Nick Schaffer loves Cuban food. Like many 蜜柚直播ans, though, he was struggling to find it here.
鈥淭here are places that have Cuban items on their menus, but there鈥檚 no Cuban restaurant here,鈥 he said.
He found what he was looking for on social media: a local home cook was selling Cuban food out of her house and taking orders online. The chef, Patricia Espinosa, makes a public appearance only once a year, at our favorite smorgasbord,聽.
Mojo's venue was completely redesigned from the spot's previous iteration as a Caribbean-themed nightclub, at .
Patricia is Cuban, and would make classic dishes like ropa vieja and Cubano sandwiches for other 蜜柚直播ans from the Caribbean diaspora. Now, she鈥檚 helping lead the menu at聽. (The restaurant is named after mojo chicken, pronounced mo-ho, a signature Cuban dish made with salsa verde.)聽The restaurant at聽聽officially opens today, Oct. 30.
鈥淚 tried her food a few times, and I knew she was the real deal,鈥 Nick said.
The cubano sandwich ($12) is made with two different kinds of pork.
When he started assembling a team to bring Cuban food to 蜜柚直播, she was one of the first people he got on payroll. She鈥檚 now the sous chef at Mojo,聽working with executive chef Janet Valderas, who until recently helmed the upscale dining program at Tanque Verde聽Ranch.
鈥淪he left a mark on our menu by guiding us to what鈥檚 authentic,鈥 Nick said. 鈥淥ne thing we might not have known otherwise is, Cuban food is not spicy. You might come across recipes with chiles, but that鈥檚 not how it鈥檚 eaten on the island.鈥
The guava mojito from Mojo Cuban ($12) is garnished with a sliver of fresh sugar cane.
The menu was also inspired by a staff trip to Little Havana in Miami.
鈥淲e tried a Cuban sandwich empanada that will be on the menu,鈥 he said. 鈥淐uban empanadas are fried, but we鈥檙e not frying them in lard (the old school way) but instead vegetable oil.鈥
They鈥檒l also make empanadas with seasoned, vegan ground beef, [called picadillo] and separate the fryers to make a plant-based option.
The ropa vieja ($17) is a classic Cuban beef stew.
A rum bar was always part of the plan. They鈥檒l be offering a mojito made with pure sugar freshly muddled into the base (rather than simple syrup) and garnished with a wedge of sugar cane 鈥 another detail picked up in Little Havana. But beyond the typical rum cocktails: mojitos, pi帽a coladas, daiquiris 鈥斅犫渕ade the way Ernest Hemingway liked them,鈥 Nick said 鈥 they鈥檒l also be offering the spirit straight-up.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to do rum flights to reintroduce 蜜柚直播 to rum,鈥 he said. 鈥淒ifferent tiers where the uniqueness or scarcity, or different regions will be highlighted.鈥
The restaurant shines most when it鈥檚 offering experiences you can鈥檛 find anywhere else: the croquetas, remarkably full of rich flavors; the sliver of sugar cane in the mojito, enjoyed on a sunny patio bar.聽
Mojo Cuban Kitchen and Rum Bar
Location:
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday | 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday | 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday | 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday
For more information, check out their .
Note: Their pick-up window, La Ventanita, will be open at 8 a.m. for breakfast, coffee, and Cuban milkshakes until the full restaurant opens.
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