A Bite to Eat: Picaro

Monday evening, D and I headed over to the Mission district to do some thrifting and shopping. It was a nice night; there was finally a break in the stormy weather. After hitting up Thrift Town and Therapy, we decided to get a bite to eat. Dion and I decided to be adventurous and try something new. We debated over We Be Sushi where they served sushi "like mom used to make" and drinks "like mom used to mix" or Picaro where they served Spanish/Basque-style tapas.

We decided on the latter because 1. the smell of garlic wafting from the restaurant was irresistable and 2. there was no "yelp loves us" sticker on their window. SOLD.

Unfortunately, we both did not order tapas nor did we I order a pitcher of sangria. We did, however, order dinner combination plates which were inexpensive for their sheer size. For around $11 you get French bread with a very garlic-y tomato cream dipping sauce (aoili), a side of vegetables, a starch, and a main entrée. I ordered the Spanish meatballs with potatoes and sautéed zucchini. The food was flavorful and well-seasoned. My meatballs (there were only 5!) had an intense oregano flavor which the gravy toned down a bit. The potatoes were delicious and crispy. I didn't care too much for the sautéed zucchini which looked a lot like, but didn't taste like celery. After a while though, I felt that all the food on my plate tasted the same. It might have been due to the fact that a lot of my food was swimming in the gravy the meatballs came in.

Picaro was pretty empty when we dined there and I'm not sure if that's the norm. The restaurant is quite spacious with a semi-private dining area in the back. The walls were decorated with brightly colored artwork and painted colors of yellow and red. Outdoor dining is available as well. The majority of the diners there that night seemed to either be fluent Spanish speakers or were foreigners from Spain. The waiters were pretty attentive. What irked me though was that our waiter seemed to think we already knew what we wanted to order once we sat down at our table.

Overall, I would recommend Picaro for anyone wanting to try inexpensive and casual Spanish food. Next time, I'll try a couple of tapas and a glass or two of sangria.

WARNING: My breath smelled like garlic for hours after having dinner here. I brushed my teeth twice, had a few sticks of gum, and I still couldn't get that garlic taste out of my mouth! I went to bed with garlic breath that night. How wonderful.


lovelovelove,
Cyn