Mo-Chica

Last weekend husband and I got a chance to try Mo-Chica, a modern Peruvian restaurant. We took advantage of our free Saturday night to make a trip to Mercado la Paloma where the restaurant is located.

The menu is not huge, but based on what we ordered (and from what I hear) everything on their menu is delicious and well prepared. They also have daily specials that are announced on a small blackboard to the side.


We ordered the ceviche del día and causa del día as appetizers.

The ceviche del día was sea bass. It was served with maiz kernels, seaweed, yams, red onions, and was perfectly seasoned. Delish!

The causa del día was crab. We learned that a causa is a Peruvian potato salad. In this case, the bottom layer was a creamy cake of crab meat. The top layer was similar to mashed potatoes. Awesome.

For our main courses, we ordered the lomo saltado (marinated beef) and Sea Bass. The lomo was tender and topped with huge chunks of perfectly baked potato. The sea bass sat on carapulcra, a potato based sauce.

The chef, Ricardo Zarata, really has a good thing going on with this place. He's even in the running for CNN's eatocracy Best New Chef 2011. (we voted- yay!) Everything was amazing and fresh and soo yummy! Even better were the prices. The prices here really can't be beat for the quality of the food. I couldn't believe we hadn't been here sooner. But then again our "must-visit restaurants" list in Los Angeles is ever growing, so I'm glad we finally made it out to Mo-Chica. I assure you that it won't be the last time.