Pike and I, wanting the same appetizers, split them. They arrived on a convenient common plate. The Arepitas, small open faced corn cake sandwiches, came as a trio of flavors: chicken, beef, and pork (although the menu only mentions beef and chicken) all richly spiced and delicious. The only downside was that there weren't more. I'd love for them to start selling these full sized. Likewise, our other appetizer, the Patacones, a tostone dish, came with three options for piling onto your fried plantain slice: chicken, beef, and hogao, a vegetarian salsa-like dish.

For an entrée, Pike ordered the Paella Matiz. Paella is, for all intents and purposes, a seafood risotto. They're typically rich and creamy and loaded with various sea creatures. If you're lucky, someone puts a lobster on top of it. There was no lobster, but there were mussels, clams, shrimp, calamari, and scallops. "Don't forget to tell people that they put an ice cold salad on this." There was a cold salad, which Matiz calls their "summer vegetable hash" and it was, in our opinions, a big mistake. The hash didn't work. Underneath, however, the paella was delicious. Take our advice and ask for the paella without the hash. I chose the Churrasco, a grilled skirt steak that came with sautéed spinach and a cheese papa rellena (a mashed potato ball with a cheese center). The steak was delicious. This was definitely a win. The papa rellena was fine for being a mashed potato ball, but you couldn't taste the cheese at all. There was also an olive oil and pesto sauce on the side that one could ladle over the meat, but it didn't add anything. Indeed, with the steak already perfectly seasoned, it was actually a detraction from the taste.