I loveddd my shredded beef w/ sweet plantains & a dash of cheese sweet corn Arepa. I was a bit disappointed bc when my boyfriend & I came they only had Arepas, no maize wich or cachapa on their menu. But it's okay because I loved what I ended up getting. The Garlic Yuca fries were also pretty good. My boyfriend liked his pulled pork w/ avocado & tomato arepa.Would love to come here again. Delicious, not too expensive and was very filling.
Review Source:I went yesterday to Napa and tried to enjoy some arepas and fried yuca. Service was horrible, they asked us to come back in 20 minutes because they were too busy and didn't event take our order or explain any dishes.
I honestly think this place is very overpriced and customer service deserves negative stars.
Words can not describe the warm fuzzy feeling I get while eating an AREPA! It is truely a party AND after party in my mouth.
The corn, the black beans, the chicken!...all seasoned to perfection. I really REALLY wish they turned this place into a full on resturaunt. But they have no plans to since the mother ship is already in SF. Great customer service, always. Never had a problem...Except when they accidentally almost fed me guag (allergic)...but they totally fixed the problem right away and gave me some goodies to make up for it ;) ;)
no complaints...just love for this place.
I heart Pica Pica!
5 stars for food and meeting the owner but service gets 2 stars actually.
3rd visit. This time, we were greeted by well dressed gentleman, very passionate about the menu. He explained every item and made recommendations. So cool. We think he was the owner. That made us have the best meal ever there. Before, we did not know exactly what we were ordering and hoped for help from the clerks.
Anyway, our meals were perfect....the fried yucca comes with this heavenly sauce. The plantains also have this amazing brown sauce that is so good. I never knew grated cheese would go so well with plantains but it does. I had this beef sandwich with avocado sauce that was so good. My husband had the spicy chicken. So the food gets my 5 stars.
I do feel that the staff needs more training and to interact more with costumers. I saw a lot of potential costumers spend a lot of time starring at the menu while the people there just stood around instead of doing what the owner did, which was to engage with the costumers and introduce their food. It is obvious that people are intrigued by it but don't know what the food is about so they go down to the taco stand. Their food is so much better than that!!!
Another thing that bugged me was not getting napkins or forks with my meal, which goes with the lack of interaction that the people behind the counter have with costumers. I had to ask for napkins 3x and even though we were 3 people, the manager gave me 2 small napkins, so I had to go back 2 more times and got the same thing and the manager seemed to look right through me. Saw other costumers having to do that too.
My husband forgot to pick up our water and coke and it sat in front if the cashier for a long time and she did not even notice it even though she was standing there for a long time without costumers. I thought that was odd since we were the only costumers sitting at the counter.
So, you might be confused about the 5 stars but again, the food deserves it and the interaction with the passionate owner deserved it!! When the staff acts like they like costumers, then the experience will be perfect.
BEST FOOD I HAD IN NAPA
Tried grilled chicken and pulled pork sweet yellow corn arepas. Never tasted anything like it before and it was even better with sangria on the side!
The cashier/server girl was very friendly and she suggested that we take a drive down the Silverado Trail, where we had a FABULOUS time.
If you never had venezuelan(?) food before, give it a try here!
Terrible service. Â We drove out of our way to eat here and wished we hadn't. Â Two stars because I liked the food, but husband wouldn't be so generous. Â He's Venezuelan and while we didn't expect the arepas be as good as homemade, we also didn't expect to be treated nastily. Â Guy behind the counter was rude from the get-go. Â We had to greet him first and he acted very standoffish. Â We understand that this is not Venezuela and that adding tofu to the veggie option is probably sensible marketing for the Napa/Sonoma location. Â Though we are both vegetarian and love tofu, it's not something we care for in our arepas. Â When we asked if we could please have cheese instead of the tofu, the clerk acted like it was an overwhelming inconvenience and tried to convince us that tofu can taste good. Â After we explained that we simply didn't care to have tofu on our arepas, he eventually grudgingly agreed to add cheese instead (SO not a huge deal!) Â The guy continued to act offended by our very presence and barely said anything to us at all, even when I tried to be extra friendly (hey, everybody has a bad day).
We split an arepa, chachapa, and yucca fritas. Â I thought the food was decent and especially enjoyed the garlic aioli sauce that came with the yucca. Â My husband was so upset by the way we were treated, he could barely sit there and eat. Â It WAS particularly annoying to see other customers receiving decent service, while the staff would occasionally give us the stink eye, and frankly just offensive to see them ogling and fawning over a young female customer while neglecting the others.
