Picca for the (not so) Picky eater

I’ve mentioned it before, but I get pulled in a lot of directions when it comes to posting for Call Me a Food Lover. I know I’m most passionate when it comes to being in the kitchen at home or with family. That’s generally when I have the time to be the most introspective on what food means to me. But travelling is an important piece of my life and I’ve been fortunate enough to go to some amazing places in the past few years. I don’t take these opportunities for granted and I do my research to get the most out of my time in each place I visit.

My exploration of the dining scene in cities has led for some to ask for suggestions on where to go if they’re planning a particular trip to places I’ve visited. Part of my hope with CMAFL is to help guide others to some fantastic food finds, so they don’t have to put the time in that I do. But then again, according to Ben, no one puts the time in that I do when it comes to thinking about food.  So even if you don’t think that the travel posts are relatable to you, maybe someday soon you’ll plan a fabulous getaway and can use some of my suggestions.

Some trips have become annual occurrences, like the weekend in LA that I’m currently enjoying. But I’m pleased that although the schedule for the weekend and the players involved have stayed the same over the past many years, I still relish in the wonderment of weekend and find new and exciting things to love about LA.  I guess it also helps that LA is such a food lover’s city and every year there are new gems to discover.

Over the past few years, we’ve fallen into a routine over the weekend and I look forward to spending both Friday and Saturday evenings out with friends.  Friday this year was spent with the one I had dubbed last year as the “picky-eating banker” and his wonderful wife.  Over the past few years I’ve been careful on where to eat to ensure that we would please the picky eater, but I’ve realized over the past year that he’s not actually picky, but just particular.  Particular, we can deal with in any setting.  So this year, I chose a restaurant that I hoped would please his wife, whom I’ve heard considers this evening one of her “big nights out of the year”.

Picca opened early this summer to great reviews of creative cocktails and food.  It looked like it would have great energy and I was excited to try a cuisine, (Peruvian) that I haven’t had that much experience in.  I was happy that the restaurant did not disappoint in any way.  The only sad thing from the evening was that I forgot my camera battery at home and am forced to present sub par photos from my iPhone as part of this post.  I even thought that I wouldn’t post about Picca Peru because the photo’s kind of suck, but the experience at the restaurant was so amazing, that I needed to share it.

The menu is huge, and with so many things that sounded intriguing we were lucky that our server Gilberto not only confidently chose our dishes for us.

Cocktail guru Julian Cox, mastermind behind the wildly tempting drink list, was behind the bar so I knew we’d be in for an extra special treat.  We weren’t let down as all of the many cocktails we sampled were met with “wow’s” across the table.  I love a great cocktail…

And the food?

If someone were to ask me today where to go in LA for dinner, Picca would be one of top recommendations.  Go in a big group and you can tackle a lot of the menu.  Or have an awesome date night out sampling all the causas coupled with the cocktails.  Either way, just go.  I know I’ll be back.

Picca Peru – 9575 West Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA