(Credit: Spencer Weiner)
Tucked into the metallic angular edge of Downtown’s financial district, the Pan-Latin restaurant is like a tasty little Lego clicked in amidst towering buildings, humming traffic and elevated walkways that lead from one skyscraper to another. Their Tuesday night shindigs, part of Ciudad's summer series of events, are breezy, mellow and festive.
The night my date and I swung by, Susan Feniger (one half of the Two Hot Tamales herself) was making the rounds while two gigantic paella pans were steaming with their fragrant contents. Two varieties were being offered: Paella a la Marinara, with mussels, shrimp, clams, calamari, tomato, saffron, and lemon aioli among fluffy, savory rice, and a vegetarian paella with eggplant, kalamata and manzanilla olives, capers and peppers. For the indecisive, half-orders of both were available. It was a case study in flavorful comfort food, with Ciudad's famous mojitos washing it all down.
We bulldozed our way across our plates like determined long-distance runners, pacing through our entrees, then sprinting at the sight of dessert: a Barcelona chocolate cake and a coconut lime cake. A glance upwards brought a soaring vista of shimmering, mirrored skyscrapers reflecting a brilliant sunset. Did I mention I was on a date? Not to worry: a cosmopolitan, urban sense of romance pervaded the place—along with the aroma of saffron and the tang of kalamata olives simmering in paella broth.
When: Every Tuesday night, 5 p.m.-9 p.m.
Where: 445 S. Figueroa St., Downtown.
Why: Because sometimes you just need to mix it up.
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