Bad service always turns us off, but my husband was especially disappointed by this experience because he was really looking forward to having some nice Venezuelan food. Â Not only was he not impressed by the food, but also treated like an idiot for a simple request, and just generally treated poorly.
Not cool, Adriana. Â At least get some staff in that have some customer service skills. Â Tried the Mission location last year and the service was slightly better, but the food wasn't great. Â Were hoping to have a good experience at the Pica Pica that started it all, but that was our last try. Â We won't be heading to Castro. Â Wanted so badly to love it.
This is the first time I've tried anything like this. I'm amazed! And oh boy have I been missing out! I tried the pulled pork on the yellow sweet corn and it was delicious. Very filling so I'm glad I decided to share with my boyfriend. Can't wait to come back to try all the other different flavors.
Review Source:I have been here three times in the last 2 months. I have ordered  the vegetarian arepa which is black beans, plantains, avocado and tofu on this delicious bread . The pulled pork sandwich and the beef arepa with plantains and tasty cheese. The yucca fries used to be so much better I don't know what happened?
First visit they lost our order and it took over 30 minutes to get our food. No big deal mistakes happen. Second visit I found a piece of plastic on my fries and I noticed the food handling looked a little sketchy this time around. Last visit it took over 25 minutes to get our order. $25 for two sandwiches, one drink and one order of fries.
The service is not too good.
On a positive note there are options for those who are gluten free.
Not sure if I will go back? Maybe it's time to branch out on my next visit to the Oxbow.
I tried pica pica the other day. The prices were reasonable compared to the other food stalls in the market. I had the shredded beef pabellón with the corn pocket. I really liked the corn flavor though I wish it had been a little crispier. The filling came with beef, plantains, black bean spread, and queso. It was overall pretty tasty and a good portion size. My friends and I shared some regular and garlic yucca fries. We really enjoyed them since they were fried well and came with a good aioli dipping sauce. Both were delicious, but I liked the garlic flavored ones a little more. Compared to the pocket the fries were a little pricey at $5 an order but I'd definitely go back to this place again.
Review Source:They had me at arepa.
They lost me with the service.
I had the sweet corn pulled pork arepa. Â It was topped with avocado, and served with a jicama slaw on the side. Â While it was initially very good, I did notice that it lacked a ton of flavor. Â Such potential, but short in the end. Â The slaw on the other hand, was delicious. Â Too bad it was about 2 forkfulls.
The girl that took our order lacked any personality and I don't think said more than 2 words to us.
All this for $9!!! Â Bargain? Perhaps. You be the judge.
This is an awesome sandwich place. Â I dream about their maize'wich and wish they would expand to socal. Â The bread is crisp yet fluffy and light. Â I ordered the pe'lua; one of the house specialties and it had every right to be such. Â The sandwich is very tasty and sweet filled with shredded beef and shredded cheddar cheese. The first bite was heaven. The beef was so juicy and flavorful. Â The sandwich was really filling and worth the wait as well as fairly priced. Â It doesn't hurt either that it's in a great location and while their you can create a food buffet for yourself at all the options available. Â But if there were only one place in Oxbow I could eat at and I was too full for more than one place, this would be the place I would go to.
Review Source:Yes! This place is amazing. I am GF.. while I don't mind GF substitutes, and they are getting progressively better over time, sometimes they just don't satisfy. I had the pork sweet corn arepa and it was fabulous. Even the slaw was spot on -- nicely dressed and a great compliment to the rich arepa. For $9... great deal. Can't wait to try more!
Review Source:Entirely gluten-free menu. Nice location inside the Oxbow market.
Garlic yuca fries were decent but not great. Yuca is a filling, starchy root so this is better to be shared.
The spicy chicken arepa was a bit dry and spicy enough that you couldn't taste much else.
The beef arepa was the only one that stood out. It had shredded beef, plantains, and black beans, all wrapped in a corn flatbread. Definitely go for the sweet yellow corn rather than the white corn.
They make a fresh mango fresca which isn't too sweet nor overwhelming.
Amazing! Loved this little spot in the Oxbow market. We shared two arepas: the beef on a sweet corn arepa as well as the spicy chicken on the traditional white arepa. They pack so much flavor into these little suckers, and for the great price of $8.95.
The beef was shredded and savory but sweet. It came with plantains, black bean spread and queso fresco. The sweet yellow corn arepa was similar to a moist corn bread. YUM - it was hard not to devour this entire thing but I was sharing so I had to restrain myself. The chicken was thicker slices of meat with mozzarella cheese, greens and a tomato.
