Rivera, John Sedlar’s return to the kitchen

Tequila sunrise

Comments (0) By Jonathan Gold Wednesday, Mar 25 2009

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But restaurants take time to settle into their skins. And Rivera seems to have gelled, even the few dishes that really hadn’t before. Sedlar was famous at St. Estephe for serving two soups in one bowl, swirled in a kind of yin-yang pattern. Here he layers hot soup and chilled soup in a single jigger — red tomato and yellow tomato; red pepper and yellow pepper — so that as you drain the glass, the hot soup fades to a cold, sharp creaminess in your mouth, a cinematic fade that adds a sort of three-dimensionality to the contrast of the flavors. At St. Estephe, Sedlar served wispy tortilla chips on a plate that appeared to be empty until you discovered that the pattern on it was really a smear of sauce. At Bikini, Sedlar was notorious for a different kind of presentation — religious groups protested his insistence on stenciling the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe in powdered chiles on a plate of meat — and you are likely to run across it occasionally at Rivera too, perhaps lamb chops with a version of the fleeing-family caution image posted on freeways close to the border, or a slogan like “Courtesy Is Not Weakness” stenciled in curry powder.

Here he serves tiny tortilla chips with a calmed-down version of Yucatan-style charred habañero salsa. Paddlefish caviar comes with freshly made potato chips and a chipotle-tinged cream; guacamole with handmade tortillas into which fresh herbs have been pressed. As terrific as his take on the chile relleno is (a cold, pickled pasilla stuffed with gooey burrata cheese), the chilaca salad is even better, a thoroughly charred chile laid across sliced cara cara oranges and dressed with a simple vinaigrette.

Anne Fishbein

The stencils are back: Rivera’s chile poblano relleno.

Location Info

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Rivera

1050 S. Flower St., #102
Los Angeles, CA 90015

Category: Restaurant > Latin American

Region: Downtown

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I loved the mussels steamed in a puddle of yellow chiles and the Peruvian brandy pisco, and the free interpretation of tuna ceviche was good, but the main-course fish still tends to be overcooked by Los Angeles standards: As gorgeous as a transparent green mosaic of thinly sliced tomatillos may be on a plate, the sea bass has spent too much time over the flame. A slab of salmonlike Tasmanian sea trout lacked the succulence that it can have at a restaurant like Providence, although the pile of quinoa and spinach it was draped over was swell.

Still, the Yucatecan cochinita pibil, spice-rubbed pork traditionally wrapped in banana leaves and pit-steamed, becomes almost impossibly luscious when the banana-leaf package is cooked for many hours at a controlled temperature in a water bath — the luxurious effect is amplified when you drag a forkful of the pork through what seems to be the marinade reconstructed in the form of a paste. The stacked enchiladas of duck and black beans nicely cross a traditional New Mexican form with the wilder flavors of the Yucatan. The kurobuta pork chop sauced with a dense mole is delicious. And unlike every other chef working the Latin-fusion riff, when Sedlar prepares something like a banana-leaf tamale with short ribs and exotic mushrooms, he understands the most important thing is that the tamale itself be first-rate.

Rivera: Lunch, Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; dinner, Mon.-Sat., 5:30-10:30 p.m.; Sun., 5:30-10 p.m.; late supper, Thurs.-Sat., 10:30p.m.-mid. Full bar. Valet parking. All major credit cards. Dinner starters $10-$14 ($44 forbellota ham); main courses $16-$29; desserts $7. Recommended dishes:caballito de sopas dobles;chalaca chile salad; steamed mussels with chorizo in pisco broth;puerco pibil; duckenfrijolada.

1050 S. Flower St., dwntwn.; (213) 749-146 or www.riverarestaurant.com.