Four of us dined at Verde during Restaurant Week last week and Yay, I am indeed a fan! It's very cool and modern inside with tons of windows and a bar that lights up to reflect their amazing selections of tequila. I didn't realize this was Garfield until it popped up on Yelp. I would have guessed Friendship & I guess I was incorrect.
I would consider this restaurant to be a high end, chef inspired Mexican restaurant with some really interesting flavors and menu options that elevates it beyond what one thinks of in a traditional Mexican restaurant.
We started with a pitcher of margaritas and all 4 of us got the Special Price Fixed Menu - 2 carnivores, 2 vegetarians and all of us had fun selections. The veggie girls got the corn appetizer and it looked and they both said tasted awesome and they swirled their corn repeatedly into their dipping sauces until none remained. We got the marinated mussels with lime, tomatilla salsa and cilantro. Served sans shells and those mussels didn't last long because they were delicious. Marinated to perfection with tons of flavor.
Entrees for the girls were the Seitan Tacos and I thought they might lick their plates. Our Carne Asada was tequila marinated steak with cream corn and what I later discovered was a huitlacoche puree. Our waiter was kind enough to ask for me because I loved the black puree on my plate and had no idea what it was. It's a black fungus that grows on Mexican corn and they turn it into a tasty puree. Turns out it's used a lot in Mexican cuisine.
We all loved our Tres Leches Bread Pudding desserts with apricot rum puree and grilled peaches. It was so delicious and swirling it around in that sauce was amazing. My hubby said it was the best bread pudding he's ever had. He may be right!
Would I return to Verde Mexican Kitchen & Cantina - in a heartbeat! In fact, can we go now?