Washington Post - First Bite by Tom Sietsema

By Tom Sietsema
Wednesday, September 5, 2007; Page F03

Serial entrepreneur Mauricio Fraga-Rosenfeld is living up to his reputation. Which means the creative mind at Latin Concepts has opened yet another place to eat, this time a spinoff of his Ceviche Silver Spring, this one called Ceviche Glover Park (2402 Wisconsin Ave. NW; 202-333-3877). The new restaurant, which takes the place of an Austin Grill, brings to six the number of dining rooms in Fraga-Rosenfeld's portfolio. And if the businessman gets his way, he'll be adding more Ceviches (as many as three next year, space willing) to his collection.

But first things first. Ceviche Glover Park is, like all of Latin Concepts' interiors, a cool place to be. Red walls, flickering candles and lounge music imbue the long, narrow main dining room with romantic possibilities, and a second-floor retreat overlooking the front bar allows inhabitants to see and be seen. From the ground-floor bar come cocktails that will put you in a very relaxed state: A few sips into a blood orange margarita, and I'm someplace special in Mexico.

Neighbors get an extra reward: reduced prices on Sunday nights. Produce proof that you live in the 20007 Zip code, and you'll get 15 percent off your total bill.

Ceviche Glover Park, whose day-to-day chef, Jose Luis Herrera, 34, was plucked from the Peruvian Embassy, shares another thing in common with its siblings, and that's a menu that isn't as tempting as the restaurant's design. The supporting evidence? Horn-shaped corn fritters ooze gluey-textured Gruyere cheese with each bite, the namesake starter of lime-marinated seafood falls flat on the tongue, and rounds of grilled beef are smeared with a harsh-tasting chimichurri. Lomo saltado is a respectable, if sweet, version of that popular dish of sauteed potatoes, onions and beef strips, while mahi-mahi surrenders any moisture it ever had to the grill.

The best reasons for dropping by, based on early exploration with a clutch of chowhounds, are pulled chicken draped in a velvety yellow sauce of Peruvian peppers, cream, chicken broth and bread crumbs; a citrus-infused, milk-soaked spongecake (the famous tres leches); and another round of drinks, por favor.

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