Happy New Year!
Speaking of family-friendly places, we had the perfect family dinner last week at Momocho. The last time my daughter was at Momocho, she was just a few months old. We have been there countless times since with friends and family and figured Natalie waited long enough and was time to make her return.
We arrived a few minutes before 5 and were quickly (and luckily) seated despite not having a reservation (thanks in large part to dining like seniors – it has its perks!). We had a great spot upstairs and were happy to see several other families near us celebrating a birthday.
Our server, Tom (whom we’ve had before and is himself a new papa), happily greeted us – especially Natalie - and told us about the super secret kids menu. They offer a handful of kid-approved items, like chicken and rice and cheese quesadillas, which we ended up getting.
For ourselves, I got my usual: smoked trout and crab chilaquiles. I can’t even begin to describe just how much I love this dish and can’t ever seem to resist it. Yes, I’ve tried plenty of other items on the menu – and all leave me quite happy. But there’s just something special about this dish and I can’t seem to get enough. Natalie even tried a few bites and I think she’s now hooked, too. As for Jamie, he went with the adobo braised wild boar, based on Tom’s suggestion – and was certainly happy he did.
While we waited for our food, chef/owner Eric William stopped by to chat for a few minutes, who Natalie tried to feed ( I don’t know where she gets it from?). She was also mesmerized by the tattoos on his arm. Her latest craze is coloring and she thought his arm was the coolest thing. So much so that when he left, she took her crayons and tried to color her own arm! But while Eric chatted with us, he was talking about how much he enjoys seeing kids in his place and said they are welcome anywhere – even the kitchen (though knowing how Natalie is in our kitchen, we wouldn’t hold him to that).
A few minutes after 6 we were done with another fabulously successful dinner at Momocho. After all the chips and crayons were accounted for, we packed up and left. And on our way out, I overheard a table say just how cute and well-behaved all those kids were.
Momocho continues to be one of our favorites and has been since the day he opened. And now, it will become a family place for us, too. Perhaps next we’ll have to take advantage of their Sunday Suppers (and maybe the tequila dinner for mom and dad).
