Subject: FOOD/DRINK
Place: Centro Bar & Kitchen
Locale: Reno, NV (California Ave area)
Visits: 1 (05/29/16)
Food: 4.5 out of 5 on the Fork-O-Meter
Venue: 5 out of 5 on the Fork-O-Meter
Beverages: 4.5 out of 5 on the Burp-O-Meter
Will I return?: Yes.
NARRATIVE:
From WIKIPEDIA:
Tapas are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks...The serving of tapas is designed to encourage conversation, because people are not so focused upon eating an entire meal that is set before them.
So I have been aware of Centro Bar & Kitchen for quite a while. In fact it sits next to another favorite haunt here in town along California Avenue called "1864 Tavern". Most of the unique, small food spots around here actually provide delivery directly into places like 1864 free of charges - yet the idea, at least to me, of having small plates of appetizers and snacks as opposed to an entire, all-encompassing dinner platter just did not ever hit the mark.
It was not until Linda and I were enjoying lunch at "The Cheese Board" (to be reviewed later) that I was really drawn into Centro. You see, I have this thing about restaurants and/or taverns that have a street-facing open air section -- you know the type: the large, windowed garage door that brings the outdoors inside. Plus on this day, with the doors open, I had a good gander of the interior -- brick, Edison bulb lighting, eclectic decor. Hmmmm, okay, gotta try this place at least once.
Linda and I, along with our good dining/drinking companions, popped into Centro over the Memorial Day weekend. From the first look inside, I knew this was my kind of venue. Different options for seating as you might expect - tables, bar seating, high tops, small tables near the "garage door". One less than favorable section was the outdoor patio area in the back of the establishment -- a little stark, no music being piped in, and just so-so. As this area is somewhat residential, I can understand why there would be no music out back however. The music in the main part of the place was really good -- and better yet, musicians and bands unknown to us! (no Top 40 crap here). There are several other walkable points of interest nearby: The Nevada Museum of Art, several other restaurants and bars, small shops, etc.
As usual, we are here primarily to try new food and drink, and Centro for me did not disappoint. The server was also our bartender, and our service throughout was excellent. He gave us plenty of time to make decisions on our initial beverages, and made suggestions with several options, both drink and food, that worked out well. In my case, I enjoyed the best mixed drink I have had in a long time. The "Chili Centro Mule" was their spin on the Moscow Mule. Served in the traditional Mule-style copper mug, it included jalapeño infused vodka, ginger beer, lime juice and bitters - with a little jalapeño lifesaver floating on top. I was hooked from sip one. The flavor of the jalapeño jumped right out of the mug -- a much-welcomed fire tamed only slightly by the ginger beer and lime. I was taken hostage by this one. The ladies each had a hand-shaken Kamikaze (one raspberry or pomegranate, one standard as I recall), and our fourth player had something otherwise (can't recall because I was so hypnotized by that mule!).
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| Chili Centro Mule |
Moving ahead, we ordered and shared multiple tapas plates. The "Centro Deviled Egg" was five (yes, five) half-eggs deviled up with cherry pepper powder, chicharron dust, and a nice gremolata streamer. The chicharron dust (for you gringos, chicharron is basically fried pigskin, a crunchy snack) provided a tiny amount of crunch to the creamy deviled eggs. The delicate cherry pepper powder added spice, but not heat. A really nice treat.
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| Centro Deviled Egg - awesome |
The "Spinach Salad" put a great spin on the usual green dish. Comprised of spinach (duh), pickled pear slices, prosciutto, pickled onions, cashews, warm bacon vinaigrette, and Bleu cheese crumbles. A really well-balanced plate of flavor - sweet and tart all the same, with the added texture from the cashews. I swear I dug out a marble-sized hunk of Bleu gold in the pile of joy.
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| Spinach Salad |
"Three Daily Tacos" - the protein changes based on the chef's choice for the day. Today was "blackened chorizo". I would hasten to add that the chorizo used here at Centro seemed to be on the Spanish side (vs. Mexican), so it was a bit meatier and not quite as "melted down". All told, we thought overall, today's protein choice for the tacos was lacking just a bit. The rest of the taco filling was great however, and I would try these again just based on how they were constructed -- just needed a different meat choice.
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| Three Daily Tacos - Blackened Chorizo today |
"Lobster Risotto Cake" - We all sampled this one. It was really tasty -- good creamy risotto, and the langostino was nicely poached. It could have used a bit more langostino, given the proportion of the risotto on the dish, but overall, it was really tasty.
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| Lobster Risotto Cake |
"Sausage Plate" - Again, the base/type of sausages are rotated and chosen by the chef daily. The choices today were wild boar and andouille. They are grilled and served with pickled onion, a daily jam, along with an apple cabernet mostarda. The sausages were really tasty and worked well with the provided accompaniments.
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| Sausage Plate - Wild Boar & Andouille today |
"Filthy Fries" - My personal choice and my favorite for today. These qualify as fries only in the sense that it included wedge-cut potatoes -- other than that -- it was completely different than just fries. In fact, I doubt anything on this plate made it anywhere near a fryer. These well-roasted wedges (borderline crispy on the outside, but very tenderly cooked internally) are covered with short-rib meat, cotija cheese, a beer cheese sauce, capped with a little cherry pepper salsa, all of which sits atop a reduced balsamic drip and that great house gremolata. Glad I had my team to share with on this plate - it was a good portion and pretty much a small meal rather than a small plate.
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| "Filthy Fries" - my favorite today |
There were plenty of other things on the menu at Centro I would really like to sample: "Charred Octopus", "Pork Belly", "Shrimp Po' Boy", "Fingerlings a la Centro", "Jal-Up In Your Fritter", to name a few. Additionally, there are drinks on the menu calling for a revisit: "Watermelon Jalapeño Margarita", "Tay Tay's Tonic", "Pomegranate Mojito", etc., etc., etc.
Centro Bar & Kitchen is a great place to share great things with great people. We never even made it to the desserts listed on the menu. Additionally, Centro features daily & happy hour deals throughout the week. I highly recommend visiting and exploring their menu. I will be going back.
-BG
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