La Verdad, just not good?

[devilham]

My wife and I got a rare night out, and after some research and thought, came to La Verdad for what we had hoped would be a fun night out. It turned out to be anything but, unfortunately.

We ordered our drinks at the bar, as we waited for a table (the wait was not bad, hostess said about a half hour to forty five minutes, was actually more like 20 minutes, so no problems there), I got a beer (actually nice and frosty), my wife got the sangria....this is where the meal got off track.

The sangria appeard to have about a tablespoon of wine in it, the rest was ice and fruit juice, it came in a margherita glass (which the bartender spilled half the drink out of), and had a straw in it....which seemed odd.

THen we got our appetizers, we chose the chile rellenos (alot of people on this board said it was good, and it was...just not amazing or anything), and the cheese dip with nachos (had a fancy mexican name I can't remember. The cheesed dip was broken, and had that oddly grainy texture that cheese gets in a sauce/dip when it's been heated too high, and it had an off taste, I think maybe lime juice? Anyway, 1 for 2, still not awful, that is until our tacos came out.

My wife got the taco sampler, which was supposed to be 3 of their most popular tacos, but she got 4 instead, go figure, but I wouldn't complain about that! I got the tounge tacos (3 of them). So what's our problem then? The tacos, everyone of them, were awful. The tounge meat was allegedly braised, but it tasted (and felt) more like it was boiled, it was grey and unflattering, with a tough texture and tasted like it had been boiled in dishwater, yuck....I couldn't eat them, and sent them back. Mind you at this point I had thought my taco experience was just due to the fact that I had never had tounge in a taco before, so maybe it was just my personal taste that didn't match the dish, so I made certain the server knew this (I don't want to be a jerk about it). Sadly that was not the case, as my wifes tacos were all terrible! they had no strong flavors, and had mushy textures throughout, and the fish taco stank of old fish....it was inedible all around.

Service was hit or miss, as our server was very nice, just wasn't around much, I suspect she had more tables than she could feasibly handle at that time, as the place was hopping.

Bottom line, our overall experience was just not good, and I would hesitate to ever eat there again....at least it didn't break the bank!

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La Verdad
1 Lansdowne St, Boston, MA 02215

[Boston_Otter]

I'm not a big fan of lengua / tongue tacos, but at their best, they should be tender above all. The big appeal to tongue meat is its tenderness. Every time I've had it, though, it's been sort of grey and not overly flavorful.

[devilham]

That's what I thought too....I mean I love the jewish/deli preperation of tounge, and thought I would give this a try, but it was tough, like cartiledge almost, with a squishy outerlayer to some of the cubes (a shape they used for some of their meats that I find questionable..shred people, SHRED!! or at least slice thinly!)....just not very, good I guess. I have a backround in fine dining (retired), and have worked with many Latinos as well, some of the best cooks I know, and between my training (never let cheese boil at high heat to become grainy, maybe to melt, but grainy is wrong), and their background, well, I just have to say the food is poor. It's cool, despite peoples claim to the contrary, good Mexican/Matino food CAN be found in Boston, if you're willing to look!

[opinionatedchef]

i love thinly sliced tongue with a vinaigrette- French style, but have never liked Mexican lengua in tacos, even in Mexico. what is deli style tongue like?

[devilham]

It's a lot like a corned beef, in fact, tongue , corned beef, and a pastrami sandwich is the kind of thing I would order for my last meal!!

[bella_sarda]

I also went to La Verdad for the first time over the weekend. While my experience was not as bad as devilham's, I was quite underwhelmed. I also ordered the 4-taco sampler, which had a carne asada taco, a chorizo-sweet potato taco, a fish taco, and a chicken tinga taco. Among these, the best were the carne asada and fish tacos, both of which were solid if not amazing. OVerall, though, flavor and texture were lacking---the chorizo taco in particular bothered me: the chorizo was all in bits and the sweet potato was a puree, so the whole thing was a mushy mass in which flavors did not stand out. The chicken tinga was quite bland. Also, although the fish taco was pretty good, I much prefer the baja shrimp taco at Olecito. In fact, I think any of the Olecito tacos are better (including the poblano-potato "rajas" and the steak "arracheras" from the latter establishment).

I didn't try anything else so can't comment, but I expected much more from a Ken Oringer establishment.

