Momocho Mod Mex in Ohio City

My fiancee wanted to go to Momocho for her birthday dinner.  After reading all of the glowing reviews and even seeing them on Unique Eats, we just had to see what all the hype was about.  It turned out that we met another couple for drinks before hand and asked them to join us for our meal!  This would be our first time eating dinner at Momocho.

Food

We started our meal with the guacamole sampler.  This gave us a chance to pick three different guacamole.  From bottom to top in the picture below we picked the goat cheese with tomato chile and poblano peppers, the jicama with pineapple, chile habanero, and mint, and finally the garlic confit with bleu cheese, and chile verde.  The goat cheese really stood out in contrast to the avacado. I enjoyed how each bite packed a punch. The sweet pineapple and jicama blend was my personal favorite because of the way it blended with the heat that came in late, and lingered on until the next bite.  The bleu cheese had a lot of potential, but only a few bites actually got a bite of bleu cheese, the rest was just normal tasting guacamole.  

We decided to try several different taquitos for our entrees. At the bottom of the picture we started with the pato, which was slow cooked duck confit with chile ancho and a pomegranate barbacoa.  The duck was very moist and tender and the pomegranate sauce really had a nice balance of sweet to go along with the spiciness.  This was my personal favorite of the four.  Second from the bottom we had the machaca, which was coffee and ancho braised beef brisket with guacamole.  Although the coffee didn't really come out, the flavor and the tenderness of the meat was outstanding.  Third from the bottom we tried the special for the evening which was the mole beef. The beef was in a chocolate based sauce and the richness of the chocolate stood out. This was my fiance's favorite dish because the beef was even more tender than the braised beef brisket.   Finally, the top dish in the picture was the carnitas, which was adobo braised pork with a honey-chipotle mojo. We were told this was one of the most popular dishes, and the flavors explained why.  Simple, yet bold spices combined with tender and juicy pork.

To end our dinner some deep fried ice cream was brought to the table for the birthday girl!  The presentation of this dish was very fun and the combination of flavor and texture of this dish were amazing.  This really was a great way to end our fantastic dinner.  I have to say that the hype that surrounds Momocho is well deserved because we would go back and order any of the taquitos again.  Momocho offers bold flavors, perfectly cooked protein, and prices that are extremely reasonable considering the high quality of food!

Drinks
Momocho is known for their margaritas so we each decided to try what many consider their best, the cucumber margarita. All four of us felt the amount of sour mix used in the drink was just too much.  We asked if it was possible to get it remade, but we were informed that it was already premixed, and would likely taste exactly the same.  This was a slight disappointment because we have tried this drink at Momocho before, and this time it really fell flat.  As far as beer goes Momocho offers your standard Mexican brews such as Corona and Dos Equis.

Atmosphere and Service
The room was dimly light and the environment is full of flair.  The picture at the top of this review is just a glimpse at some of the artwork that is posted up all over the restaurant.  Momocho's atmosphere definitely says fun, but also has a very relaxed feel to it which we very much enjoyed.  Our server for the night was outstanding.  Her service was everything you would want and expect at a restaurant.  She was friendly, funny, knowledgeable, and very helpful when it came to questions about the menu and the food.   With service and food like we had during this dinner experience it is no wonder so many people rave about Momocho!