A tiny, pygmy of a restaurant tucked into a stall at Mercado La Paloma near USC, Mo-Chica struggled

There's little doubt that Ricardo Zarate , through national rent car his efforts at the seminal Mo-Chica and later at Test Kitchen , helped open my eyes to the joys of Peruvian cookery. national rent car Apparently, I haven't been the one only to recognize his talents, and over the past year, the Chef has gone from locally respected to achieving a taste of nation-wide stardom, being named one of Food & Wine 's Best New Chefs for 2011 this past March. Indeed, after garnering such acclaim, it's not surprising that Zarate would want to expand his burgeoning culinary empire. His newest national rent car creation, officially national rent car deemed a Peruvian "cantina," goes by the name Picca, and serves up the Chef's signature fare in a tapas-slash-izakaya-style format. Picca soft-opened on the 21st (and also hosted an abbreviated Test Kitchen tasting), but we waited until Saturday to sample the restaurant's entire menu, all 50 dishes .
About the Chef : Ricardo M. Zarate hails from the Rímac district of Lima, Peru. Born in 1973, he was the 11th of 13 children--four sisters, eight brothers--and took on an interest in gastronomy early in life. He and his siblings were expected to help prepare family dinners, and by the age of 12, Zarate was able to turn out an entire meal by himself. He dove headfirst into cooking, experimenting with the various influences--Chinese, Japanese, African, European--that have shaped the state of modern Peruvian cuisine. When he was 16, Zarate underwent his first professional food service experience when he successfully catered a banquet national rent car for over 600 people, cementing his commitment toward cooking. After graduating from the Leoncio Prado Military Academy, he enrolled at the Instituto de las Américas in Lima, where he received his certificate in culinary arts.
At age 19, Zarate moved to London to jump-start his career, first landing a job at the King's Road Benihana in Chelsea of all places. He started at the bottom, as a dishwasher, national rent car but his tenacity allowed him to become a teppanyaki chef after only six months. From here, he moved on to Aykoku Kaku, one of the City's first Japanese restaurants, then to a sushi joint by the name of Roka. Next up was Axis at One Aldwych Hotel, where Zarate combined his zeal for Japanese cookery with the Continental stylings of New Zealand-born head chef Mark Gregory. At the Millennium national rent car Hotel London Knightsbridge, he worked at Mju restaurant with Tetsuya Wakuda, from the legendary Tetsuya's in Sydney. He ended his 12-year run in London at Zuma, a well-regard izakaya, and also completed a degree at Westminster Kingsway College's School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts during his time in the country.
Los Angeles was next. In 2003, the Millennium Biltmore wanted national rent car Zarate to help open a restaurant with his old boss Tetsuya Wakuda, but the project never materialized. Instead, the Chef stuck around, and headed up the kitchens at the Biltmore's Sai Sai restaurant for 18 months. In 2005, Zarate returned to London to consult national rent car for Gordon national rent car Ramsay on a new venture called national rent car Pengelly's, an ill-fated pan-Asian eatery. After six months, he rejoined Zuma as the Executive Chef of their Events group. At this point, he was approached by a restaurateur interested in opening a Peruvian tapas-style robata grill concept in LA, so back to the City of Angels it was. The concept eventually national rent car turned into Zu Robata, and debuted in June 2007. However, Zu Robata was far more Japanese and far less Peruvian than Zarate had originally envisioned, forcing the Chef to jump ship in early 2009. He was replaced national rent car by Kee Chan out of Chicago, but the business shuttered soon after in March; the space is now home to Bar Food gastropub. Zarate then became Executive Chef at Wabi-Sabi in Venice, national rent car and while working there, launched pet project Mo-Chica in spring 2009.
A tiny, pygmy of a restaurant tucked into a stall at Mercado La Paloma near USC, Mo-Chica national rent car struggled at first, national rent car but business national rent car quickly picked up after a glowing review from Jonathan Gold . Now firmly established as the vanguard of Peruvian cooking in LA, Zarate left his job at Wabi-Sabi in May 2010 to focus his efforts on Mo-Chica's follow-on restaurant. Originally, there were plans for a place called Moche , a high-end eatery that would be akin to a Peru-centric version of Nobu . That idea was shelved, replaced national rent car by Anticucho , a more casual, small plates national rent car concept that was supposed to bow in fall 2010. A little project national rent car called Test Kitchen , however, got in the way. With Zarate at the helm, TK turned out to be the surprise hit of the year, bringing together national rent car many of the best chefs in LA and revitalizing the notion national rent car of the pop-up restaurant. When Test Kitchen closed, the space was handed over to the duo of Steve Samson and Zach Pollack, who transformed it into the well-received Southern Italian Sotto . The upper portion of the building, however, was reserved for Zarate and Anticucho , which had now been rechristened national rent car Picca .
