Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on November 18, 2022.
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The Asadero at Mindful Brewing in Carnegie changed concepts in 2022.
When Pittsburgh breweries expand, there is reason to celebrate. When they expand and also open up a short-order taco joint, doubly so.
So when we heard that Mindful Brewery was expanding into Carnegie, PA, with their aptly named Asadero restaurant, we had to visit right away. While we left this one a bit disappointed in the small size of the tacos, we'll gladly return for the burritos and beer.
The Tacos at Mindful's Asadero Are Small
Prior to visiting the Asadero, we had not read much about the tacos here other than they are Mexican street style. As these can vary in size quite considerably, we assumed a decent portion size for the price and ordered our standard spread of three tacos.
When we got home and opened our container, we realized these were on the small side for street tacos, and three simply wasn't going to cut it (and, based on price alone, was a bit of a letdown). Had we realized, we probably would've ordered a couple more to round out the meal.
That being said, the flavors of the tacos themselves were quite good. Our tacos had a split of carne asada, pastor, and a vegetarian mix which were quite well seasoned, but apart from the pastor came with limited toppings sprinkled on top as well. The pastor tacos had a nice spread of onions and cilantro, whereas the asada came with just a few pieces of grilled onion and left us wanting more.
Thankfully, we also got a burrito which was much more enjoyable.
Go for a Burrito Instead (And Don't Forget a Beer)
While we were a bit let down by the tacos here (mostly for the size), we do have to admit that we quite enjoyed the burrito. This was a monster burrito that came with your choice of meat (we picked pastor) plus rice, black beans, Monterey cheese, pico de gallo, tomatillo salsa, and crema.
Not only was having our favorite meat from the taco selection a great fit, we appreciated that none of the ingredients were skimped in this order and made for a well-rounded bite the entire way through. Suffice it to say, when we visit this one in the future, we'll likely be sticking to the burritos. Pair this with a beer (either from Mindful or from their impressive beer cave) and you have the makings of a pretty good meal.
Finally, we would be remiss if we did not note that the menu on Mindful's website did not match up with their online ordering system and in-store prices. Thankfully, things were a bit cheaper than we were expecting, but due to the size we were still hoping for more.
Overall, while we'll never say no to having more tacos available in Pittsburgh, we have to admit we were let down by the size of the ones here relative to their price. But a solid burrito and great beer offering more than makes up for that concern a fair bit.
The Asadero by Mindful was located at their satellite taproom at 1001 Washington Avenue in Carnegie, Pa. The brewery remains with a new food concept.