The customer was sipping a frosted tall glass. It was full of leaves. “Very interesting,” I thought. We sat at a table within view of this stranger. “I’ll try a Mojito,” my eager companion requested. “Mmmmmm,” I responded. “Do you know what it is?” “No,” she said, “but it’s the special of the day.” I nudged her and nodded to the customer who was drinking the leaves. “I think that’s it.” The only thing I could remember about a mojito was “mint.” I reported to my friend, “It’s a lot of whole mint pushed in to a glass with rum and something sweet in it.” I like mint, but I don’t like lots of mint all soggy and sweet in my drink. Well, you better try one. They are one of the most popular cocktails in the world and in the U.S. they are very restaurant “hot.” She looked at me. “How do you know?” Last October, the National Restaurant Association conducted an Internet survey of 1,300 chef members of the American Culinary Federation.