Today, Miss Irene visits John Sedlar at Rivera and hands out a glowing 3.5 stars. Sedlar has been firing on all cylinders from Day One of his kitchen comeback, and Miss Irene does not mince words. Warning: much raving follows:
Rivera is terrific, one of the most exciting restaurants to debut in L.A. in the last few years ... Rivera's food is so utterly unique. I couldn't believe it was actually that good and had to keep pinching myself. But the hyper-talented chef nailed it every time, virtually every dish, a remarkable feat in a restaurant hot off the presses.
The only caveat involves the fact that the restaurant has only been working on a half-full house level to this point, leading SIV to wonder if Rivera can keep up the flawlessness when slammed and truly become "one of L.A.'s great restaurants." Also, we never thought we'd read a professional review with the word "wowee" in it, but there it is. [LAT]
MORE REVIEWS: The Find is at Silver and Gold Amazing in Monterey Park, the Daily Breeze finds hidden bounty at Redondo Beach's Baleen, LA Taco does La Casita Mexicana, Foodventures added to the chorus at Rivera, Caroline on Crack took an early look at Westside Tavern, and while we're still waiting for the big LA Mag April review to go up online, the Via Alloro mini is up.
