Participating restaurants include: Momocho, Red the Steakhouse, Moxie, Paladar, Bar Cento and Gamekeeper’s Taverne.

Momocho is going one step further. Chef Eric Williams is donating an additional $250 to the cause, plus extending the restaurant’s popular happy hour until 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25. So take advantage of the extended hours and have a great night out for less and do some good in the process.

I first heard of this cause after reading it in the NY Times two years ago when New York City restaurants asked their patrons to donate $1 (or more) for water they normally drink for free. Since then, it has grown to a nationwide movement that thankfully, our local chefs and restaurants quickly got on board to support.

The place was packed. In fact, I’ve never seen it so busy. My husband and I have both been there several times before, mostly for lunch and the occasional weekday dinner. While we were never the only dinners, the place was never this packed. We certainly never had to wait for a table, but we did on Saturday – an hour to be exact.

Since I wasn’t that hungry, thanks in part to two mojitos and the guacamole for the table, I ordered the butternut squash tortilla soup and Cuban braised beef appetizer with sweet plantains and aji-amarillo.

In previous posts, I’ve commented about the guacamole being rather bland overall, which is disappointing to have an independent Latin restaurant so close to my house that serves blah guacamole. I mean, if my sister can make outstanding guac, why can’t they? And this is something they tout, like the rum bar. In my opinion, you can’t hype something if it doesn’t deliver.

Since opening in August, it appears they have worked out a few kinks, and my guess is continuing to work out a few more. While I still wouldn’t call the guacamole great, it was definitely much improved. It noticeably had a lot more flavor, which alone is an improvement, but now seems to be lacking any avocado flavor. This is ironic because when I first tried it, I only tasted mashed fresh avocado – that’s it. No salt, cilantro, tomatoes, onion, etc. They deliver on the presentation, serving the popular appetizer is an oversized mocajete, along with yummy plantain chips. They are almost there if they could just figure out the guacamole.

While the guacamole may not shine just yet, the soup and appetizer sure did. The creamy soup was a bit smoky and packed with perfect butternut squash flavor. And I really enjoyed the toasted tortilla strips with each bite. The Cuban braised beef, which was so big I only finished half, was spicy, tender, and simply delicious. This is something I’d happily order again, and given the size, look forward to leftovers the next day.

The black bean soup was really good. The consistency was more blended than I expected, had a very slight warmth and was very filling. I don’t think my soup had any cilantro. The pico de gallo was good, I just wish I had more of it. I like the tomatoes with the beans, good flavor. The salad was not bad. I enjoyed the avocado, seeds and shallots, but I couldn’t really taste the sherry in the dressing. In the bites I could detect it, it had good flavor and went well with the avocado. The only other thing I would have liked on this salad would be cheese – like shredded manchengo or something similar.

I’m not a big fan of chicken but I will say Jamie’s chicken sandwich was pretty good. I’m not sure what the flavor was exactly, it was different but enjoyable. You could get the chicken grilled or fried and they give you the option of Cuban wheat or white bread. He opted for grilled with wheat, but was given fried with white. He said that’s not what he ordered and the server came back with the right bread, but still fried chicken. We chalked it up to grand opening mistakes.

The prices for lunch weren’t too bad, either. The bill was $20. Next time I’ll try the Cuban gazpacho and cezar salad. I heard their cezar with sugarcane dressing is a nice twist on the original.

We started off with a mojito and Caipirinha; the traditional guacamole served with malanga (from Venezuela, according to our server), yucca and plantain chips; black bean empanada with queso fresco and smoky aioli; 5 tiny tacos filled with rum soaked mahi mahi and pickled jalapeños. For dinner we shared the guava BBQ glazed pork chop served with spicy sweet potato salad and smoky bacon chimichurri. Finally, the cafe con leche for dessert.

The drinks were perfect but the guacamole was a little disappointing. The chips were thin, crispy, salty and fantastic – a nice change to tortilla chips. The guac, while obviously fresh with plenty of big avocado chunks, was shy of spices. I really didn’t taste anything except avocado. Next time I’ll try something besides traditional. The empanada was our favorite. While we didn’t taste anything smoky, the flavor of the beans was plentiful and a nice pairing with the corn in the turnover and the tomatoes. We really enjoyed this. The tiny tacos (very cute) were a nice sized appetizer and could easily be a meal. They are served in the malanga chip, which was a nice touch, but the texture (not taste) of the fish reminded me of chicken salad. I couldn’t really taste the fish or the rum. To be fair, I took off the jalapeños and James said that is what gave a lot of the flavor. I liked these, but wouldn’t be in a hurry to order again. The pork chop was simply delicious. This dish reminded me of a perfect fall meal. Great presentation and the chop itself was full of flavor, cooked perfectly, tender, juicy and you could really taste the spices, especially cinnamon and the guava. What I couldn’t taste was the smoky bacon. The potatoes were ok. I wasn’t wowed with them, and while I could taste some heat, overall thought they were a bit bland. Finally, dessert. Delicious. Great presentation with the leche in an espresso cup and chocolate cake in an oversized mug. Served piping hot, the server told us to break open the cake and pour in the milk. The texture and consistency reminded us of bread pudding. Very chocolaty but not too rich.

The owner made his rounds and stopped to chat with us for a few minutes. He could hardly contain his excitement for his new venture and I can see why. The space is beautiful, for the most part we really enjoyed the food and the service was flawless which you typically don’t find with a week-old restaurant. We will definitely be regulars, especially for lunch.

One last thing I thought was smart on the owners’ part. Included in the bill was a discount “coupon” for Boulevard Blue, their other restaurant, along with a feedback card. Very smart marketing. I’ve done some freelance PR for various restaurants and it’s amazing what a challenge it can be to convince owners to do such simple things.

1. the top 5 spices that are a must in every kitchen: Pimenton (smoked Paprika), Guajillo Peppers, Cinnamon, Pink Peppercorns, Ginger
2. favorite and least favorite food to make: favorite / soups; least favorite / Ramon noodles
3. if you could cook for one person, real or dead, who would it be: My Grandfather!
4. you’re having a dinner party, top 5 songs on your play list: Tiny Dancer by Elton John, Badfish by Sublime, Riding For a Fall by Horace Andy, Grassroots the Album by 311, Anything by Neil Young
5. favorite restaurant in Cleveland: red the steakhouse
6. what restaurant do you miss: Mojo’s (me too! me too!)
7. favorite thing about Cleveland and what drives you nuts: The people……..The fact that I know Cleveland could be similar to NY and Chicago in terms of culinary, if some of the Cleveland’s non food savey would be more open to trying new techniques and flavor combinations. (I agree – we need less chains)
8. most famous person you have cooked for: Barenaked Ladies
9. most unusual food you have ever tried: Molecular Gastronomy
10. if you weren’t a chef, what would you be doing: Making music, surfing or sailing by myself and traveling to as many places as possible
11. Any hidden club, cafe or restaurant that Clevelanders have yet to discover: The Thermador ……..Across from Grovewood Tavern (love Grovewood, not familiar with Thermador but will check it out)

Chef Matthew also just started a T-shirt company geared towards foodies and culinary professionals called Stove monkeys. They start printing next week.