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Rivera Restaurant – Downtown Revitalized

It only seems appropriate that the last post of the year focuses on Rivera Restaurant. Rivera Restaurant is one of the cornerstones in the revitalization of fine dining in Downtown LA that started at the beginning of 2009.

Mussel Men

Why does Rivera work? Let's see:

- Bar (Julian Cox)
- Food (John Rivera Sedlar)
- Space and Location (DTLA)

The Bar at Rivera Restaurant

Rivera masterfully wraps it all together into one clean package, setting the right tone, whether its lunch, dinner, or a just a drink. Working in Downtown LA affords me easy access to Rivera, which seems to be a perfectly good problem for my friends when they visit. The restaurant is split into three sections: a communal dining area and kitchen on one end, the sleek, modern bar/back wall in the center, and a more formal dining room on the other end. Choose wisely depending on the type of atmosphere you are looking for.

Fancy lights

Rivera's menu is split in to snacks, small plates, and entrees, which makes it easy to share amongst a group.

Before we get to lunch and dinner though, a few drinks.

Blood Sugar Sex Magic - rye whiskey, red pepper, agave nectar, basil

Donaji Cocktail - mezcal, citrus, agave nectar, chapulin salt

You're not having a proper meal at Rivera if you aren't going to have one, maybe two, of Julian Cox's cocktails. You can learn more about Julian Cox through FoodGPS' interview.

Snacks

Sopaipillas with citrus butter

Tortillas florales - housemade nixtimal tortillas, indian butter

Fresh tortillas and fancy guacamole. We can count the flower as a vegetable right?

Cabalito de sopas dobles - two Latin soups, different flavors, different temperatures

I always enjoy drinking out of a beaker. Reminds me of college, if this was a fancy schmancy college like Williams.

Small Plates

Serra ham and idizabal cheese quesadilla

A really fancy quesadilla. I actually prefer my quesadillas ghetto, like Taco Bell/Del Taco ghetto.

Salad of red cabbage, cabrales blue cheese, lardons

Proof that I eat vegetables.

Choros al vapor - mussels, chorizo, aji amarillo-pisco broth

ALL of Rivera's dishes are plated beautifully. The choros al vapor is no exception.

Tamal - braised pork short rib, seasonal mushrooms, guajillo sauce

I wasn't a fan the first time around, but the second time was much more flavorful. The "stimulus package" for my stomach might have had something to do with it.

Chilled Maine lobster with chile verde gelee

Entrees

Braised kurobuta pork short ribs

I've yet to encounter a meat dish that I haven't liked at Rivera. The meat was fall off the bone tender.

duck "enfrijolada", poached organic egg, rioja wine and cascabel chile sauce

It's not an odd looking sea creature, but rather blue corn tortillas, smothered in rioja wine and cascabel wine sauce.

Trucha - Tasmanian sea trout, saffron quinoa, yellow gazpacho sauce

I wanted to take the basket home. Not sure why.

Mole - kurobuta pork chop, mole, sweet potato

Normally a skull would be a bad warning, but the warning here is: "be warned, this pork chop is damn good." The Mole was rich and earthy.

Maya puerco pibil sous vide - banana leaf braised pork shoulder, peruvian potatoes

I wasn't sure what to expect, but the sous vide preparation of the pork shoulder was excellent. Like I said, Rivera is on point with the proteins.

Dessert

Estudio en flan - three different styles of the classic dessert, with three complementary sauces

Bizcocho de avellana - hazelnut-chocolate sponge with orange-cava sorbet

Both desserts were good, but everyone loved the bizcocho de avellana. The sorbet was a perfect contrast to the hazelnut-chocolate.

The whole post actually consisted of two meals, one lunch and one dinner. This just goes to show you that whether it's lunch, dinner, or a drink, it's hard to go wrong at Rivera Restaurant.

Rivera Restaurant
1050 S. Flower St. #102
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 749-1460

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