Sietsema Review 2005 Fall Dining Guide By Tom Sietsema Washington Post Magazine Sunday, October 16, 2005 One waiter shows up with a stone bowl containing a bubbling mass of cheese, beef strips and velvety poblano peppers, trailed by another carrying an earthenware dish of warm tortillas. Curious diners on both sides of me lean in and ask what I've ordered. "Queso fundido," I tell them as I dig into one of the many crowd-pleasers at Ceiba (pronounced SAY-bah). The fun in this whimsical tribute to Central and South America takes place in a series of rooms, some with pale blue "skies" overhead and big tropical plants in the windows; my favorite claims a barrel-vaulted ceiling and sight of the busy kitchen. Launch an evening with a tart margarita, continue with duck-stuffed empanadas or craggy crab fritters, and move on to the strapping pork feijoada, framed by a confetti of dark kale, beans and rice, or shrimp threaded on skewers of sugar cane and brightened with pineapple salsa. Not everything is great -- striped-bass seviche with corn nuts and sweet potato tastes flat -- but enough is. Pastry chef David Guas practically dares you not to order dessert, with seductions like dulce de leche cheesecake with tiny slices of pineapple poundcake, or chocolate Cuban coffee cake spiked with a chili custard sauce. With your bill comes another sweet touch: caramel corn spilling out of a paper sleeve.
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