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La Verdad
1 Lansdowne St, Boston, MA 02215

Olecito
12 Springfield St, Cambridge, MA 02139

[devilham]

Sounds like you got the fresh fish bella_sarda, my wife was not so lucky, coupled with the Globe's fish article, well, let's just say accusations were being tossed around the ol' Ham residence (if you catch my drift...i.e., tummy trouble, just can't for certain blame the food, as a food service vet, I know how hard it is to diagnose the cause). Otherwise your descriptions is spot on, when we left I commented to my wife that they seemed texturaly chalenged there....all mush and grainy cheese and whatnot....it just didn't seem quality

[opinionatedchef]

ham, so disappointed to hear of your bad experience. we go to La Verdad weekly- to the taco cafe part- and we only get fish tacos, carne asado tacos, and carne asada tortas(and the great refried beans; sometimes the corn and the guac). I have only had one limp/badly fried fish taco in all the times we have gone.They are so superior to all the others i have sampled around town.And the fresh haddock makes such a difference in the superiority of these (much more expensive than tilapia etc. in other fish tacos around town.) I wish we liked the other taco filllings but we don't. the chef is not a fancy shmantzy guy but a very conscientious and talented latin cook. He would be so distressed to learn of your bad night and i'm sure would have made things right for you had you spoken with him. sorry.

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La Verdad
1 Lansdowne St, Boston, MA 02215

[CookieLee]

Is the "taco cafe" part a separate section?

[opinionatedchef]

yes; it's the room through which you enter the restaurant; has only 2 tables, take-out counter w/ open kitchen behind.

[Veggo]

I scanned the menu - queso fundito with Monterrey jack cheese? Chile rellenos with anaheim peppers? If you want real mexican food, find a kitchen with a plump little mexican lady with a gold tooth and a smile - not someone Named Ken Oringer. JMO

[cambridgedoctpr]

my favorite mexican place is tapolo bampo with a famous white guy chef; go figure.

like diogenes, i am seeking a good mexican restaurant in the Boston area.

[StriperGuy]

I had a lousy meal at Topo last year. I usually prefer Frontera Grill but couldn't get in. I used to love Bayless, but am concerned that he has jumped the shark. When I posted on Chowhound Chicago about the meal many concurred. Also so much of the menu at Topo is gourmet-iffied now that the menu is harder and harder to call Mexican. Pheasant, duck, etc etc.

The first thing you find when googling him is is promoting his line of Salsas.

www.fronterakitchens.com

[cambridgedoctpr]

interesting; have not been there for about 5 years. too bad; really liked that place.

[devilham]

THAT is some sound advice Veggo, lesson learned. Thing is though, Dorado Tacos in Brookline is miles away better than what we had, and that's all white guys....go figure! (I love Dorado's cemitas so freaking much)

[Jenny Ondioline]

"the cheese dip with nachos (had a fancy mexican name I can't remember. The cheesed dip was broken, and had that oddly grainy texture that cheese gets in a sauce/dip when it's been heated too high, and it had an off taste, I think maybe lime juice?"

It sounds like what you ordered was queso fundido. Thing is, if you were expecting something akin to chile con queso -- a smooth, liquid sauce for dipping -- then I can see being put off by queso fundido. because that's not what it is. Te name literally means "melted cheese," and that's what it is: cheese melted over high heat and then combined with other ingredients. That accounts for its "broken, grainy" texture (especially when it's made with the mozzarella-like pulled cheeses of Oaxaca), and lime juice is by no means an uncommon ingredient.

Although again, if that's not what you were expecting, I can totally understand being put off by it.

[devilham]

Sounds like you got my number Jenny, if that is what it's supposed to be like, then that is what it is....I was not expecting chile con queso, but I have always worked under the belief that cheese should never hit a boil, ever, to avoid that texture. That being said, if the culture that creates the dish says the opposite, who am I to say it's not correct? No one, that is who I am. this was probably a case of me being ignorant of what the dish is supposed to be......not a first for me :)

[CookieLee]

That's all too bad, especially when it's one of the few times you actually get to go out. We were there in September, when the Sox were out of town. The place was empty, except for another family. My sangria was good, not as you described, and it sounds like the whole night was off. Of all the tacos we tried, the fish ones were far and away the best, so it really sounds like the place was having a big problem the night you were there. The duck ones were very dried out. Overall, I thought it was all a little pricey for what it was. Got a fancy chef's name, and it seemed to us that was what we were paying for.