The Restaurants We Can't Live Without By Tom Fitzmorris #30 RioMar Spanish. Latin American. Seafood. Warehouse District: 800 S. Peters, 504-525-3474.  Map. Lunch Monday-Friday. Dinner Monday-Saturday. Casual AE DC DS MC V www.riomarseafood.com    WHY IT'S ESSENTIAL    The keywords tell it all: seafood, Spanish, tapas, Latin American. A diner with a hunger for those will find them here, handled with more imagination, intrinsic excellence of ingredients, and polish than anywhere else.    WHY IT'S GOOD   The name RioMar means RiverSea, with good reason. The main theme is seafood. But it's not New Orleans-style seafood. Almost nothing is fried, and the flavors are those of Central America and Spain. This brings four or more distinct preparations of ceviche to the table, for starters. Unique treatments of familiar local fish and shellfish--particularly oysters and shrimp--make great starters. But the chef also likes to play with uncommon seafood. He likes razor clams, for example. A few meat entrees appear, but this is a place to go when you have an appetite for seafood. All of the lunch menu and much of the dinner menu is structured as tapas, which makes eating here with friends who like to share even more fun than usual.    BACKSTORY    Chef-owner Adolfo Garcia is an Orleanian with Panamanian roots. He cheffed a series of unusual restaurants over the years--always bringing them to unique excellence while he was there--before opening RioMar in 2000. He and partner Nick Bazan also own the La Boca Argentine steakhouse two blocks away.    DINING ROOM   The restaurant is in a converted warehouse, with concrete floors and stucco walls decorated with wrought ironwork art. The open kitchen usually has the chef working on the line. A new bar with a cooler style serves tapas every evening and offers wine tastings most Wednesdays. When the weather is toleable, they throw open big windows.    ESSENTIAL DISHES  Ceviche assortment. Empanadas of tuna. Oysters al ajillo. Mussels with chorizo. Grilled giant squid. Zarzuela (Spanish fish stew). Grilled fish with romesco. "Unilateral" salmon. Hanger steak with chimichurri sauce. Arroz con anything. Tres leches de coco cake.    FOR BEST RESULTS     Order four tapas per person at lunch and pass them around.    OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT   The dining room never seems warm enough on chilly, windy nights.    FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD    Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter. Dining Environment +1 Service +1 Consistency +2 Value +1 Attitude +2 Wine And Bar +2 Hipness +2 Local Color +2    SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES   Romantic Good for business meetings Private dining room (less than 25) Private dining room (more than 25) Open Monday Well-known chef Vegetarian dishes Unusually large servings Easy, nearby parking (validated $6 at Embassy Suites) Reservations accepted Reservations honored promptly Click here for the index to all the reviews so far. © 2008 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com