Restaurant Review: Luz Definitely Not a Loser

The take-out we’d ordered on a couple of occasions from from Fort Greene modern Latin spot Luz had always been good (and, at times, hinted at great), but clearly had suffered from its 10-block commute. Our brother- and sister-in-law, foodies to the bone, swear by the place, so our hopes were up when we stopped by on a cold Thursday night recently. We were not disappointed. We greased the wheels with a fantastic pisco sour before moving on to a Cusquena lager. Our party of four opted to go the family-style route, which makes sense not only because much of the food lends itself to finger-grazing but also because it would be close to impossible to limit oneself to tasting only a couple of items. We went for a seafood-heavy assortment of appetizers — the Cangreja, a pair of jumbo lump crab cakes accompanied by a spicy aioli, and a pair of ceviches. We rounded out our appetizers with our favorite selection of the evening, the Pinchos de Res, a cluster of perfectly grilled cubes of grilled beef tenderloin served on yuca and topped with a red chimichurri sauce. A single whole rotisserie chicken, just the right moistness, and a side of cilantro mashed potatoes were enough to satiate those still hungry after the apps. Exercising self-restraint, we ordered just two desserts for the table. One, warm sorpresa, a chocolate cake topped with honeyed bananas and pineapple coconut ice cream, was a big winner. The other, a vanilla bean flan, was the only thing that fell flat all night. Not a bad record at all.
Dinner Menu [Luz Restaurant]