I'm not like a super freaky Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives fan, but I watch it when its on TV, and when I'm traveling I'll usually check to see if any featured restaurants are nearby. Some of the places that Guy visits don't really seem all that special, but some really stand out to me. One of those places that stuck out to me while watching the show was Momocho in the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland. So last week, while my mother and I were visiting my aunt in Cleveland we decided to check it out. Watching their segment on Triple D, I was really intrigued and excited to try the food, and I must say I was not disappointed.
At Momocho, executive chef and owner Eric Williams has put forth what he calls mod mex cuisine. The menu melds classic Mexican flavors with very modern and trendy ingredients. You can choose from grilled chicken or steak, brisket or shrimp, or if you are feeling a little more adventurous you can try the goat or wild boar. You can also order outrageous Mexican favorites such as grasshoppers and huitlecoche (also known as corn smut- a spore that grows on corn). The menu is broken down into taquitos-small tacos- and especiales- which are more of a complete entree.
Upon entering what from the outside looks to be another house in the neighborhood, you are met with traditional Mexican day of the dead decor in a hip, contemporary bar area. We were seated at the bar for dinner, and we were pleasantly surprised to hear that downstairs from 5-6:30 all taquitos were half price. So naturally I had to order two. For starters I ordered the trio of guacamole- I picked the smoked trout and bacon guac, the blue crab and pickled corn guac, and the goat cheese and roasted tomato guac. My favorite of the 3 had to be the goat cheese and tomato. I was expecting traditional guac sprinkled with goat cheese- no- there were huge chunks of goat cheese going throughout the dip, and it was delicious. The blue crab and pickled corn was tasty too. The crab and corn added a great sweetness to the buttery avocados. Lastly, the smoked trout and bacon guac was good, and conceptually its a great idea, I just don't think it was executed perfectly. The smoke from the trout came through, but I couldn't find any chunks of fish in the dip. The two bites where I got a little nugget of salty bacon in the smokey avocado were fantastic, I was just searching for more.
The two taquitos that I ordered were the Machaca and the Pato. All of the taquitos are served in a cazuela atop stewed peppers and onions, with tiny corn tortillas and tomatillo salsa verde. I had to try the Machaca-coffee and ancho braised brisket served with traditional guacamole- because that is what Guy ate on the show. The brisket was super tender and the sauce had a smokey kick, it was definitely worth trying. But even better was the Pato- slow roasted duck served with a pomegranate ancho barbecue sauce. The duck was incredibly tender and unctuous and just melted in my mouth. The barbecue sauce served with the duck was bananas. Sweet, smokey, and the slightest bit spicy, it was perfect. Overall it was an awesome meal. The portion size was large, the sauces were great, and the cook on the meat was executed perfectly.
To cap off our dinner, we ordered the Mexican chocolate pudding with salted pretzel brittle. What a great ending. It was so good. The chocolate pudding was thick and was spiked with spicy cinnamon (it almost tasted like red hots), topped with whipped cream and crunchy, salty crushed pretzel. I'm not a big sweets eater, so I don't usually order dessert, but I am so glad we decided to order this pudding. It is definitely on the top of my favorite desserts list.
Definitely check out Momocho next time you hit Cleveland, you will not be sorry. I will indubitably be going back for seconds.
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