photo by tj turner
Hector Ruiz, chef/owner of Café Ena, Rincon 38, and La Fresca, has created another Latin fusion restaurant in southeast Minneapolis, and those with fond memories of his now-shuttered Spanish-Caribbean mainstay El Meson will welcome La Ceiba. The new eatery is an unassuming sit-down joint that runs high on big flavors: a citrusy seafood ceviche with tostones offers cool, bright tones; and for the main event a paella Valenciana made to order (it takes 40 minutes) with saffron, chicken, pork, and seafood that’s huge but impossible to stop eating. The camarones enchilados deliver a creole note, a fine example of the multi-national hodgepodge of a regional cuisine historically underrepresented here in the North. The wine list features well-curated bottles from Spain and South America—many are half-price all day Mondays through Wednesdays. • laceibabistro.com