cantina/189289264447790

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/VerdePGH