You’ve seen M.A.S.H. at the movies or on TV, tasted sour mash whiskey, danced The Mashed Potato or The Monster Mash. Now you can experience “Sweet Mash,” a new restaurant at Doral Plaza which opened just over a month ago. Chef and co-owner, Joseph Reuter coined the phrase sweet mash because sweet mashed potatoes is a side dish that accompanies most entrees.

The three partners, Michael Fletcher, Jaime Segovia and Joseph Reuter went out to lunch one day in the Doral area, liked the neighborhood and seized the opportunity to open their own place.

They created “Sweet Mash” as a sleek upmarket restaurant and mini-art gallery. Typically they exhibit three artists’ works at a time, and patrons actually buy the art right off the walls!

The dishes offered on the menu comprise a “global eclectic cuisine.” Fletcher says, “The community is very well educated and our customers understand this type of cuisine. Doral is an international community. We have top executives looking for a menu like ours without having to drive a great distance. Even though our customers are very sophisticated they can also find home cooking here.”

The menu will take your palate on a literal trip around the world. If you want Cajun style cooking, you can enjoy Cajun Chorizo Chicken Gumbo as a hearty appetizer or Jambalaya chock full of seafood, chicken and sausage.

Chef Reuter recalls, “Some families from New Orleans were very happy here.”

Want to venture into the Pacific Rim? Try the Potstickers, Tuna Sashimi or Hibachi Salmon with wok-fried vegetables.

Since partners Fletcher and Segovia share Peruvian heritage they even included ceviche on the menu. People looking for traditional Latin comfort food have no problem finding steak, black beans and rice on the menu.

But, if it’s a salad and burger you’re hankerin’ for-don’t despair, you’ll find it there. Remember the Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail that seems to have disappeared from most menus? It’s available at “Sweet Mash.”

The chef says, ”We wanted to bring the world’s great dishes to Miami. I’ve seen and cooked a lot of different foods in my twelve years of experience.”

Owner manager, and host Fletcher, who has had over thirty-five years’ experience in the restaurant business reflects, ”We want to please people and feed them. Joseph likes to use local products. All of his dishes are healthy. We don’t use a lot of heavy sauces, salsas or gravies. We make all of our sauces in-house daily.” Indeed when your order arrives it’s big enough to feed two very hungry people and all of the decorations are edible.

The restaurant seats one-hundred and fifty diners comfortably and is child friendly. Children’s menus are standard everywhere, but “Sweet Mash” puts a twist on the usual side dishes. Kids get a healthy helping of yuca chips and pineapple coleslaw, which they seem to gobble up.

The lunch special changes daily and the menu itself went through three transformations during the first two weeks of operation. The chef says, “Our customers ultimately decide what we put on the menu.”

“We already have repeat customers”, adds Fletcher.

The menu is reasonably priced with appetizers starting at $3.95, and entrees ranging from $8.95 to $12.95. Featured desserts are Tres Leches and Flan de Queso.

Live entertainment is offered on Fridays and Saturdays from 7:00 p.m. till closing.

Sweet Mash is open for lunch Monday - Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It is open for dinner Monday -Thursday from  5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

This casually elegant restaurant, located at 9735 NW 41 Street, is available for private parties on Sundays. For more information call: 305-593-8400.