La Verdad, Boston

Friday evening I had the good fortune to get to go to the Sox game. There is something about baseball on a warm summer night that just screams "fantastic" to me. Deciding against park food (pahk food if you'd prefer), my friend and I decided to get some Margaritas, eat outside, and check out La Verdad, a newer restaurant down by Fenway.

This is a place Ive been meaning to check out for a couple of reasons. The first- Ive heard very different reviews of it- some saying its the most authentic Mexican place in Boston, others saying its completely horrible. The second reason, after my lovely experience at Villa Mexico a couple of weeks ago- Ive been on a bit of a taco kick.

So we scored a table on their outside "patio", basically just a roped off section of the sidewalk, which is awesome because its outside, though in reality-its less than awesome. We ordered a pitcher if their Margarita's-which between two people- maybe a bit much as we had to race to finish them, but they were very tasty. Then I ordered the three taco combination- the first their Carne Asada-which was recommended to me by my friend, and served with caramelized onions, guacamole and a salsa. The second was their Pescado-fried fish served with cabbage, an avocado puree, crema, salsa, and a chipotle mayonnaise. The third I chose Pastore Traditional- pork adobo, roasted pineapple, lime, cilantro and onion. These were served with side accompaniments of re fried beans and yucatan slaw. Over all I found them to be really good. The soft taco shells tasted home made, nice and salt free to allow the flavors of the stuffings to be clear.

The Carne Asada was delicious. The steak was nice and tender and the caramelized onions were a perfect addition-added that nice sweet taste to offset the meaty steak. The guacamole and salsa added that great Mexican flair to it, while bringing the heat and creamy flavors to enhance the taco. The Pastore Traditional was also really good. The pork was nice and spicy and the accompaniments were nice and refreshing. I am not someone who really enjoys cilantro, though am upset when it is omitted from Mexican cuisine where it is obviously needed, and in this dish its flavor was perfect. Exactly what the pork needed. The Pescado was only so so. I found the flavor of the fried fish to be overwhelming to the rest of the ingredients, and nothing else was of note. To be honest- I ate it as fast as possible to have it be done with. The re fried beans were nice though, sometimes I taste a burnt taste in them that I didn't find here, and the slaw that was placed on top if them added a nice refreshing crunch when eaten together.

I will definitely return to La Verdad. Though the ambiance is not great, and visions of its former self as the Tiki Room, or whatever it was called, kept coming back to me, I did really like the food. And the margaritas were quite good :-)