I would go to this place all the time if it were in my city!
This place is good. Their Arepas is quite different but very good. It was great to try something new and to be pleasantly surprised!
We had their Spicy Chicken Catira & Shredded Beef Pabellon on their Sweet Yellow Grilled Corn Pockets. Both of the meat were very tender and juicy as expected. It was their grilled corn pockets that were different yet good. The corn bread would fall apart in your mouth which I found quite appealing. There's a bit of sweetness to the cornbread itself that complimented the meat very well in a different way. It was just good food!
We also tried their famous Yuca Fries which were very good. But eat them while they are hot. We had a couple of them turn cold and still ate them but it was not the same. So eat them while they are hot!!
Overall very good and will return on my next visit to Napa! :)
Before heading back home, we decided to stop by the Oxbow Public Market. With so many food stalls to pick from I had a hard time deciding but I finally settled on Pica Pica. I have never had Arepas before so decided why not give it a shot. Apparently, this is a Venezuela specialty that is quite uncommon.
I decided to try the Pulled Pork Pernil-tomatoes, avocado, pica pun, garlic aioli with classic white corn pockets.
I loved the texture of the corn pockets, it was crispy with a great pop of corn flavor that complimented well with the rest of the ingredients. I wish places offered this as part of their bread selection!
Some of the avocado was bruised and not the prettiest thing to look at but I managed to look past the imperfections. I liked the flavor of the pork especially the juices that they were cooked in. Overall though, it wasn't the best thing I have had, but I was certainly glad I finally had my first Arepa.
Overall Thoughts
The corn pockets are amazing, the portion is decent and the flavors are there but the best part is being able to experience something that is hard to find
When I looked at their display, I didn't really expect much, but holy moly... as I think of that maizewich with sweet corn, pulled pork and avocado...excuse my drooling.
When the pulled pork came out, I thought there was going to be bbq sauce dripping from it, but nope - just very clean, savory, delectable pork. The avocados were gorgeous and definitely kept the flavor fresh. What really amazed me was the arepa itself. Why can't every sandwich be covered with cornbread? I think about this sandwich a lot and can't wait to try Pica Pica in the Mission or make some of my own arepa.
Pica Pica offers a great introduction to Venezuelan food, in a local and sustainable way, all centered around corn. Located in the Oxbow market, the menu is small-ish on variety but huge on unique Latin flavors.
My recent visit included pulled pork arepas that came with a fresh salad and sweet yellow cornbread. The slow-cooked pork was fantastic, and the cornbread was delicious
I'm definitely a fan, and will be back to sample more exotic flavors soon!
I was actually pretty excited to try this place out when we found it but I caught a split second moment with a server that made my taste buds scream and want to run away.
The story goes something a little like this...
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and my boyfriend and I were here at the Oxbrow Public Market for lunch. Â After walking around the market and checking out the places this was the last place we walked up to and my eyes instantly honed in on the big fat words: WHEAT FREE and gluten free on their menu. Â That was all it took to suck me in and anxiously wait in line. Â They seemed pretty busy with maybe two or three people waiting in line to order at the register and a bunch more waiting around for their orders off to the side. Â However, not a minute in line later, one of the servers placed a plate of what I'm guessing were Yuca fries on the counter. Â Well, I saw one slip onto the metal counter. Â The server's lips form an "O" of surprise and sort of stares at the fry, maybe wondering what she should do. Â Probably because (I would imagine) the plate of fries really wasn't that much. Â These fries were thickly cut and there might have been mayyybe 6 or 7 pieces on that plate (if I remember correctly). Â If she were to throw it away then the plate would definitely look very meager and the customer's wait would be even longer for a new batch to cook. Â She reaches for it, pauses, reaches for it again, picks it up - looks like she might actually trash it (my mind is screaming out to her "THROW IT AWAY!!!") - but hesitates for just the shortest of seconds and then (to my horror), as sly as a pickpocketter, her eyes dart to the right to see if the customer who ordered it was paying attention and quickly drops it back onto the plate and turns away as if nothing happened. Â All of this happened so quickly, maybe within 10 seconds - enough to make you wonder if what you saw had really happened - and the other workers were too busy to notice anything out of the ordinary.
I may have felt less inclined to say anything if it had happened on a really clean counter but the counter was in the very front where people ordered, near the registers, where many bare hands touched it (who knows how often they clean it throughout the morning) or even the exchange of money touched it.
