LM Restaurants, Chef Katsuji Tanabae Open A’Verde in Cary, North Carolina

Nancy Granados

LM Restaurants and Chef Katsuji Tanabe announced their newest restaurant, A’Verde, will open tonight, Friday, March 18 in Cary, NC. A’Verde Cocina and Tequila Library is a modern authentic Mexican restaurant led by Chef Katsuji Tanabe. A’Verde is Katsuji’s opportunity to showcase traditional and unique Mexican flavors that are not common in the South, while using the region’s best ingredients.

Drawing inspiration from the melting pot that is Mexico City, his family table, and other regions of Mexico, Katsuji creates a menu that offers a variety of his favorite dishes, from cornbread and refried beans to pork shanks, octopus tacos, and vegetable-forward dishes with local, seasonal produce. The restaurant also offers one of the largest tequila libraries in the Triangle area. Equally unique is the restaurant’s interior, which evokes a whimsical indoor garden, full of greenery, hanging flowers, and murals by local artist Arianne Hemlein. A’Verde is the newest venture from LM Restaurants, where Katsuji serves as Culinary Innovator. 

On the Menu

Chef Katsuji Tanabe creates a menu with the goal of showcasing the traditional Mexican flavors of Katsuji’s youth in Mexico City, which are not commonly seen in the Southeast. Chef Katsuji plans on taking full advantage of the seasonality of North Carolina, rotating the menu with different salsas, veggies, and the like. Guests can enjoy white habanero salsa (Katsuji’s personal favorite) and chicharron tacos. The menu is vegetable-heavy, consisting of favorites like okra, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash. Katsuji pulls from childhood favorites, like enchiladas, and gives the dish a twist, char-grilling it to extract the most flavor possible. Creating dishes that stray away from the traditional rice-and-beans seen at many Mexican restaurants in the U.S. is a goal of Katsuji’s, and guests can expect unique dishes like Truffle Mushroom Tacos, Root Vegetable Enchiladas, and other playful iterations of classical dishes. 

The dessert menu features a selection of decadent traditional sweets, including Mini Churros with Nutella; Dulce de Leche Flan; and Tres Leches Cake with macerated raspberries and blackberries.  

Guests can look forward to a predominantly cocktail-oriented drink menu that showcases the many bottles of tequila the restaurant offers.