Reviews of Restaurants in San Diego and everywhere I go…

Rayuela Restaurant in NYC is  hands down one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to in New York City or anywhere for that matter. It’s pretty unique too. From their own website :

Rayuela introduces its first-of-its kind Estilo Libre Latino (Freestyle Latino) cuisine, which respects yet redefines contemporary Latin American and Spanish cuisines.  While the basic structure of the traditional dishes will be maintained, the actual ingredients may be unconventional and may come from over a dozen Latin American countries including Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, as well as Spain.

The interior design of the place is really cool. Candles all around the restaurant, a large tree right in the middle (a little strange to see but an awesome touch) and unisex bathrooms with the most original looking place to wash your hands I’ve seen inside a restaurant.

One of my favorite things about Rayuela is their ceviche. I’m a huge fan of ceviches (when they are done right) and they have 6 different kinds of ceviches that all looked amazing.  I wanted to order a bunch but I didn’t want to do what I do pretty much every time I’m at a restaurant and that’s order too much food. So we (I was there with the wife) ordered the Hamachi (Yellowtail tuna served with avocado and orange zest in a wasabi citrus sauce) from the ceviche munu and also ordered the Tuna Rellena (shrimp, crab, and avocado wrapped in sliced tuna served with cucumbers in a soy vinaigrette) from the appetizer menu. “Wow” is what we kept saying with each bite. So flavorful and fresh it was perfect. I almost ordered another plate because of how good it was.  These guys also make some incredibly tasty cocktails as well so of course we had to indulge. I ordered a Kumquat Mojito which was pretty awesome. The wife had a Pina Partida (fresh pineapple, English cucumber, lemon, agave nectar, Siembra Azul Tequila blanco) and she raved about it. I had a sip of hers and yeah it was very good. Pretty much liquid alcoholic candy. For our entres we ordered the Bass Chileno (Grilled Chilean seabass with manchego yuca mangu and a chorizo-salsa verde salad) and the Carne a la Parrilla (Grilled beef tenderloin with oven roasted potatoes, mushrooms, diced spanish onions, pork belly and cabrales fondue). They were both just plain awesome. Unique and just plain delicious. At the end of the meal the owner came by and checked on our meal. We told him it was amazing and that we would love to stay longer for a few more drinks and desert but we were headed out to catch a show. He wouldn’t let us leave without trying a desert which he gave to us on the house. Nothing wrong with that. We had the Chocalate Cortazar (white, bittersweet and milk chocolate mousse, with mate ice cream garnished with chocolate and macadamia sauc) which the wife called “heavenly”. Overall it was a perfect meal. 5 stars and I will be back next time I’m in NYC for sure.