Needless to say, I couldn't get myself to eat here that day and we hightailed it out of there. Â I haven't been back here at the market since that happened so I don't know if that girl still works there but just to be safe you should probably make sure to keep an eye on your food when it's being served.
Made a day trip to Napa today and after reading the rave reviews for Pica Pica went there for a light lunch after some wine tasting. I got the no. 4 (vegetariano) and thought it was just ok. I liked the arepa bread but the filling was insufficient and quite dry. For 9 bucks, it came along with 2 pieces of lettuce (unseasoned,no oil,no nothing).
Review Source:I tried this restaurant because it's one of my best friends favorite places to eat when they have a cart at Outside Lands. Now every time I go to Oxbow Market I have to pick something up!
The usual order:
-A cachapa with the pulled pork! So yummy. A cachapa is a sweet corn pancake. Not fluffy like a pancake but literally like whole kernels of sweet corn melded together that form something that looks like a pancake. Not too thin and not too thick. It also has avocado, tomato, and cheese on top of the pork.
-A side of the plantains: pan fried plantains, with the perfect amount of sweetness.
-Garlic yucca fries: Cut thick like steak fries. The outside is nice and crispy but the inside it soft and fluffy. Perfectly cooked.
I personally like to take a bite of each item because the flavors all blend well together.
Restrooms: Since it's located in the Oxbow Market you share the restrooms with the rest of the shops inside. Separate restrooms for men and women. Women's restroom has 5 or 6 stalls. It's always clean and stocked.
The first time we came here, all I remember is that we ordered a side of garlic yucca fries, and it was delicious...Super crispy on the outside and lots of creamy yucca flavor on the inside.
Been here three more times since then for the yucca fries  only to be disappointed.  One time they were out of fries early in the afternoon.  The other two times the fries were lukewarm, soggy, and cut much smaller.
The arepas are just okay also. Â 2.5 stars rounded down for disappointment.
A-Maize-ING! Â
This Venezuelan inspired joint brings out some of the greatest Cachapas and Arepas! Â The filling is tasteful and filling. Â
They are not shy on their filling! Â They make sure that every single bite of that Cachapa and/or Arepa has a partner in crime to attack all the taste buds of your epicurean lips and mouth! Â
Sweet cachapas are nice and fluffy...sweet...did I mention that...Just like they're suppose to be with little corn bites on every bite. Â The pork filling was tasteful and aromatic, wishing I only had the pork with a plate of rice and beans...YUM-O!
The only thing I wish they added to their menu is Tequenos! Â Little breaded cheese sticks...
I so wish they had a Pica Pica in Vegas!!! Â Viva Las Arepas has got nothing on these guys! All items made with maize are wheat and gluten free, and all of their bread is dairy free.
Wifey raved about the Cachapas here which kinda looks like a quesadilla, but is a sweet corn pancake filled with your choice of their 8 different fillings. I chose the # 3 Pabellon-shredded beef, sweet plantains, black beans, and queso fresco.
I loved the combination of the salty queso and beef working with the sweet corn and plantains. a total winner here! Definitely give Pica Pica a try if you want something more adventureous than a pizza or burger...ALOHA!!!
YELP 365 CHALLENGE-(298/365) " Simply A"maize"ing!!!"
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/VLLRx3h9DpB-CA_Xd5NZKg?select=l7y1lsryRsXwd1QqmKPZZg">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
Oh maize'wich, why are you so unforgettably a-maize-ing?!??!!
My awesome friend (slash tour guide for the day) planned a whole itinerary for my first time ever in Napa and the first stop we made was at the Oxbow Public Market for lunch. Â There were sooooo many fascinating restaurants to choose from, and my roommates and I wandered around the market in awe! We circled the place around and around but my friend bee-lined straight to Pica Pica and ordered the Maize'wich with the No.1 filling (chicken salad with creamy avocado). He told me to trust him. So I did.
BEST. DECISION. EVER.
Maize'wich w/ No.1 filling
$7.99 with a side of salad
I devoured the whole plate.
Each bite of the maize'wich was a bite of heaven in my mouth. I don't know what made it so orgasmic -- the sweet corn bread made from real corn niblets (none of that doughy, fake corn stuff) or the creamy avocado filling that gushed out from every bite and taunted me to keep at it. The creamy avocado, sweet corn, and tender chicken matched so well together -- a perfect combination of textures and flavors! Believe me, it was such a heart-clenching moment when I had to take my last bite.
All I have to say is ... my roommates missed out, and they knew it too when they took their bites. So take my word for it, don't YOU miss out too!
