madrid wins, peru scores

cristiano ronaldo and his merry pretty men of real madrid were in town last night, where they beat papa beckam and his l.a. galaxy lads 4-1. it really was an unfair, one sided match-up, david vs. goliath, but nevertheless, we cheered with glee at each of madrid's four unchallenged goals. 

afterwards we had an amazing dinner at picca, ricardo zarate's newest addition to the local restaurant scene.  it's heralded as a peruvian cantina with a japanese twist (a grown up, full service version of his downtown mo-chica) and it was one of the most delicious, original meals i've had in town, elevating peruvian food to the next level on the west side.  my phone camera couldn't capture the deliciousness in the dimly lit room, but i wanted to share a list of the tapas sized dishes that found their way to our table.

empanada trio. beef, chicken, eggplant, salad

choritos. steamed mussels, pancetta, aji amarillo butter

spicy yellow tail. spicy mayo, green onions, wasabi tobiko 

unagi. avocado, cucumber, eel sauce

ceviche crocante. halibut, leche de tigre, crispy calamari

tomatoes. burrata, black mint pest

papa a la huancaina. potato, quail egg, pancetta, chives

camote. sweet potato, honey, serrano chili sauce

chicharron de costillas. crispy pork ribs crostini, sweet potato puree, feta cheese sauce, salsa criolla 

bisteck a lo pobre. skirt steak, egg, pan fried banana, chickpeas tacu tacu

churros. passion fruit cream with three dipping sauces

the cocktails were delicious too, an amazing best in town pisco sour and a tangy, complex and fruity martin ricky! welcome to town picca - we're going to be fast friends!