Mo-Chica 514 W 7th Street Los Angeles, CA 90014 Dining date: 4/29/13 and 6/25/13 Ricardo Zarate and business partner Stephane Bombet have been a busy tandem, opening three restaurants in the past two years. Mo-Chica opened just over a year ago, the current middle-child in the growing group of restaurants. Given its downtown location is…
Paiche 13488 Maxella Ave Marina del Rey, CA 90292 Dining date: 4/10/13 Paiche opened this past Friday, the newest venture from the Mo-Chica/Picca team of Ricardo Zarate and Stephane Bombet. I’d been to Paiche the week before for the collaborative dinner with Naomi Pomeroy (of Beast in Portland), but this would be my first look…
Naomi Pomeroy (Beast) Paiche 13488 Maxella Ave Marina del Rey, CA 90292 Dining date: 3/26/13 While it seems like downtown’s Mo-Chica is still a relatively new restaurant, chef Ricardo Zarate and Stephane Bombet (Picca, Mo-Chica) are about to unleash their newest concept Paiche in Marina Del Rey. Dubbed a Peruvian izakaya, the team is bringing…
Mo-Chica 514 W. 7th Street Los Angeles, 90014 Dining date: 5/27/12 Mo-Chica was chef Ricardo Zarate’s first restaurant in 2009, located in the Mercado la Paloma near USC. A lot has changed since then with Zarate being named a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2011 and having one of the bigger restaurant openings…
Picca 9575 West Pico Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90035 Dining date: 12/14/11 and 2/1/12 Generally regarded as one of the top restaurant openings in 2011, Picca has truly been a hotspot since opening in June. It seems that every time I’ve visited, the restaurant’s been packed – boisterous and full of energy. It’s easy to…
Picca 9575 West Pico Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90035 Dining date: 8/23/11 Judging by the fact that the restaurant was packed on a Tuesday night, Picca is still one of the hottest restaurants in LA and definitely one of the biggest restaurant openings of the year. My first two trips to Picca were in parties of…
Picca 9575 West Pico Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90035 Dining date: 7/1/11 I knew I’d return to Picca soon, but I didn’t think it’d be this soon. Eight days separated this visit from my last (during the Test Kitchen preview), but I was eager to try more of the menu. Add to it the fact…
Picca 9575 West Pico Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90035 Dining date: 6/23/11 Picca has been a long time coming. Ever since Test Kitchen closed its doors, we’ve been waiting for Sotto (downstairs, opened March) and Picca (upstairs). Although Picca’s grand opening is technically Saturday the 25th, there have been a number of preview dinners this…