Verde's Mexican Parrilla

Worth the wait on Hamilton Pool Road: Chops, chipotle and a child-friendly backyard as big as a ranch

By Mike Sutter
AMERICAN-STATESMAN RESTAURANT CRITIC
Thursday, April 02, 2009

We went with friends and their children to try Verde's Mexican Parrilla out in western Travis County where we live: fajitas, chiles rellenos, fish tacos and some higher-end grilled main courses (pork chop, quail, fish, beef tenderloin) topping out at $19. Nothing except appetizers and salads for less than $10, really, with typical main-course prices closer to $15 — what most people would call a "nice" place. We figured that with Verde's being a few empty miles down Hamilton Pool Road, we could just jump in, have dinner and a few drinks and get back home before it got fully dark outside.

But on a Saturday at 6:20? Already a 11/2-hour wait. The parking lot was crowded like fireworks night at the Dell Diamond. With four hyperactive, hungry kids between us, we ended up at Rosie's Tamale House, where we usually go anyway. On a return visit, our waitress told us that 90 minutes is nothing for a weekend wait at Verde's. Try 21/2 hours, she said. So why is it so crowded and how does that work? Where do the parents wait? What do they do with the kids? This visit would answer those questions.

We were astonished to see how enormous the place is, a sprawling adobe pueblo the color of sunset with a couple of big dining rooms, a bar area and an outdoor patio. Sweeping out from the big covered patio in back is a fully fenced amphitheater of turf the size of a soccer pitch, with a rec center's worth of soccer balls, footballs and dodgeballs. It's like a giant green baby-sitter for those kids who can't sit still at a restaurant, a safe place for groups of parents to park their offspring while the grown-ups have dinner and catch up. The patio space is split between dining tables and a lounge-y waiting area with low, upholstered groups of couches and chairs. And beware, patio people: Errant field-goal attempts could crash in from the wilderness to threaten your plates and persons at any time.

Impressed by the bar's list of 25 tequilas but hoping we could get a decent margarita without paying for the upgrades, we ordered a $6 house margarita on the rocks that was sweet, tart and watery all at the same time and a $7 house frozen strawberry margarita that was a slushy, sugary, half-melted mess. I imagine the Mexican martini with Don Julio 1942 Añejo is pretty sharp, but on a family budget, I'm not in a hurry to pay $21 for it. If you're willing to experiment, something in the middle might do the trick — a $10 Patron Silver margarita or an $11 Mexican martini with Cuervo Gold. If all else fails, Verde's sells some reasonable wines by the glass and $4 Mexican beers by the bottle.

So, OK. Verde's is big enough to handle the crowds, there's a place to park the kids and it has got a bar out here in a part of Travis County where the bar population hasn't exactly kept pace with the people population. And it all comes with dyed green tortilla chips and a sweet red salsa sure to offend no one. But the food has to carry some of the weight, right? No small assumption, given the that the menu is heavy with grilled meats, fried peppers and braised, baked and broiled Mexican dishes all fighting to get on the table at the same time, all of them the appropriate levels of hot, crispy, melted, medium-rare, whatever. The fact that most of it works — some of it really well — in the face of that high customer volume is remarkable.

The chipotle grilled pork chop ($17) worked best of all for us, a 14-ounce, two-bone chop nicely charred outside, light pink and juicy inside, sauced with a spicy-sweet glaze and sent out with sautéed green beans and poblano mashed potatoes that rose above their role as an obligatory starch. A deep-fried poblano chile relleno stuffed with chicken ($12) came out crisp and hot, with a mild poblano cream sauce, smoky charro beans and sticky white rice. The shrimp mojo de ajo was disappointing, five medium shrimp for $15, gamey and tough, drowning in jalapeño garlic oil that nobody at the table liked.

But we didn't send it back, and that's a testament to how much we liked the people, from the hostess who let us pick a patio table, to the waitress who gave us a succinct menu tour and let us switch tables to dodge the late afternoon sun, to the runner who brought our food right when we were hungry for it. Well, that and the fact that the appetizer sampler ($14) had been such a hit. No frozen, boxed food-service losers in the bunch: breaded and fried jalapeño peppers stuffed with spicy chorizo and goat cheese, fried fish tacos with cabbage and avocados topped with chipotle mayonnaise, broiled half-moon nachos with grilled fajitas, fat quesadillas with jack cheese and grilled chicken, plus creamy queso and chunky guacamole.

The kitchen timing on that plate alone — hot things hot and cold things cold — tells me Verde's is a well-run shop, crowded for a reason and good at giving families out there exactly what they want, even if they have to wait for it.

msutter@statesman.com; 912-5902

Verde's Mexican Parrilla

16018 Hamilton Pool Road. 263-0500, www.verdesmexican.com.

Hours:4 to 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 4 to 10 p.m. Fridays; 3 to 10 p.m. Saturdays; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays.

Prices:Starters $6 (nachos, queso) to $14 (Verde's sampler). Side salads $5, dinner-size salads $9 or $12 (add chicken or beef) or $14 (add shrimp). Grilled entrees $12 (chicken) to $19 (rib-eye steak). Traditional Mexican entrees $10 (chicken flautas) to $14 (poblano-stuffed chicken breasts). Kids' menu with quesadillas, chicken tenders, nachos and grilled chicken for $5, including a drink).

Payment:All major cards

Bar:Full bar, featuring 25 brands of tequila from which to make frozen or on-the-rocks margaritas ($6-$28 for 12-ounce drinks and $9-$31 for 17-ounce drinks) and Mexican martinis ($10-$34). Brands include Sauza, Jose Cuervo, Hornitos, Cabo Wabo, Cazadores and Patron. Mango, strawberry and raspberry flavors can be added for $1. Beer choices include a handful of drafts ($3.50-$3.75) and 10 Mexican brands by the bottle ($4). The wine list includes 14 by the glass ($5-$11).

Wheelchair access:Yes