It's a Wednesday night and we call Picca to see if we can get a reservation. But damn, no tables 'til 9:45. However, word on the street is that the bar is usually open a cool place to dine. So, we made our way to Picca for some small plates of Peruvian cuisine. When we arrived, there was even a 20 minute wait for the bar. This place was straight poppin' on a hump day. To pass the time, we J-walked to Ralphs to browse and get the nice deal of 2 for 1 Hi-Chew.
By the time we checked back in at Picca, there were two seats available at the bar. There were two bars at the restaurant: the one we sat at offers a close-up view of the kitchen. We grazed over the menu and picked 6 dishes from the various categories ranging from ceviches to main plates like paella. Ethan asked the waiter if 6 dishes would be enough, but he suggested that 8-10 would be just right. We were sure to order a variety of different flavors and proteins.
The first dish to come out was lightly fried chicken with a tomato salsa and a pepper sauce; decent but wouldn't order again. The first misstep of the night occurred here: it was the service. At a tapas restaurant like this, timing is crucial to a diner's experience. With many dishes, they must flow out in a regimented fashion with equal time in between each one. Our chicken came out then we waited far too long only to have 3 dishes come out at once. Those 3 were the ceviche criollo, papa rellena, and tuna tartare. The ceviche was fresh and spicy seabass with a crazy duo of corn. One way was corn kernels that had been roasted and the other was
choclo... whatever that is. The papa was perfectly filled with boiled egg and braised beef, much more memorable than the average tuna tartare.
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| Ceviche |
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| Fried Chicken |
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| Papa Rellena |
After an appropriate wait time between dishes, we got the beef filet skewers and a quail egg-potato skewers. The beef was good not great, although the sea urchin butter was classy, but the quail egg skewer was different and delicious. Next came the star of the night: the seafood paella. The rice was flavorful and the seafood was abundant and delectable. The second but more easily corrected error was the waiter forgetting that we ordered mussels after he so strongly recommended for them. We had to wait until they finally made them, but they were worth the wait. Possibly too salty/garlicky, the broth was smooth and redolent.
The dessert options seemed unoriginal, so we returned to Ralphs to grab some Cincinnati native
Graeter's Ice Cream.
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| Paella! |
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| Skewers |
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| Mussels |
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| Straight from Cincinnati: Graeters! |
The winners overall here are the adventurous dishes. Don't settle for dishes you can get anywhere like beef filet or tuna tartare. This place is serving up some unique peruvian food with an upscale twist. With the need to order plentifully, we ended up spending close to $45 a person after tax and tip and still could've eaten more.
