MojoPages: Night at Ave 5

Hey There:

I was invited to another MojoPages event, this time it was at Ave.5 located on 5th Avenue in the Bankers Hill / Hillcrest area, this is an amazing restaurant that is now among my favorites.


We were greeted by the Mojo Hostess and proceeded to be amazed by Mike Yen, Ave 5's Molecular Mixologist. First we had these crazy drinks on a spoon. The one that looks like an egg is made of peach something with something and something placed on this solution that turned it into the yellow ball. The white is made from a champagne reduction with something and something and once you "drank" it the yolk part popped inside your mouth and there was an aftertaste of Pop Rocks. Amazing!

The second spoon also tasted amazing with the little balls popping and releasing a really yummy drink. Mike explained how he made it and the ingredients, but thanks to many years in metal concerts, my hearing is not as it should be so I didn't catch some of the explanation.

Then he made us a drink without a name that contained Gin infused with green tea, lemon and honey, was processed in this canister. It was christening Mojo Tea, hope it catches on, it was awesome. And to finish off, we had a PumpkinTini...so cute and yummy.

Mike also made a drink called Cotton Candy Cuban, he served a martini glass with cotton candy (which he makes himself) and you pour the drink on top of it dissolving the candy. I didn't taste it, but it looked so cool.

Now the drinks are not the only great item in the restaurant, their menu is to die for. We met the Chef and Owner, he greeted us told us about the food we were about to try. We had risottos, salads, mussels, tortellini, fries and I can say each bite was amazing. Everybody cleared their plates....twice.

To finalize the event, we had pumpkin creme brulee topped with pomegranate seeds. The Chef explained how he likes to make layered creme brulee's and it really was very good.

Ave 5 prides itself with using locally grown food from their own garden located in Ramona, their menu is seasonal and I know I said it a lot, but it is amazing!