L L.
Yelp
Yes, the food is pretty dang amazing.
We luckily found street parking right in front (of course $3/hr like all of KW), and as we entered, a local was sitting in the doorway and said, "You're gonna have some GOOD food in here."
I've been all over the Carib, and have had a lot of different island cuisine, but the only Haitian I'd had prior to this was from some kind people in my birth class who brought Hatian bakery treats as snacks. It was spectacular, and I was yearning for more!
What stood out most for me at Mo's was the complex seasoning. The flavors were all unexpected, in a happy surprise way, and layered, like some gets mixed in in an earlier step, some later. I hate to sound like a Food Network idiot, but there was a "flavor story" going on here. I have to say, I felt like I was being wooed through a multi-act play with each course.
First up was sharing the quiche and fried plantains appetizers.
I wouldn't really think of quiche when I think of Haiti, but then again with French influence, duh, why not? Their take on quiche is to make spice and seasoning the main event, with egg and cheese as mere vehicles. This food made me think, like I had to intellectually wrap my mind around what was going on in each dish, and I really liked that! I'm not familiar with the spices in the quiche, and the menu didn't disclose them, so I can't give particulars, but know this, it was bursting with interest and a definite flavor trip. The look of it on the plate was just a fluffy square, but by the taste, I'd have been eating an intricate food carving; complex but simply pleasing at the same time.
The fried plantains were like thick chips, with a hard crust and gooey inside. They came with a dipping sauce, which was more layers of seasoned flavor like the quiche, but on the spicy side. The plantains were cooked to render the starch flavor out more than the sweet fruit taste, so they had a potato-y flavor. I am a big fan of plantains, but always have them fried. This was a new and interesting way to experience them.
My husband had the seafood ragu entree. It was a mix of shellfish and fish meat, in yet another very flavorful sauce. The portion was big, but it was so good he ate it all.
My ribs weren't super tender, but cooked a little more to have the texture of steak somehow. They had a lot of smokey flavor, and the BBQ sauce was tangy-sweet. There was so much, I could not come close to eating them all. My veg and starch sides were very good too. Dirty rice was airy and seasoned to a level that fought the meat and veg, which I liked! It didn't just lie there like a passive dope, as so many rice portions do. Veggies were smothered in butter and light seasoning, too tasty to stop eating. Again on the sides, huge portions, and I could not finish everything. Ended up taking a good amount back to the hotel mini fridge.
At the end of the meal they give you a slice of key lime pie, and pumpkin pie, for free. We were given one slice of each between the two of us. The key lime was by far the sweetest version of this pie that I have ever tasted. It was too much for me (I am very low sugar in my diet), but would probably be pleasing to others. It had a little bit of a coconut or some other similar flavor to it too, which was unusual to me, and interesting.
The decor is laid back, with a lot of Haitian folk paintings on the walls. My baby was with us and he got a little restless/fussy toward the end of our meal. They were friendly about his noise, which I appreciated. The bill came to somewhere in the $60s before tip, which is a very good value for Key West. Cheaper and far far better than the quality you'll get at the standard names on everyone's lips downtown.
We visited Mo's on our very first night in KW, and I wish we'd been smart enough to go back. (There were a lot of other dishes on the menu that I wanted to try.) Unfortunately, we wasted our time at places like Blue Heaven, which are total overpriced tourist traps, serving uninspired junk. Do yourself a favor and skip the cruise ship stops. Mo's will deliver ten times over the rest, I promise!
