Bruce Hill can do no wrong. He is the chef behind Bix, my all-time favorite restaurant in San Francisco. His newish SOMA pizzeria has a more casual vibe but still serves first rate food. So naturally, his third outpost, Picco, has been atop my to-do list for awhile now. It exceeded my (unreasonably high) expectations.
Picco has a completely separate identity than Bix, and I admire Mr. Hill for being versatile enough to pull that off. Bix is located in a narrow downtown alley-way just steps away from the hub of city life, while Picco is an isolated fixture in a quaint Marin residential neighborhood. Picco has a country-side feel with its wooded architecture and surrounding Redwood trees. One can even sit outside on the wood deck at the adjoining pizzeria (aptly titled Picco Pizzeria) and watch the occasional car drive by. It's quiet. I love driving 30 minutes outside the city but feeling like I'm a million miles away.
While Picco is very different from Bix in many ways, it shares one essential similarity - flawless American fare. I have the best gal pals ever: for my birthday, they let me choose the restaurant location, time (4pm sharp), and every single dish. That is friendship! We started at the Pizzeria next door for a pre-dinner glass of wine. We ended up ordering the "Marin Pizza" thinking we'd each have a slice and take the rest home (not a morsel made it to 4:30). The Marin pie is topped with roasted garlic, potato, mozzarella, Parmesan and rosemary oil. Mr. Hill's signature thin crust means that one slice is actually quite light and, at $12, a great appetizer choice. We were off to a terrific start.
At 5:30 we moved over to the main restaurant for our reservation. I am blessed to have friends that love food as much as I do. We started with the tuna tartare, which probably ended up as my favorite of the night. A scoop of tartare is served atop a FRIED sticky rice cake! I love when a chef can take a staple like tartare, throw in a small twist and make it unlike any other I've had before it (especially when that "twist" involves frying). Next came out Avocado Bruschetta with small wisps of chorizo sausage. It's dishes like this where the quality of the ingredients is critical and this one didn't miss a beat: the avocados were soft, creamy - everything a good California avocado should be.
Next up was home-made risotto. Our waitress informed us beforehand that the risotto is made from scratch every half hour to guarantee maximum freshness. Adrienne knows her risotto and claimed this was up there with the best she's ever had. I am less experienced with risotto, but I can't find anything wrong with something warm, creamy, and fresh.
A birthday girl must have dessert. Or two, if you are me. We ordered the chocolate madelines and the toffee sticky cake. The madelines - which were still warm when they reached the table - are served with a shot glass of a coffee milk shake. The warm toffee was soft and moist and perfectly melts the accompanying vanilla bean ice cream. They were both terrific, but the dinner components actually manage to overshadow them.
I know you are thinking: what a bunch of PIGS! Yes, I have nothing against a well-timed splurge. But, the plates are small to medium sized and priced accordingly. Each plate probably equates to 3-5 bites per person, so ordering 5-6 dishes isn't outrageous. We also brought my favorite bottle of red wine so saved significant coin on drinks. I like restaurants where I can try a multitude of dishes without totally breaking the bank. And, I already can't wait to go back to try the homemade soft-serve ice cream next door and to try the 5-6 tempting items on the menu that didn't make the cut this visit.
-Corinne Hill
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