Ciudad, DTLA (Closed)
Ciudad is a Latin restaurant located in downtown Los Angeles, which is part of the Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger food empire. Noted restaurateurs, television celebrities, and chefs, Ciudad offers a great lunch alternative or happy hour with the large bar for downtowners.
On this night, I had to arrange dinner for a large group, of about 40 people – my classmates from USC, for a unique Los Angeles dining experience. I wanted to find a cuisine that represented Los Angeles – Ciudad’s Latin influences certainly filled that. Geographic vicinity was also important for us, since we were all in the downtown area. The added bonus, the notoriety of dining at one of the “Two Hot Tamales” – the on- screen persona on the Food Network, restaurants.
Our set menu featured a choice of either Roasted Poblano Chile Relleno, Fresh Artichoke and Samfaina Vegetable Fideo Pasta, Pollo CiUDAD, or Niman Ranch Pork Carnitas entrees. Naturally, I choose the carnitas plate. In fact, I even twisted some arms, verbally, into changing their choice to the carnitas. I enjoyed the shredded pork, yet was mildly perturbed when I encountered a dry spot, which is always an issue with carnitas. I know many thought the chicken was excellent as well. Just prior, I had the Spinach Empanada with pine nuts, raisins, manchego cheese, salsa verde – which I think was almost the highlight of the night. But I thought the Torta de Tres Leches with passion fruit, prickly pear sauces was awesome. I admit I am new to Tres Leches, and still am not sure what it is, but I do know that I like it. Each bite was moist, almost too much, with sweetness that was semisweet. I realized, now, that it was the pear juices flowing. Anyways…I know my cohorts/classmates thoroughly enjoyed their meal and experience, so much that we were reminded to keep our voices down.
Anyways… I think for lunch, happy hour, and dinner (again), Ciudad is a great joint for Downtown LA. It doesn’t have the pretentious feel, that I was somewhat expecting. There’s also a nice outdoor dining patio to get a better view of the DTLA.
