Verde Cocina en la Perla
Verde Cocina was my first exposure to an entirely dedicated gluten free restaurant shortly after I moved to Portland in 2022. Having being raised in California though and enjoyed many holidays in Mexico, I do have a certain expectations for Mexican food that can be difficult to find in this area.
First, I like spicy and bold food. Verde Cocina is not that. It’s more a safe spot that you can take friends to that aren’t super adventurous eaters as there are no super bold flavors here that some may find offensive. That said, a turnoff for those same friends could be the veggies they top virtually every dish with, but you can always ask for no veggies - I typically have to do this as their veggie mix usually contains carrots, which I’m allergic to.
If anything, I’d say Verde Cocina’s menu is more representative of a health conscious spot, with solid vegetarian options, that also happens to be dedicated gluten free. They also have many creative salads on the menu that I plan to try once the weather heats up and I’m out of meat and potatoes mode.
Which leads me to what I think is one of their best menu items for a meat eater - their carne asada with sweet potato mash (pictured above, without the veggies). I decided to try this after being a bit disappointed with the lack of kick in their more traditional Mexican offerings. Their carne asada is flavorful, super tender, and cooked perfectly - nice char on the outside and perfect medium rare on the inside. The green sauce and sweet potato mash is a perfect accompaniment. It’s also at a pretty decent price point for the quality, especially in the Pearl district.
Verde Cocina also offers a gluten free mac and cheese that you can top with pork belly or chicken - a friend of mine swears their mac and cheese with the pork belly is the best in town. They also have an extensive selection of margaritas - freshly made, on the rocks, not frozen, blended syrupy crap. I just had the coconut margarita on my last visit that was absolutely fantastic.
I only recently learned that Verde Cocina also offers weekend brunch, which I do plan to try very soon. Crossing my fingers for some awesome chilaquiles and they even have gluten free French toast!
