We were told that the next course is the restaurant's signature salad. Grilled romaine with Ramonetti cheese, sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, all drizzled with a toasted garlic dressing. The romaine had a delightful crunch to it, with a smokiness in the background from the grill. The cheese was mild, but went perfectly with the acidity from the sun dried tomatoes, and garlic dressing. This is on the heartier side of salads, and I could easily go back and just have this with a glass of wine for dinner.

The next two courses were both rich, but were presented as the perfect portion. We sipped a Malbec, with both dishes, and it was divine. The filet of beef is seared on the grill, and then finished off to just the right temperature in the oven. Sharing the plate was a grilled squid and poblano risotto, and some baby vegetables. I can admit that I have never had a risotto with these two ingredients together, but I do want them back in my life again. I am an avid fan of poblano chiles and squid, so this was a match made in heaven.

Following the filet was duck breast, that was nestled on top of duck tinga in adobo. Two entirely different preparations, and the duck was such a star. The plate had a brushed on smear of poblano sauce, which you can use to your advantage. Take a piece of the duck and run it through the sauce, collecting even more flavor.

As we were finishing up this course, Javier informed us that they make all of their own ice cream in house. I knew that dessert was in our very near future.

The evening ended on a luscious note. Out came a rectangular plate with a piece triple chocolate cake and two scoops of ice cream. The layers are made up of brownie, chocolate mousse, and then the whole thing is covered in chocolate. Next to that were two flavors of their house made ice cream. Each one was enticing in its own way, and there was no way that I could pick a favorite.

The first was a mexican chocolate ice cream, that had wonderful notes of cinnamon mixed with the dark chocolate. The other was a refreshing, yet delicate lemon cream mascarpone. Between devouring each bite, I sipped the Ramuri Bucéfalo Imperial stout that it was paired with. This deep and dark beer, was the ideal pairing and a lovely ending to the evening.

Mosto Restaurante will take your taste buds on a journey through their interpretation of Baja Modern cuisine.

Follow this map to Mosto Restaurant

By Kristin Díaz de Sandi

lifeandfoodblog@gmail.com

Kristin and Antonio blog at Life & Food and you can follow them on Twitter at @lifefoodblog and Facebook.