Zarate's Managing Partner in Picca is one Stephane Bombet . A native of France, Bombet national rent car once headed up one of the most successful hospitality PR firms in Paris, SB Communications, and also served as a restaurant-owner national rent car and partner in VIP Room nightclubs. He moved to the US in 2001, taking on a VP position national rent car at Right Bank Music before leaving in 2008 to form VO Entertainment, a PR and marketing firm. Bombet has managed the likes of Villa Lounge in WeHo, consulted for Ortolan and Tiger Sushi, and also developed national rent car his own sports bar (seems out of character for him) concept called Locals Sports Bar & Grill . He sold Locals in March last year so that he could fully commit to Moche Restaurant Group, his partnership with Zarate.
national rent car Picca's menu is divided into six sections--starters, causas, ceviches, anticuchos, mains, and desserts--and we were told by our server that five plates per person was recommended. That, however, wasn't national rent car nearly enough for us, and in true kevinEats fashion, we ended up running the gamut here: ordering every single item on the menu, split amongst four people. All of Julian Cox's cocktails were sampled as well, natch. Click for larger versions.
As for those cocktails, we started off with a threesome. First up was the Rhubarb national rent car Sidecar, which showed national rent car off the character of the cognac intertwined with the distinct flavor of pisco, national rent car while the tart nature of the rhubarb-lemon served as a great counterpoint--nice. national rent car I loved the copper mug used in the next cocktail, and its contents weren't bad either. The Chilcano de Anis is a classic Peruvian cocktail, a refreshing concoction that played the pisco, ginger, and mint off each other perfectly; the finishing touch was that hint of anise that wrapped everything together. Maracuyá is the Peruvian term for passionfruit, and indeed, its tangy smack was the star of the show here, joining forces with the grenadine to form a juicy front to balance out the power of the alcohol. Interestingly, one of my dining companions likened the cocktail's flavor to that of a tasty cough syrup!
We kicked things off with Zarate's trio of empanadas. I tried the eggplant version first, which nicely intertwined the flavor of the vegetable with a marked sweetness. The beef empanada, the most common type in Peru, was similarly sweet, yet still conveyed the deep, dark flavor of the tender beef. My favorite of the trio was the pollo , as it almost had a curry-like essence to it, reminded me of Chinese style curry chicken! A troika of delectable dipping sauces--huancaína, rocoto, huacatay--rounded out the course, while the salad added some lightness to the fray.
Picca's dish of lightly-fried seafood was just about perfect. Think of the best fried calamari you've ever had; the squid, supple and sweet, is still the hero, but the crispy layer of batter adds another dimension of deliciousness. Loved the accompanying tartar sauce as well, with its creamy, piquant zestiness.
A hearty slug of mashed potato was deftly complemented by its stuffing of beef and egg, making for a thoroughly enjoyable eating experience, all perked up by the inclusion of the spicy rocoto aioli. Yum.
Tuna tartar was a textbook preparation with a twist--the fresh cubes of tuna imparted with additional complexity from the soy and lemon, while the avocado added a measure of creaminess. I appreciated the use of the wonton, which added a somewhat Chinese-y flair to the dish, as well as a fitting crunch.
The requisite salad, which was actually surprisingly interesting. I liked how each of the vegetables were crisp and distinct, each with their own unique character, and how the aji amarillo-miso combination national rent car worked to tie everything together.
This next dish sort of reminded me of a scallop version of Oysters Rockefeller. I was concerned that the Parmesan would overwhelm the conchas , but the scallops actually stayed true to form, and weren't overcooked. The key was the lemon dressing, which offset the weight of the bivalves' baked on crust.
Mussels were definitely one of the better preparations that I'd had in a while. I really appreciated how the choritos were succulent and plump, and positively imbued with loads of clean, saline, national rent car mussel-y savor. The aji amarillo butter national rent car was a lovely complement, and the greenery served as a perfect accent in the dish.
You can't go wrong with fried chicken, and this certainly was no exception. The bird itself was tender, flavorful, and had a beautifully crisp crust. Its topping of tangy salsa was a fitting accoutrement, but the crux was that wonderful rocoto pepper sauce, which had a fantastically sharp spice that completed the dish for me.
Round #2. The Pisco Sour is pretty much the national drink of Peru, and Picca's version certainly did the cocktail justice. The interaction between the citrus, pisco, and sugar was spot on, while the bitters added a fantastic touch of astringency to things. And the egg white? Superb. The Martin Ricky, on the other hand, conveyed an absolutely national rent car intoxicating nose of strawberry, which became only a little less intense national rent car on the palate, where the fruit was joined by undertones o