Tonight I had dinner with two of my best girls at Picco in the South End to celebrate my upcoming 27th birthday. I had been to Picco once before many years ago, but had been itching to return.
Picco is located on Tremont Street, just beyond Hamersley's, The Beehive and Sibling Rivalry. As you approach, the first thing you noticed is their popular outdoor patio.
We headed inside to put our name on the list and waited at the bar (and in the air conditioning!).
While we waited for a table we watched the bartender make at least twenty ice cream shakes and smoothies. He's part bartender, part ice cream scooper! He blended these frozen treats with incredible speed.
The inside of the restaurant has warm earth tones, red chairs and my favorite: blackboards with brightly colored chalk.
After less than ten minutes our name was called and we were escorted to an outdoor table. By this time the sun had set completely and it was quite dark on the patio. There were no overhead lights, twinkle lights or even candles on the table to illuminate the menus, so I was squinting to survey the choices.
I started with a pumpkin flavored beer called the Punkin Ale. No, that's not a spelling mistake, that's the name of the beer. Not as good as the Shipyard Pumpkinhead, bust still a nice, autumn beer.
To start, we each ordered a salad. The arugula for me, the warm spinach salad and the simple green salad. They were exactly the right portion for a starter and each of us found the greens fresh and the garnishes delicious.
For dinner we decided to split two small pizzas. We ordered the roasted apple and gorgonzola pizza (which is supposed to come with bacon, but we asked for it without) and the margherita pizza, but we added caramelized onions. The pizzas came served on top of silver coffee cans! I loved that industrial touch.
Our pizzas were absolutely fantastic. They were fresh out of the oven with melted, ooey gooey cheese and bubbling crust. Both flavor combinations were perfection.
For our final round, we took advantage of Picco's ice cream menu. Between us we tried the peanutbutter chip, the butterscotch swirl and the coconut chip. Each of us licked our bowl completely clean. When the girls told the waiter we were celebrating my birthday, he delivered my bowl with a candle in it. No singing, thank goodness.
The food at Picco is sublime. The simple menu of salads, pasta, pizza and ice cream ensures that every dish they make is a phenomenal house specialty. The outdoor patio is excellent for people watching and it feels like a more relaxed atmosphere than many of its Tremont Street neighbors.
We couldn't help but notice that the crowd at Picco was mostly young families. Husbands in suits, wives in their gym clothes and a baby stroller saddled up next to their table. Ah, something to aspire to.
We also noticed that Picco does tremendous business from their ice cream as take out. People walked right in to the restaurant, up to the bar and ordered ice cream to go.
Picco is a clear neighborhood favorite and it's easy to see why. I've only been gone an hour and I'm already craving that pizza again.
Thank you Picco for kicking off my birthday week with a decadent feast!
