The first contender in this month’s Grub Match is Monisha De La Rocha. Here’s a little about Monisha and her pick, cocktail haven Yerba Buena.

Do you have any food pet peeves? Many. Cold salads, cold butter that you can’t spread. The taste of burned garlic. Lemon juice from a bottle. Pre-grated parmesan cheese (wax, much!). Being served at a restaurant on a plate that’s clearly either just come out of the fridge or oven. Having my wine poured for me by my server the second my glass looks empty (I’m going to order a second bottle anyway, just let me drink in peace!).

Let’s pretend you’ve come into uncountable gobs of money—who do you hire as your personal chef? The truth is that if I had uncountable gobs of money, I’d quit my job and spend most of my time cooking each meal in my humungous Barn kitchen, and make all those things that require ridiculously expensive ingredients. I’d have every color and variation of salt, and I would think it made a difference in the food.

What is one item that is always in your refrigerator? An extra 4-stick box of unsalted butter. Butter makes everything better.

What’s the single most memorable meal you’ve ever eaten? Elemental in Seattle. 4 hours, 8 courses, 8 drink pairings, no menu, no food descriptions. It was the coolest thing to experience food with just your senses and not your brain making assumptions based on knowing what was there. I think we ate rabbit… I’d never have eaten rabbit.

Have you ever worked at a restaurant? No, but I worked at a coffee shop. It was a blast, and I took my latte making very seriously. I loved getting a perfect half-moon on the top, or the perfect 2 inches of foam on a cappucino. I also loved to add random things to the whip-it to make whipped cream (vanilla mint for St. Patty’s day or pink raspberry for Valentine’s Day).

Okay, so what’s your Grub Match pick? Yerba Buena at One Perry Street in Greenwich Village

Why did you choose Yerba Buena? It’s one of the few places that we’ve been to more than a handful of times, and they make mean cocktails. My husband Alvaro’s favorite is essentially guacamole on ice.

What’s your favorite item on the menu? Fish Tacos. They used to have fried watermelon, and that was my favorite.

Any good stories from your dining experiences there? We once took a mixology class there, offered through the restaurant deals site Savored.com, and got to mix our own drinks behind the bar. It was a small group, and we soon realized that the owner of Savored was among us. Alvaro struck up a conversation with him, hearing he was a fellow Georgetown alum. Unfortunately, they did not have friends in common. The guy was 24.

Why will your restaurant be crowned Grub Match champion? You can only drink so many cocktails in one night. You’ll want to go back for more.

Check back later this month to see how Yerba Buena does against the other contenders’ picks. Want to compete in a future Grub Match? Contact us at submissions@pitchknives.com.