Sarah and I had this wine at Rivera, which is right by the Staples Center. We wandered in on a whim because the space looked cool. I vaguely remember reading the review in the LA Times, but this place wasn't on my radar, and we were just wandering around looking for someplace to eat before Keith Urban (Not what I'm into, but Sarah wanted to go to see Sugarland, and I got her tickets for our anniversary, but they unfortunately dropped out at the last minute do to some health problems. Just for the record, I HATE country music).
The LA Times review is what I would characterize as "breathless". 3.5 stars? Really? That's the highest rating that I can remember finding. Sarah and I didn't feel the same way at all. The food was good, but we certainly wouldn't go out of our way to eat at Rivera again. And let's be honest, yes we went on Sunday night, but there must be a lot of other people that feel the same way as us, because if you try getting into Mozza or Comme Ca, or Lucque, or any number of other places, you might not be able to just walk in off the street with no wait. And by 7ish, the place had cleared out.
We tried several dishes--olives, piquillo rellenos, choros al vapor, duck enfrijolada, and trucha. First, the olives. 4$...and there were only five. Now Sarah and I are all into eating stuff that tastes good and will try anything once, but this was ridiculous. Especially considering we were expecting a bowl. You know, like a substantial bowl. Like what you get in a normal tapa place? Anyways, they had five stuffings--orange confit, black olive, white anchovy, jamon iberico, and manchego. They were okay, but certainly not extraordinary by any means. Chef would do better to load you up on a lot of olives instead of being all high concept and stingy.
Next, we had some mussels and some hot stuffed peppers. Mussels were cooked perfectly but were plated akwardly. They were arranged in a circle (sorry, didn't take pics) around a half lime, which was covered in an "Aji Amarillo-Pisco broth," which really looked more like a sauce. Incredibly awkward to grab the lime to squeeze on the mussels--which needed the citrus to counteract the raw jalapeno and raw hot red pepper. Also--supposed to have chorizo, but we didn't see any. A flawed dish. There were also some errant slices of bread off to the side. Perhaps to justify charging 11$? Sarah's comment? "I would have rather had two more mussels instead of the bread." The pepper's were stuffed with raisins, chorizo, and gruyere. They were really good. Ironically, this is the one dish that S. Irene Virbila didn't like because it was too rich. We liked it; it was a well put together dish.
Next the duck, which was excellent. The earthy blue corn tortilla went great with the rich duck, the goat cheese, and the umami-laden black bean sauce (it was almost soy like) pulled it all together. (I do have to wonder why Virbila thought the peppers were too rich? This was much more rich and this was one of her favorite dishes...?) Next up was the trucha, which consisted of Tasmanian Sea Trout (sort of like salmon--pink fleshed, and rather substantial, although less fishy), a yellow gazpacho, earthy quinoa, and a very nice blend of vegetables/salsa. Fish was well cooked, with crispy skin, but maybe just a tad overdone. The sauce was good, and the salsa/vegetable blend was excellent.
The wine that we drank is the current release rose from Lopez de Heredia, one of the most traditional estates in Rioja. 11 years old. The current release of the white is a 1981. That's different. Atypical to hold a wine until it's ready to drink, what with needing cash flow and all that. Now I have to admit, I made myself look like a moron in front of the sommelier, because I've read a lot about Lopez de Heredia, but when I was talking to him about this wine, I called the estate Vina Tondonia, and he looked at me funny and then scurried away. Whatever. This is one of those wines that demonstrates how much there is to learn about wine. Totally different than all the other roses that I've had. Orange in the glass instead of the normal reddish hues. The nose was filled with nutty notes (Sarah says Madeira), cherries/strawberries, and roses. Pretty wine. Elegant. Concentrated and with good depth. Lots of minerals. Interesting wine to drink, went well with all the food. Kind of pricey at 56$ off the list but you can pick it up at K&L for 25$, which makes it more interesting. B (Good wine, good experience, now my palette is more educated, but expensive)
Overall, Rivera was good, but it's not a destination restaurant by any means. If you're near Staples, it's a great option. Definitely better than Flemings (and cheaper), better than the Yard House, and more inventive than the Farm. But still, 3.5 stars Irene?
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