We went to the Oxbow Market to check the place out as we were told by many we must stop by. After a day of wine tasting from the previous night, we stopped at Pica Pica to have a drink to decide what our agenda was going to be. This place had bar seating so it was a chance for us to continue our relaxation weekend and start putting a plan together.
I had the bloody mary and BF had chardonnay blanc (i think). The bloody mary.. YES! try it.. was good and tasted nice with the right spices. Turns out their mix is made of local spices (which is purchased from a spot in this same Oxbow Market). Great that they support their locals.
The young lady that helped us was SUPER cool. When we asked her for advise on what to explore she suggested we try Hill Estate, Westwood Hills Park for a hike and there's another market similar to oxbow up north. Â We made it to 2 of 3 suggestions. Thank you so much sweet lady. We will be back to visit and try the food next time.
Oh my gosh where do I start!! My wife and I have been looking forward to checking out this place for a very long time. Then a few weeks ago we decided to go up on Mothers Day and wow was it worth it!! We had the Arepas, Charapas, garlic fried Yucca (which I absolutely recommend), tostones and the empanadas! Oh my gosh I had the pulled pork Charapa and was that just delicious, the flavor was amazing and the portion was just right! The tostones were just delicious with the spicy sauce and the Arepa that my wife had was very good, the sweet corn bread was soft, and kind of tasted like a really good corn bread.
I recommend Pica Pica to anyone that is in the area and wants to try great food!!
Convert Fiend Lover Fanatic
And that's just the tipping point.
I got such a GREAT chicken and avaocado-filled concoction - they make these pocket-like things out of your choice of 3 kinds of corn, like what you would make a tamale out of and they GRILL it, so it so wonderfully crunchy outside and the inside is moist. I wanted about 6 more.
They have 3 different types of "wrap" that you can choose from, a sweeter corn sort of pancake and a thicker yellow corn and a plethora of different fillings, I am told too that their yucca fries are something to behold.
They have a tiny selection of wine and beer - even a beer sangria for the adventerous. But for me - I just can't wait to get that white corn with chicken concoction again!
...and again!
Gluten free! They even have gluten free beers. They're SO gluten free that their kitchen is completely separate from the bar because they serve regular beer.
I suppose it's not REALLY fair for me to write too much of a review because we only tried the garlic yucca fries. The sauce that comes with them has chipotle powder and is good. The garlic topping was a little disappointing to me. It tasted like so many other slightly pickled garlic that you find over fried things. But my Prince really liked it.
We were driving home from Sonoma and stopped at the Oxbow Market in Napa on the advice of a friend... the thing is, we were both still pretty full from breakfast. I'm giving only 3 stars because what we had was good. Plus when you're having to be gluten free and everything on the menu is something you can have... well... that's gotta be at least 3 stars. True story.
I'm a big fan of their arepas at the SF location, but during my visit to the Napa/Oxbow location, it was ALL about the sangria. At $19 (or $6 for a glass), you get 4 very large servings. You can choose red, white, or rose sangria. They even carry beer sangria ($13/pitcher) which is a mix of beer, sangria, and simple syrup. IMO, nothing beats the basics.
My BFF and I took the pitcher out to the huge outdoor deck in the back and took in the gorgeous Sunday sun! Just make sure to bring the pitcher and glasses back to the bar when you're done.
Pica Pica was such a great and unexpected find at Oxbow Market! Originally, at the market to get cupcakes at Kara's with mom for Xmas dinner, she smelled all the great food being grilled at Pica Pica's customer-view kitchen. She suggested we try it and I'm glad we did!
I ordered the Cachapa Pabellon. Cachapa is a 100% sweet corn pancake. It was filled with a generous portion of shredded beef, sweet plantains, black beans and queso fresco. All I can say about that dish is WOW! The ingredients are all super fresh and cooked just right! It had my favorite combination of sweet, from the plantains, and savory, from the beef and cheese. The corn pancake is very tasty and you can see all the full corn kernels.
We ordered this dish with a side of Garlic Yuca fries. Best yuca fries I've ever had. Some Latin American restaurants can sometimes over fry the yuca, resulting in it being too crunchy. Also, just the right amount of garlic. It wasn't overpowering at all.
The empanadas are very good too! Didn't get to try any of the sangrias that seemed to be popular, but will definitely return to give it a go! The employees at Pica Pica are also very friendly and helpful. I've had many types of Latin American food during vacations in many of those countries, but never tried Venezuelan food. They helped with making suggestions.
Prices are reasonable. If you are near downtown Napa, definitely give this place a try!
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