As busy as I have been, I had not even thought much about my birthday until a few days before. Obviously, I wanted to go somewhere for dinner, but not just anywhere. Since I go out everyday, I wanted this dinner to be special, somewhere I can’t typically just go. I began wracking my brain for ideas, but couldn’t come up with anything…until one of my friends, Cat, decided she would join me. Instantly, I thought of Pueblo- somewhere we had been dying to go together for two reasons: I had never been, and she had been once and LOVED it. Since it was so last minute, we were SO blessed to have Adam (owner) accommodate us by saving us two bar seats; despite the restaurant being completely booked out for that night.
When we arrived last Saturday night, I honestly was shaking with excitement.(Yes, I tend to get really excited about restaurants I have been dying to go to). The restaurant is small and intimate, which makes you feel even more special eating there. Celsey (the bartender/server) greeted us right away and was helpful, attentive, and SO sweet the entire night (and we were there for like three hours). As we looked over the menu, I began drooling and knew what a treat I was in for. Despite my desire to order the entire menu, we narrowed it down to 2 cold tapas, 1 cheese, and 4 hot tapas. Plus 1 more hot tapa we ended up ordering after all the food came and I realized how in love I was.
Time for Tapas! Here is What we Ordered :
- Coliflor – OK. Stop. Listen. I am probably the craziest cauliflower lover out there. ANYTIME I see cauliflower of a menu, there is no question. I’m ordering it. So, naturally, I have tried QUITE a few cauliflower dishes in my past. This was the greatest cauliflower salad I have ever consumed. No, I am not exaggerating. I can’t really give you a description, other than “cauliflower salad, root veggies, tarragon, almonds.” But I can tell you that this is one dish you can NOT pass up.
- Pulpo a la Gallega – grilled Spanish octopus, baby potatoes, mojo verde. A tapa consisting of octopus, potatoes, and a PHENOMENAL green sauce. Are you starting to catch on to the simplicity of every tapa here? It is so hard to describe the intensity and complexity of the flavors, but trust me when I say the dishes are much more than they seem.
- Drunken Goat Cheese (served with house accompanies) – Not your typical goat cheese. 3 triangle wedges of this unique cheese, served alongside bread, house-made fig jam, and olives. To me, it tasted like a non-creamy, mild version of goat cheese, which was perfect for the heavier dishes soon to come.
- Gambas al Ajillo – prawns, shrimp, garlic, & green olives… A decadent mix of seafood and olives in a melt-in-your-mouth buttery-type sauce, served with soft bread. The simplicity of this dish highlights the natural goodness of the perfectly cooked prawns and shrimp.
- Croquetas de Bacalao – cod and potato croquettes; aka fried goodness. A less-crabby version of crab cakes due to the potato: right up my alley since crab cakes are usually too crabby for me.
- Costilla – crispy pork ribs, long beans, candied chile, and almonds. Mmmmm… The pork was cooked perfectly and paired SO well with the crunchy almonds and charred long beans. SUCH a good value for $12, by the way!
- Queso Fundido – HOLD THE PHONE. STOP. This was my freaking favorite thing (along with the Coliflor) If you know me, I am a goat cheese guru. I have never had such an AMAZING goat cheese dish. The little dish of melted goat cheese, black truffle, and honey was simply heaven. It was not TOO rich, nor TOO truffle-y. All the flavors were SPOT. ON. I wanted to eat it all, but I had to share with Cat… I would come back here daily just for this if I could.
- Goat Cheese Cake & Bread Pudding – of course, we tried two of the house-made desserts. Both awesome, but totally try the goat cheese cake. I was not intrigued by this at all, but Cat wanted it- and she was right; it was good! Topped with house-made sesame granola and berries, the little cake of goat cheese tasted like a yogurt parfait; which I LOVE!
Of course, there were 2 house-made aioli sauces that I tried as well. AMAZING.
Out of all the restaurants I have been to, I have to say that I have the most respect for Pueblo. The entire time we were there, I watched Adam(the owner) wipe dishes, bus tables, and work as a team member- not an owner. I have never seen a restaurant owner put this much work into his/her business in terms of ACTUAL service. I also noticed how all the team members interacted with Chef John; with SO much respect.
Chef John, whom we got to spend some time chatting with, was one of those chefs that you just want to be best friends with. He was so humble, kind, and even took time out of his night to help me take pictures and talk. I am so looking forward to continue eating at Pueblo and getting to experience more of Chef John’s magic.
This is NOT a “Instagram”-hyped place, and I hope it stays this way. As a true food enthusiast, I LOVE places like Pueblo. Good food, loyal customers, and no marketing needed.
Thank you SO, SO much, Adam, John, and team Pueblo for making my birthday such a memorable one.
Sauce Boss Shelby 