The Taco Truck Crashes Through the Restaurant Wall
When I opened Rivera in 2009, my culinary quest was to reexamine and redefine the five-millennia-deep Latin roots of modern Los Angeles cuisine. We traced those roots across three continents, each of which had a dedicated menu in one of Rivera’s three dining rooms: Sangre (Spain), Samba (Central and South America), and Playa Bar (Mexico).
So much has changed in half a decade. I’ve seen Latin food inundate L.A. like a tsunami. Meanwhile, the city’s pace has grown more frenetic and mobile than ever.
In this exhilarating food climate, we now offer you loncheras, a procession of rolling service carts and hand-carried trays that deliver directly to you an array of small plates that our kitchen brigade has infused with the vital spirit of New Latin Cuisine.
John Rivera Sedlar
PARA EMPEZAR
MAIZE CAKES (NOT TACOS)
CALIENTES
PIQUILLOS RELLENOS 10 spanish peppers, chorizo, golden raisins, gruyere
PERUVIAN-JAPANESE GYOZA 10 red chile pulled pork, lime, roasted pineapple salsa, huacatay
PASTRAMI TACOS 11 bite-sized blue corn shells, hot pastrami, sauerkraut, ballpark mustard
FLAN DE ELOTE 11 corn custard, black quinoa, squash blossom sauce
TORTILLAS FLORALES 8 house-made nixtamal tortillas, Indian butter
PLATOS GRANDES
VIERAS CUBANAS 29 sea scallops, plantains, sofrito, mojito vinagreta
POLLO SALSA VERDE 28 chicken breast, tomatillos, chiles serranos, lime, cilantro
YUCATECAN PUERCO PIBIL 29 pork shoulder, achiote, banana leaf wrapper, braised sous-vide
PARA COMPARTIR
LOUP DE MER A LA PLANCHA 55 crispy-skinned sea bass with five latin sauces: romesco, chimichurri, verde, aji amarillo, aji panca
ENFRIJOLADAS DE PATO 35 rolled blue corn tortillas, duck confit, black bean puree, chevre, rioja wine chile sauce
BIFE 95 24-ounce bone-in rib-eye, marinated, fire- grilled, cebollas quemadas, seasonal vegetable purees, cielo verde greens
PINTURAS
FRIJOLES NEGROS 5
CALABACITAS 5
BLACK QUINOA Y ESPINACA 5
FEIJOADA BEANS 5