Ceiba

I wonder if you haven’t really arrived as a DC area chef unless you’ve opened at least three restaurants.

Ceiba is Jeff Tunks’ third (the others are DC Coast and TenPenh). This one is pan-Latin American, so it’s hard for me not to compare it with Cafe Atlantico (another hat trick restaurant). But Tunks’ style is entirely different from Jose Andres’. Cafe Atlantico deals in the subtle and ethereal, while Tunks is a little more down to earth.

There’s an interesting cocktail list here. I’m grateful for the waiter warning me away from one drink that looked good on paper, but was apparently girlie sweet. I opted for a pisco sour, which is really hard to find. Next time I will indulge in my favorite, the caipirinha, which is the reason God created cocktails as far as I’m concerned. Mint lovers and trend followers note: they also muddle mojitos here.

The menu at Ceiba changes seasonally. A few weeks ago we had crab fritters with a Scotch bonnet chili and mango-lime creme fraiche (not at all spicy), a shrimp and goat cheese chili relleno (very nicely done, not at all greasy), sugar cane skewered shrimp with chipotle barbeque sauce and pineapple salsa, and an interesting take on feijoada.

This last dish was really outstanding, though I wish the “traditional condiments” had included more farofa, spicier chili, and some orange segments. But the dish itself was braised pork shank served in a deep bowl with brothy black beans and rice. The pork was amazingly tender and very faintly sweet, the way good pork used to be before the pork marketing industry started raising fatless hogs to satisfy the healthly food crowd, not that I’m bitter or anything.

Another reason for giving Ceiba major props is the flan. I get tired of Latin American restaurants taking the basics and dressing them up like a hat on Carmen Miranda. Cieba offers a good old-fashioned basic flan, just rich and sweet enough to wrap up a very satisfying meal. Steve had the doughnuts and hot chocolate, which was rather to thick to sip, but great for dunking.

The space itself is pleasant, neutral and relaxing: well-considered but nothing to excite a design junkie. I would be wary of sitting in the small room adjoining the kitchen; you can’t see much action except for heavy traffic from waiters and other diners seeking the restroom. The main dining room and two other small rooms are much nicer.