classy but trashy

Forkth Up:

Thpanish Tapath at Picaro

After a long day of travel throughout Nor Cal on Sunday, my boyfriend and I found ourselves playing dinner guide to one of his college friends visiting from Chicago. We’re on Nob Hill while homie was staying with friends in Bernal Heights so the Mission was an obvious choice of where to seek out some grub. We met at Casanova for a quick PBR and to discuss dinner options amidst the dim glory of crushed glass lamps and naked breasts painted on black velvet.
I told y’all we keep it classhy.

While tacos and cervesa sounded just fine by me, the Bernal Heights kids were over it (and rightfully so) and then shot down my suggestion for Tokyo Go Go cuz they’d had Japanese for lunch (dang it!). At this point we were standing out on the makeshift plywood Valencia St. sidewalk and someone mentioned Ramblas tapas restaurant just a couple doors down. As none of us had been there before, we concurred and were fixin’ to head over just as the creeper lurking behind us in the doorway of the bar said,

     “I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but you should go to Picaro if you want tapas.”
     “Oh that place across from the Roxie on 16th?” I asked. Creepy nodded in acknowledgement and since I know they have bomb sangria I turned on my heels and led the way.

I’d been to Picaro once before after a snowboard movie screening at the Roxie. It was probably 11:00 at night then and not much else had been open. Regardless of the hour I remember the staff being very friendly and the little food we got being tasty and served quickly. As soon as we walked in on Sunday it was clear that the service was still the same. The large dining room was pretty full and the wait and counter staff all greeted us upon arrival. The five of us were quickly seated in a window facing 16th St. and given water, French bread with aioli and menus.

The Spanish menu is chock full of items to satisfy just about anyone’s tastes! I was a little bummed to not see any octopus offered, but the significant number of well priced lobster dishes more than made up for the loss. We decided to go the family style route and ordered an array of vegetarian and seafood plates. Unfortunately, two of the items we requested were out (squid cooked in its own ink being the biggest letdown) but once the rest of the tapas arrived, we soon forgot about it!

Patatas Bravas

Almejas a la Plancha (grilled clams) were cooked to perfection in a light garlic-y sauce with parsley. The flavor was just smoky enough and the texture was nice and chewy without being slimy or weird (I can be pretty picky with my shellfish…). Patatas Bravas are a tapas staple and these did not disappoint. The deep fried potato cubes were well seasoned and the spicy aioli that topped them was creamy and rich. The Grilled Asparagus and Broccoli with Almonds were both fresh, tasty and simple. It was the Grilled Fresh Artichoke, however, which really took us by surprise! These were very thin cross sctions of the heart which still had a couple layers of inner leaves as well as all of the hairy choke. The pieces had been brushed with oil and simply grilled until lined. While they really didn’t look like much, they tasted incredible! It was a 100% artichoke flavor and the grilling left any sort of dip totally unnecessary. We were pretty shocked to see the choke spines and it was remarkable how they became edible when cooked in this way. These definitely went on the list for next time.

Finally, the crowning jewel of the meal arrived, a two person platter of Lobster Paella. 2 person? But, I thought you said there were five of you?! Well lemme tell you, after all of the samplings of delicious veggies and clams we’d just enjoyed, a two person paella was definitely large enough for us all to have a generous serving. The platter was topped with two splayed lobster tails as well several clams, peas and peppers. Since we’d been cheated out of our squid option in the tapas, we were all delighted to find a bunch of calamari cooked in with the rice. Much as I love a rare serving of lobster tail in front of me, I have to say that the squid was the best part of the paella. It had a wonderful waxy texture which was very reminiscent of my beloved octopus. We finished up our whole platter, two rounds of beautiful deep red sangria and left satisfied and happy for just $23 each.

Fanta-th-tico!

3120 16th St
San Francisco, CA 94103