Rivera Restaurant

08/28/09

A little too much flavor in everything

by bellamusa at Citysearch

So you can still read my original post below but I have to upgrade Rivera to a 4 and I have a feeling that I will be going back a lot. Just had an awesome lunch there. The open face tacos (black cod) were sooo good. The bread they give while you wait is more like a gordita without the fillings with butter on the side. Very yummy. The chocolate tart in drunken pineapple is flourless so I was easily enamored.

I'm not anxious to try dinner again because it was such a miss and for their prices - it makes me a little nervous to try it agian. Maybe I'll give it another shot sans the alcohol. Who knows maybe I was having an off night. This is a great restaurant though so I have to say I love having it 2 blocks away. Awesome- I mean awesome superb decor.

We have gone for the late night menu which was awesome. I would do that again. The tacos, the tortillas florales, the quezos, the habanero salsa- everything superb. The drinks were very good.

We went again for dinner and were dissappointed. The seared halibut was a little dry and tasteless on the inside. I was heavily tempted to pour on some salt. The frijoles negros have brown sugar in them which they should advertise. I want some old school black beans not something sweet that overwhelms the palate. The frijoles blancos are just like mashed potatoes. The quinoa is very buttery- nothing special. I expected so much more after coming to the late night menu. The drinks are good but when paying $15 for a drink - I don't want a glorified margarita.

We spent 10 minutes waiting between courses to get our food- big no no!

• Pros: great late night menu after 10:30 pm and lunch
• Cons: dinner was a miss but lunch and the late hour menu were big

08/14/09

Top Tapas

by sschalin at Citysearch

Rivera presents Spanish and South American delicacies and very innovative takes on the traditional tapas spots of Mid City.

In fact, the very thing that sets Rivera apart from its neighbors begins right at that bar. The bar manager has carefully concocted the restaurant’s specialty drink menu. Their take on a margarita includes fresh lime and floating cucumbers for a refreshing relaxer. If Burke-Williams served alcohol with their $100 massages, this would be their relaxing signature. The Barbacoa is a heady mixture of blanco tequila, chipotle juice, jalapeno, agave nectar and ginger. Float a homemade slice of beef jerky on top, and you’ve got the most complex and satisfying bloody-sweet mary tequila drink of your life.

Rivera leans toward all things tequila, which includes the thick-leather “tequila tasting” chairs, low to the ground for easier landings and departures, and saddled with broad side extensions to easily set your glass between sips. They are basically old-school, elementary student desks for mescal abusers; and abuse you can, as the tequila tasting list numbers well into the hundreds with each varietal broken down by category – agave, blanco, mescal and so on. With glasses priced from $14 to close to $50, it’s best to pick with a clear eye for the tequila guy.

The dinner menu is split down three lines – snacks, starters and larger plates. The larger plates are plenty for one and include selections such as a mole pork chop to wild striped sea bass with tomatillos and tempura chilies, but eliminates the fun of trying a plethora of things.

We preferred to play in the starter sandbox to get a maximum array of flavors. We started with a house special from the snack section which was a Yucatan take on chips and salsa with the salsa being a charred-habenero mixture with a fluid, smoky heat that lingered for a good moment or two after every bite.

Onto the little plates, we started with a chilled, pickled pasilla chili – blackened on the outside and stuffed with creamy, white burrata cheese, a close cousin of buffalo mozzarella. The succulent mix of spice with the milky cheese soothed the tongue on every impact. Grilled quail cut into pinky-sized nibbles suffered from a heavy-handed salt shake that was fortunately minimized by an unctuous black bean puree beneath. Two lamb lollipops covered in a dollop of olives, capers and chorizo was gamey and good right down to the bone.

Best of all was a seared black cod about the size of a grown man’s knuckles with seared strips of Serrano ham blessing the crispy top. Simply set a fork lightly on top of the fish and the moist, buttery fellow fell apart like a deck of freshly-shuffled cards. Teeth suddenly became obsolete as the buttery flesh literally melted away on the tongue and slid easily down the throat. As close to dessert as fish could possibly ever be.

For additional restaurant reviews and recipes, please go to www.scottschalin

• Pros: Refined takes on classic tapas
• Cons: Parking downtown

04/30/09

Best Tortillas Ever!

by mkwku at Citysearch

I went here with a friend late night after an event we had downtown and we found an amazing, inexpensive menu! Everything on the late night menu is gourmet, I never thought I would find duck on a late night menu, but I did and it was fantastic. Also, they make their corn tortillas at the restaurant and I don't even like corn tortillas and these were outstanding. Rivera will be a place that I will eat/drink at everytime I go to the Staples Center or Nokia. I wasn't drinking this night, but they also have an tequlia menu that can not be found anywhere else. Overall fantastic!

• Pros: Late Night Menu!