By Leslee Komaiko
For dineLA.com
If you’re into food and you’ve been in Los Angeles long enough, you know the name John Sedlar. In the 1980s and into the early 90s, Sedlar helmed the kitchen at three of LA’s most celebrated restaurants: St. Estephe, Bikini and Abiquiu. Then he took a break from the biz — a 15-year — break, mostly to focus on the creation of Museum Tamal, a museum of Latin culinary arts and history. Well, we’re happy to report that the New Mexico native is back. In December, he and partners Bill Chait and Eddie Sotto are opening Rivera (Sedlar’s family name) in Downtown LA. We’re already salivating.
Hi. How are you?
The last couple years have been kind of a blur. I’ve been on the fast track.
How so?
I’ve been so busy because the museum is starting to get some traction. The restaurant came out of the blue. I found a space Downtown near STAPLES Center. We said let’s build a Latin restaurant. Everyone’s open to everything Latin. Where else but in Downtown Los Angeles? It just seems to be the new territory.
What about the naysayers who claim there are already too many restaurants Downtown? I’m sure you’ve heard that too.
No. I’ve heard the opposite: that there aren’t enough and that the ones that are good are so busy and so full you can’t get into them.
For a while there, you were the “it” guy in Los Angeles, or at least one of them. Then you disappeared. Or at least it seemed that way. What happened?
The food industry is such a heady, exasperating, time-consuming endeavor that sometimes you want to try other things. I wanted to explore various avenues in the food industry, including consulting and food products. Most of all, everything in my mind was culminating to this laser-focused food museum.
You’re still looking for a permanent home?
Yes. But we’re opening an exhibition Downtown this spring. It will be a preview of the museum. The next and last step is the final capital campaign. Now is not the time at all to do financing.
Had you been looking for a restaurant space for a while?
We had looked off and on for a couple years.
With the same team?
Actually no. We found the location, then I pulled together this team. We said, “This looks like it speaks about what LA is.” It is a contemporary, new building. There is 120 feet of ceiling to floor glass-facing western skies perfect for LA’s lifestyle of indoor outdoor and bright light. [Designer] Eddie Sotto came up with a brilliant story. There are three small dining rooms. Each room tells a story and the décor follows the story. There’s a Spanish room called sangre with conquistador helmet lamps and a blood red chandelier. There’s also a private cellar of tequila in that room. It’s very adult and very serious and a little Old World, hushed, with linen on the tables. The second room is called samba. It features brighter colors, racier music and beautiful wood plank tables. No linen. And it’s off the bar. The environment is very South American and sexy. The third room is called playa bar. In the cold case, which is like a Latin raw bar, there will be yellowtail and ahi tuna with toppings of cilantro and Serrano chilies and jalapeno and Cara Cara oranges.
On the website, it characterizes the cuisine as “modern Latin.” Many people hear “Latin” and immediately think Mexican.
I think people are learning more about Latin America’s diversity. This restaurant is a culinary document of all these influences from Latin America and Spain, Portugal, regional Mexico, the Caribbean. It’s much more than Mexico. I think people do know that now. There’s another dimension to this. What people know as Mexican food here is very different from what real Mexican food is in Mexico. People are eating very socially now, eating smaller portions, sharing food.
Tell me more about the tequila cellar.
I was a spokesperson for 10 years for Patrón Tequila. Because I have many tequila contacts in Jalisco, I went barrel tasting. I chose an extra añejo tequila, the most sensational tequila you’ve ever tasted. We purchased it. We have a room, a library, with our partners’ and members’ names on bottles. They get a key. (The bottles are under lock and key.) When they come to the restaurant they can give the key to their server. It’s a super ultra-premium añejo that will not be available to the public.
And anyone can become a member for a cost to be determined?
Yes. Membership will open in January.
I think to a lot of people, you will always be the St. Estephe/Abiquiu/Bikini chef. How do you feel about that?
I think it’s a good association. I’m very proud of those restaurants. I think LA is a very exciting culinary city. It really is the true melting pot of the United States here, and we’re the doorway to Latin America. I think there should be more Latin restaurants here. What the Two Hot Tamales [Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger] have done is extraordinary and Jimmy Shaw over at Loteria, it’s tremendous. Angelenos should be eating more of this kind of food.
Will you be doing any dishes from back in the day?
Those were Los Angeles’ baby steps into gastronomy. Food has evolved. I’m going to be cooking more simply, with less artifice. People look at terroir and local ingredients. During those days we were all Francophiles and Europhiles.
Tell us what some of your favorite LA restaurants are.
I eat a lot at Providence. I think that Michael Cimarusti is completely laser focused, at the top of the game and hyper creative. And I really think Lucques is very, very good. I like going to LA Mill, a bit of a no man’s land category: a little fine dining, cool but baroque, a quirky little place. The food is good. There’s a menu degustation for dessert, like seven courses. You get this beautiful menu bound in gold. It’s so creative. All the utensils are so well thought out. And then there’s Bruce Marder whom I’ve known for maybe 30 years. I recently had tacos at his restaurant, Cora’s.
If you weren’t a chef, what would you be?
An architect. Sometimes our food is very constructed and very composed on the plate. That’s where architecture comes in. Food is much more free form in its discipline. I don’t think I would have the discipline to be an architect.
Rivera, 1050 S. Flower St, Los Angeles, riverarestaurant.com (no phone number yet)
