Truly Tasty Tacos

These days, a Boston chef with only one restaurant is practically no chef at all. Having your own gastronomic empire is all the rage… Barbara Lynch is up to a whopping eight establishments, Michael Schlow has four under his belt, Chris Douglass added a third with the opening of Tavolo last year, likewise Scott Herbert with the reemergence of Marilave, and even the now-nationally-known Todd English still maintains five Boston eateries. So, it’s really no surprise that one of the Hub’s super-chefs, Ken Oringer, operates five restaurants in town.

Oringer is best known for the uber-upscale Clio, where, not incidentally, I spent the most memorable and most lavish New Year’s Eve of my life. But his kingdom has grown to include Uni, a high-end sushi bar, Toro, a cozy tapas joint, KO Prime, a temple of all things beef, and La Verdad, a Mexican taqueria. By and large, Oringer’s restaurants feature exquisite food with prices to match, making La Verdad a bit of an anomaly.

First off, La Verdad is located on Lansdowne Street – smack dab between Tequila Rain and Jillian’s, and, consequently, along the path of many a drunk 22 year old clubber and drunk 45 year old Sox fan. To say that La Verdad’s clientele is different from the well-heeled Brahmins that frequent its cousin Clio is the understatement of the year. But finding ourselves at Jillian’s pool tables around the dinner hour – on Valentine’s Day, no less! – it was an obvious choice to head downstairs and nosh on some tacos and throw back a few cocktails laced with tequila.

La Verdad is warm and casual, with dark red walls and playful décor featuring Day of the Dead figurines and Mexican wrestlers’ masks. Requisite for the area, there is also a large, well-stocked bar in the center of the dining room, and about a dozen flat screens around the perimeter – sort of Boca Grande meets Boston Beerworks. Given the night we were there, it was a light crowd and our friendly, funny, heavily-tattooed waiter lets us linger as long as we like over margaritas and Presidentes, which was a good long time in the end.

True to its name, this taqueria is known for its tacos – offering nearly 15 varieties – but the menu also has an ample list of appetizers, and a few dishes they call “big plates.” I was overjoyed when I spotted the grilled corn on the menu – having waxed poetically over this dish at Toro. It lived up to my memory, as a smoky-sweet delight served with a slather of garlicky cream and salty cotija cheese. Delish.

We also shared a small order of chips and guacamole, which also came with a dusting of the cotija cheese and green onions. The guac was simply flavored and chunky and served as an excellent cooling agent for the spicy tacos – though it was not prepared at the table, as advertised in the menu. My only gripe with the dish was the price – ten dollars seemed a little high for what was essentially chips and dip. The waiter also brought out a small serving dish with two types of salsa and a dish of pickled peppers (save the jokes about Peter). One salsa was almost pink in color and had the consistency of crushed tomatoes – it was fairly unremarkable. The other was a tomatillo salsa that was tangy and vibrant on the tongue – the clear winner of the pair.

Everyone at my table ordered the carne asada tacos, save me – I selected the pastor traditional tacos. All of the plates come with three tacos, a small helping of refried beans, and a light sprinkle of cabbage slaw. The carne asada tacos had nice chunks of grilled steak and sweet caramelized onions. While they also had a thin drizzle of guacamole, the salsa arbol on them was so spicy, it nearly killed your taste buds with the first bite. We needed to ask for a bit of sour cream to dull the fire enough to continue eating. The pastor traditional tacos came with slices of pork smothered in an adobo sauce, giving them a warm heat from the smoked jalapeños. The menu claimed that the tacos also featured pineapple – and there was a certain citrusy-sweetness about them – but there were no discernable pieces of the fruit.

The restaurant does offer a selection of traditional Latin desserts, including flan, dulce de leche, and churros, but we opted for another round of drinks in place of a sweet finish. We left with mouths still ablaze from our spicy dinners and stomachs full of yummy Mexican treats.

I’d give La Verdad, at 1 Lansdowne Street in Boston, a B. If you are amongst the under 25 set, the tasty take-out will make for a better than average way to soak up your sins from a night out at the bars. For those of us whose club days are in the past, the flavorsome Mexican is a natural pairing for ballgame or two.