Picco is one of those restaurants where what you order really matters. We did not order anything worth going back to reorder, but I suspect that was just a bad first try. With chef owner Bruce Hill at the helm, it is inconceivable that this wouldn't be a superior dining experience. Anyone who is responsible for Bix and Aqua, to name but a few of the restaurants notched on this chef's knife handle, is not going to fail at another venue. And when I heard he turned the Waterfront restaurant around, it was no wonder that it's still in business. My only dining experience at the Waterfront (prior to chef Hill) made me wonder how they could stay viable. Then I surmised that it must have been the view, because it certainly wasn't the food. No, Picco deserves another go.
I went to try two very specific items based on reviews in the SF Chronicle. I won't make that mistake again. My dining companion wasn't very hungry and decided to give the cheese plate a try. The fact that it had more than 3 selections made it better than some. Four separate condiments to eat with the cheese made it better. The toasted whole grain and nut bread pushed it into even loftier heights on the cheese-plate-o-meter. It would have been preferable to see something other than Parmigiano as the hard cheese, but we eat that so often at home, we give it less credit than it probably deserves.
My primary target was the risotto. It's made from scratch every half hour by the restaurant, so it is served fresh and at its peak of flavor. This idea was exceptional and I must applaud Picco for establishing this practice. Unfortunately for me, on the night we were there the risotto was asparagus and sweet corn, two vegetables I really like, but not in a risotto. There must be a vegetable risotto that I would really like, but I have yet to taste it, unless you count mushrooms. Risotto at Picco was much too subtle in flavor and had they added more cheese, it could have been more to my liking. I should have forgone the risotto for another time and ordered something that really appealed to me. The fault was all mine, not theirs. While they obliged my request to try the olive oil ice cream from their pizzeria next door, that was my second mistake.
Who ever heard of asking a restaurant to furnish something not on their menu? It was a crazy idea and I deserved what I got, a soft serve type of ice cream with a grassy tasting olive oil on top. My preferred ice cream is rock hard, so the texture was off for me from the start. I can't say the two ingredients together were bad, as I have since had a really good version from Mozza in Los Angeles. Picco's ice cream was just too sweet to carry off the idea to its fullest potential. Still I want to come back and order something else, while I'm not under the influence of a published food critic; another crazy idea.
| 320 Magnolia Ave Larkspur CA 94939 (415) 924-0300 |
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