Like a juggernaut, Brett Miller is cutting a swath in the restaurant world. He made his mark locally with Jordan at Tower 23 and before that Gringo’s, but now he has gone back to another of his properties, Moondoggie’s, ripped it apart and completely re-created it as the spot for Nuevo Latino cuisine. It was originally scheduled to open in April, but construction issues delayed it until just a couple of months ago. With a fully trained staff and a chef who had been working on the menu for a year (she’s an Irish lass, Diane Stopford), everyone was champing at the bit. Finally, when the sign, Cendio, went up, I went up the escalator to explore Miller’s latest adventure in dining.
The handsome décor combines the best elements of Caribbean and South American flavor and features comfortable booths around the bar; speaking of which, this place must have the longest happy hour in the area. It starts at 2 p.m. and lasts until 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, featuring half-priced bottles of wine, draft beer and appetizers. Perfect if you like a late lunch.
But I digress. I dived right into the menu.
Appetizers appealed to me, as they always do (I’ve been known to make a meal of them) and Cendio features, among others, jerk chicken skewers served with pickled cucumber and fennel salad, duck empanadas with mango salsa and jalapeão buttermilk crema, and ancho-crusted scallops on chickpea and garlic cakes. My choices were ceviche, which varies depending on the catch of the day, and today was made with a mahi mahi base along with shrimp and tomato. It was satisfyingly crunchy because of the minced cucumber and red onion, but particularly appealing was the perfectly balanced lime marinade in which it rested. Great start.
But one is not enough, so I progressed to the chorizo y papas (sautéed potatoes with Spanish sausage) seasoned with red onion, parsley and saffron aioli. Somehow I have never acquired a taste for chorizo, but I could eat potatoes by the barrel. This dish was perfectly seasoned and satisfying, chorizo or not. Why quibble? By the way, the dip of the day was made of roasted pepper and garlic ” yum! ” but don’t get too fond of it; it is the chef’s choice of the day and is likely to change.
On to a third appetizer, this one baby ribs, glazed with papaya and tamarind, served with a colorful mango slaw featuring strips of carrots and peppers. Be sure to load up on extra napkins if you tackle this one (and I advise the management to stock finger bowls as well), but you won’t be sorry when you sample the perfectly seasoned ribs, slathered with the yummy tropical sauce.
While I waited for my next dish, this one from the entrée list, I perused alcoholic concoctions listed and decided on one I had never tried before: a caipirinhaa, made from cachaca cane liqueur, sugar and lime with a strip of sugar cane serving as a swizzle stick. Mild and refreshing, and they have lots of other choices. Just reading the descriptions made me thirsty.
I didn’t mention the gazpacho and black bean soups I sampled, both good but different than the style to which I am accustomed. However, the chipotle shrimp and jicama salad, done with blood orange cilantro vinaigrette, sparkled with flavor.
When the skirt steak arrived, layered atop parsleyed rice, and guarded by a standing charbroiled ear of corn, accompanied by a fresh tomato cup holding bright green beans and sprinkled with pumpkin seeds, I made short work of it and packed up the rest to finish at home.
Are you hungry? Visit Cendio at 909 Prospect St., or call (858) 454-9664. Party time? Parties of 50 to 200 can be accommodated.