Latin dishes at Mojito just like Mama used to make
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Like a tropical bird in a rain forest, Mojito Cafe is hard to find but easy to spot once you know where to look. At the southernmost end of Lake City Way, keep your eyes peeled for a burst of brilliant plumage painted on the side of an orange-washed stucco building that looks as if it ought to be situated adjacent to a Caribbean beach, not an I-5 on-ramp.
Once you've found the place, you'll be plotting a quick return, and not only to satisfy your craving for the potent Cuban coffee, but for some very good Latin American comfort food. Owners Luigi Valenciana, Juan Ganz and Peter Strauss may come from different parts of the world, but they all have Latin mothers. They aim to showcase home cooking like you won't find anywhere else in town.
Don't expect tortilla chips. Breakfast might be a couple of deep-fried Venezuelan corn cakes topped with cheese ($2.75) or arepas ($2.95), cornmeal pockets stuffed with beef, cheese or eggs. The hot Cuban sandwiches ($5.25-$5.95) available at lunch are made on whole round loaves baked locally to the restaurant's specifications. Everything else here, from sauces and soups to sangria, is made on the premises.
Traditional Latin American sides such as plantain, yucca or black beans and rice accompany each of the half-dozen dinner entrees ($8.95-$14.75), which can be ordered midday as well. Most, like bandeja montanera ($11.75), a Colombian-style steak and egg combo, feature beef or chicken, but there are vegetarian options, too; noncarnivores are readily accommodated. Give them two days notice, says Valenciana, and they'll make paella.
And of course, you can always get a Mojito ($5.75), the minty, muddled lime-and-rum drink that Ernest Hemingway made famous, as well as other exotic South American cocktails.
The tiny, triangular building pulsates with a sensuous Latin beat day or night. Furnished with multihued, mosaic-topped tables crafted by the owners, the interior resembles an outdoor patio, complete with cloud-dappled blue sky. Real alfresco seating is planned for summer, and batidos — cool, creamy Cuban fruit drinks — should slip down even easier on a hot August night than they do with a north wind breathing down your neck.
Check please
Mojito sandwich: Thin slices of ham, roasted pork and cheese stuff an 8-inch round loaf of Cuban bread generously slathered with mojito salsa, a powerful house-made garlic sauce. The whole sandwich is flattened in a press, like panini, until it's warm and crusty on the outside, soft and savory in the middle. On the side: hot and crispy plantain chips.
Parrilla: Flank steak — treated to a long soak in beer, fruit juices and spices — leaves the grill medium rare, impressively tender and intriguingly flavored. Luigi's vivacious green picante sauce gives it an extra kick; dip into the habañero-spiked pink picante at your own risk. This dinner entree comes with a sampler of sides: fluffy rice, stewed black beans, boiled yucca, mashed fried green plantain fritters (tostones) and guasacaca, a creamy smooth avocado sauce tangy with lime.
Batidos: If J. Lo were a smoothie, she'd be one of these frothy fruit drinks. Blended with ice, sugar and milk, they come in an array of tropical fruit flavors like lulo, slightly tart with pineapple and lemon notes, and guanabana, reminiscent of passion fruit and papaya.
Café con leche: This smooth, dark-roasted, almost chocolatey Latin latte sweetened with milk and sugar is the Antonio Banderas of coffee drinks. You get a bowlful at a bargain price.
Itemized bill, meal for two:
Mojito sandwich: $5.95
Parrilla: $14.95
2 Batidos: $5.90
2 café con leche $3.00
Tax : $2.77
Total: $32.57
Providence Cicero: providencecicero@aol.com.
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