Given Mizado Cocina's broad Latin American scope, their menus are pleasingly focused.
On the drinks side, you'll find variations of regional classics like the margarita, mojito and caipirinha (here, flavored with purées made from peaches or yuzu, in a nod to Peru's Japanese population).
Like the caipirinha, the exotic batida is a popular Brazilian drink based on cachaça, their domestic distillate made from fermented sugarcane juice.
The batida is also sweetened with fruit (in Brazil, that might mean cupuaçu from the rain forest, or the prickly local soursop), and it's often thickened with cashew juice, coconut milk, condensed milk or sour cream.
Mizado Cocina's version of the batida pairs Leblon's cachaça (smoothed out from a short stint in Cognac barrels) with Bols Yogurt liqueur, fresh blueberry purée and lime juice.
The yogurt liqueur is genius, because it adds a tangy sourness and clarity to this already full-bodied drink, without making it a milkshake. And it's potent! This is no dainty dessert drink.
Further down the menu, tequila and mezcal fans will find lots of options in terms of terroir, brand and serving styles.
It's well worth it to try Mizado Cocina's own private label reposado tequila, handcrafted by Herradura and double barrel aged. The tequila arrives smooth and delicate, with toasted banana and pineapple notes.
You could try it in a premium margarita ($15), but I found it so agreeable that I'd rather sip it neat (and there are few tequilas I enjoy that way - Don Julio's añejos, maybe).
Whichever tequila is in your glass, line it up with snifters of lime juice and sangrita (a citrus-chipotle palate cleanser) for the colors of the Mexican flag, or bandera.
Mizado Cocina, 5080 Pontchartrain Boulevard, 885.5555. For beer lovers, I'd recommend Xingu, a Brazilian black beer that's mild and refreshing, with chocolate malt notes.
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