MOJO

• 70-20 Austin Street

• Forest Hills, NY 11375

• (718) 261-6162 •

One of the newest additions to the area is Mojo, a Latin fusion restaurant in the old Exo Cafe location tailor-made to give Cabana a run for its money. The atmosphere is fun and energetic. Latin samba music plays loudly and pitchers of sangria seem to be at every table. The place is just trendy enough that you can dress up a little (not too much) and not feel out of place, but not so trendy that it'll have the half-life of a carton of un-refrigerated milk. There's even an actual executive chef with Michelin star experience at the helm, which is a nice perk, though if Mojo wants to actually put itself in competition for that honor, they still have a way to go.

I've been to Mojo three times now. The first time the wait was for a table was over an hour and dinner was had elsewhere. The other time was on Labor Day weekend with my girlfriend, when the neighborhood was deserted, and final time was recently with my parents at a relatively early hour. Also, we booked through OpenTable, which helped. Service both days was energetic and polite, but the servers, I've noticed, have a habit of disappearing for interminable periods of time. The moral of the story is nurse your water. You won't be getting any more.

Far and away, the best part of the dining experience at Mojo is the appetizers. All of the four that I sampled are great. The Guac & Chips, guacamole with both tortilla and plantain chips was incredible and is a must-get for you guac lovers. It'll vanish in minutes. The Spanish Kebabs, skirt steak strips served over yuca fries was delicious but a bit tough. It tasted great, you'll love it, but it's in your interest to ask for a proper steak knife to cut it. The table knife that your napkin is wrapped around simply won't be enough. Tender like warm butter, this was not. For a softer-on-the-teeth appetizer, get the fantastic Chicken Taquitos, spicy chicken with Oaxaca cheese and tomatillo sauce. They're small and you're probably going to be hungrier after eating them than before, but they're great. These might be the best tacos in the neighborhood, rivaling the taco cart on Continental. And anyone who knows me knows that I don't say that lightly. Lastly, the Wagyu Chimi Sliders, open-faced wagyu beef sliders with plantains. caramelized cabbage and picked radishes were similarly great. Drizzle some of the tangy pink sauce on top and your eye's'll roll into your head. The only downside is that they tend to fall apart while you're eating them. Honestly, none of the appetizers that I had were less than delicious.

The entrees are refreshingly different from what you might be able to find elsewhere in the immediate area, though they did lack the visual appeal that I was hoping for given the pedigree of the chef. On the first trip, my girlfriend ordered the Jumpin' Lomo, a steak and onion and tomato stir fry with a side of truffle fries and rice. It was good, but stir fry was dumped lazily onto the fries, which were themselves dumped lazily onto the plate. The dish itself was good however. Well spiced and not too heavy. She liked it as much as I did, and I would recommend it. My entree was the Chicken Mojo, a chicken breast under a very heavy and thick cream sauce with a side of rice, plantains and black beans, and again, everything just sort of seemed tossed onto the plate. I didn't hate the dish, but would not get it again. The chicken was extremely dry, and the sauce became a necessity instead of a perk. The black beans/rice/plaintain side dishes were generically forgettable, and I was so full by the end that I could barely breath. That said, since it took nearly twenty minutes for a waiter to appear to ask for the check, I was able to digest.

On the second trip, the one with my parents, the entrees were much improved. My mom ordered the Macho Marino, a seafood bisque of fish, shrimp, scallops, and calamari. The bisque was tangy and creamy and everyone at the table enjoyed it very much. It was served with a garlic rice which was fine, but was left mostly untouched. My dad ordered from the ceviche menu and chose the Down The Hatch, a goblet of lime-juice seared shrimp, calamari, and catfish with corn, plantain chips, and topped with fried calamari. This would be a great heatwave dish and is certainly not an appetizer-sized meal. I'll be honest, I enjoyed it but am a minimalist when it comes to ceviche. My father, on the other hand, loved it. Under the auspices of eating healthily, I chose too chose a fish dish and ordered the Blood Orange Salmon, a fillet of salmon, with cherry tomatoes, plantain chips, and asparagus under a creamy blood orange sauce. The fish was cooked perfectly, and all of the pieces of it worked well together. I enjoyed it thoroughly and would recommend it. My only issue, which might not be an issue to you, is that the sauce was very sweet. Like, syrup sweet. And there was a lot of it, to the point of sometimes being all that could be tasted. Half as much would have gone twice as far.

Mojo is on OpenTable, and I recommend reserving if you can, as I often see people waiting for seats on popular date-night days. Appetizers average about $13, entrees average about $23. I'm glad Mojo is here, and I will be going back.