Verdad True Modern Mexican comes from the same folks that bring you Carve American Grille across the plaza. The restaurant format is similar: bar on the left, formal seating on the right, tasteful outdoor seating out front. Instead of a room for red meat, there’s a stylish, large dinner table for your too-big-to-read book club to get drunk in public. Whereas Carve evinces dark sophistication, Verdad sports a refined, cheery decor.
We went left and sat at a two-topper near the bar where the bar menu as well as the full menu is available. We started off with a couple margaritas, including the Signature Margarita on the Rocks (Teremana Blanco, fresh-pressed lime juice, and agave nectar; $14) for she and a Fuego Afrutado (Espolón Blanco, Ancho Reyes Verde, fresh-pressed lime and orange juices, and mango; $14) for me. The Sig Marge was quite good (perhaps too good) with just the right amount of sweet and sour and snap of the tequila. Mine was good too, but the Sig was the winner. If eating raw metal is your thing, order one of the margaritas topped with gold or silver shavings (you can hold one with your pinky finger in the air while spouting “Let them eat tres leches cake.”).
For starters, we went with Crispy Fritters (zucchini, corn, and octopus fritters served with chipotle mayo, cilantro lime crema, and cabbage slaw; $11 for three) and the Sliced Sea Scallop Agua Chile Rojo (coated with toasted chile and tomato broth; garnished with cucumbers, watermelon radish, and jicama; and dusted with onion ash; $21). The fritters were decent, but the sea scallops were the winners of this appetizer death match (although, truth be told, we killed both of them).
For mains, I tried the Cherry Mole Duck (half duck roasted and stuffed with red rice, mild chiles, and tomatoes topped with cherry mole; $45) while The Bride ordered the Chef’s Chicken Enchiladas (chicken breast, cheese, and authentic enchilada sauce wrapped in heirloom blue and white masa corn tortillas; $29). Cherry mole sounded interesting, and it was, with a classic cherry sweet-sour flavor combined with other spices, although I’m not sure it was $45 good. The enchiladas were good as well, although the authentic sauce tasted akin to taco powder from HEB. I don’t mean that as a dig since that powder is dang good (and I’m not saying that’s what they used [right?]), but it was a little strange (no matter how authentic) in a high-end restaurant for a plate of $30 chiladas.
Finally, to top off the evening, we had the Why-Stop-at-Three? Seis Leches Cake ([1] sweetened condensed milk, [2] sweetened condensed coconut cream, [3] almond milk, [4] goat milk, [5] evaporated milk, and [6] heavy cream; $12). It was dang good (“Let them eat seis leches.”).
There’s lots of competition in the high-end Mexican market in Austin, but there’s not many high-enders in North-Central Austin (Fonda San Miguel and who else?). And it ain’t cheap to eat here. We walked out with a bill just north of $200 with tip, title, and license (and some items at a happy-hour discount) [message to the editor: When will the Allandale Neighbor give me an expense account?]). To further complicate things, Verdad does not list prices on their web site (if you have to ask…). Whereas the owners have refined their Carve concept to perfection over many years, there may be some adjustments to Verdad before the truth is finally told.
Verdad True Modern Mexican, 2701 Perseverance Dr, Austin, TX 78731, www.verdadtruemodernmexican.com
I wrote this review for the Allandale Neighbor.
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