To snag an outdoor table on any given evening at Viaje is to be reminded of the sundry joys of 2nd Street in Belmont Shore.
Viaje sits next to the legendary Legends Sports Bar, just down the street from Panama Joe’s and the Long Beach Tap House. The crowds ebb and flow like the tides in the harbor while imbibers sip on signature cocktails with names like Chica Fresa (tequila, strawberry, lime and agave), Maravilloso (mezcal, Campari and vermouth) and La Cañada (two types of rum, orange liqueur, coconut water and Angostura bitters).
Inside, Viaje is dim, moody and a fine place to dine with friends and family. The bar is lively. The game of the moment is on a big screen — though Viaje isn’t trying to compete with Legends. (Heck, nothing could!) But the name translates as “journey.”
And, indeed, the menu is a journey into a world of Nouvelle Mexican cooking that’s for the most part unlike the south-of-the-border cuisine with which we’re so familiar. There are certainly overlaps. But for the most part, this is carefully curated cooking — food that often challenges the more standard realm of tacos and burritos and guacamole with chips.
Which is not to say there aren’t chips. But what’s served came as a revelation — a whole new level of chipology, a chip I couldn’t stop eating, just for the “chippiness” of it. The chips are far thinner than most. And rather than having the oiliness of being fried, they have the dryness of being baked. They have far more flavor than the usual suspects. They crackle and they crunch. And my basket of chips vanished unfortunately fast.
They came with an order of the ceviche of the day, in this case mahi mahi, cut a bit thicker than most, not drowned in oil, but ceviched with lime juice, tomato, onion, cilantro and serrano peppers. They’re certainly among the best in town, a marvel and a joy — and not mucked up, as another I recently tasted, with a thick bed of guacamole, which diluted the flavor of the fish. That one was a classic gilding of the lily. This one was just right.
Both unexpected, and certainly welcome, were the empanadas de mariscos. The traditional empanadas are somewhere between an egg roll and a taco — semi crescent shaped half-moons stuffed with a variety of well-chopped ingredients. And, as with the chips, they exude crunch; someone in the kitchen is a master of the Zen of Crisp.
This empanada variation is deeply browned, with a thicker crust than expected, and a filling of octopus, shrimp and crab, topped with dabs of an avocado emulsion, along with edible flowers. It’s so pretty, I was hesitant to take that first bite. But once I did … it vanished.
A certain prettification of the dishes is a theme; this isn’t just food piled atop a plate. It’s carefully arranged, art directed, created as much as a visual statement as a culinary one. But like most pretty food, eventually, it vanishes into our undiscerning innards.
Still, you do need to pause and admire the elegance of the tacos dorados, with their filling of potatoes, shiitake mushrooms and queso fresco, topped with crema and salsa. Or perhaps the ensalada de col rizada (the word means “curly”), a brightly colored arrangement of kale, fennel, beets, radishes, ricotta and croutons, with the vegetables all sliced microtome thin.
There’s octopus with smoked chiles, potato purée and chorizo. Flautas with short ribs. A tostada tlayuda with filet mignon, black beans and avocado. Corn masa with braised short ribs, beans, avocado, radish and onions. The slicing is flawless. The arrangements appear ready for the Viaje Cookbook.
The appetizers are generally big enough for a light meal. If more is needed, consider the pleasures of the Chilean sea bass with clams, squid ink rice and smoked chiles — colors on top of colors. Or the long-cooked, tender-as-a-mother’s-love pork in the cochinita pibil, with black beans and pickled onions. The lamb shank with garbanzo purée. And, impressively, the grilled vegetables — a seasonal assortment of fresh veggies of many colors, slathered with a parsley and oregano vinaigrette. It’s a reminder that for sheer beauty, vegetables are hard to beat.
The food is colorful. The cocktails are eclectic. And the crowd on 2nd Street is both.
Viaje is far from inexpensive. It edges into the realm of special occasions. But then, it’s a night on the town that satisfies on just about every level.
It’s just what 2nd Street needed — a counter-balance to the howls of obsessive fandom pouring out of Legends. Dinner at Viaje made me feel like a grownup, without making me feel old.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.
Viaje
- Rating: 3 stars
- Address: 5224 2nd St., Long Beach (Belmont Shore)
- Information: 562-833-9299; www.viajerestaurant.com
- Cuisine: Mexican Eclectic
- When: Dinner, every day
- Prices: About $40 per person; reservations helpful
- On the menu: 12 Appetizers ($12-$22), 11 Entrees ($15-$55), 16 Signature Cocktails ($16)
- Credit cards: MC, V
- What the stars mean: 4 (World class! Worth a trip from anywhere!), 3 (Most excellent, even exceptional. Worth a trip from anywhere in Southern California.), 2 (A good place to go for a meal. Worth a trip from anywhere in the neighborhood.) 1 (If you’re hungry, and it’s nearby, but don’t get stuck in traffic going.) 0 (Honestly, not worth writing about.
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