After successful RW adventures last year at Equinox and Yanyu, this year we decided to try Ceiba and Tosca for dinners. Tonight was Ceiba, and it was a joy. Overall, excellent food and service, with only a minor slipup at the start. We got there for a 7:30 reservation and the place was buzzing with activity. Though seated right away, it was a few minutes longer than appropriate before the server came to take a drink order and deliver the menu. That was the only downside in an otherwise tasty and filling evening. The only RW limitations on the menu were the appetizers and dessert, but the limitations were not enough to spoil the evening. For appetizers, the RW customers could select the shrimp seviche or any of the three soups. Any entre was fair game, and there were three dessert selections. Fair enough, I thought. For appetizers we had the shrimp seviche and the golden gazpacho. Both were excellent summer selections--very flavorful and refreshing, with an appealing mixture of textures and flavors. The gazpacho presentation was interesting--the server presents a long, narrow, glass boat of a bowl with the solid ingredients spread on the bottom, then pours the liquid over it. For the main course we had the spicy chicken and the moqueca "bouillabaisse." The chicken was good but not outstanding; nicely done and moist, but could have used more flavor "kick." The moqueca was, in fact, outstanding--whole shrimp, mussels, a half lobster tail, rice, onions, red bell peppers, all in an exquisitely flavored sauce. A bottle of Albarino Morgardio was a good complement to the food. The wine list had a good selection of countries of origin (largely Chile, Argentina, Spain, and US) and varieties at what I thought were reasonable prices compared with many other DC restaurants.. For dessert we had a terrific chocolate cake and a flan. The flan was predictable, meeting high standards for texture, consistency, and flavor. The cake was a nice interplay of several chocolate flavors and textures. We certainly did not go away hungry and felt it was a good value for what we received. Kudos to the server (Cindy), too, for her professionalism. This was our first time at Ceiba, and we certainly will be back. Friday it is off to Tosca, with the ominous shadow of posters' experiences hovering over our heads. We shall see....
