Arnaldo Richards, chef and owner of 30-year-old Bellaire turned Upper Kirby Mexican hub Picos, has decided to switch things up with a new dinner menu that launches tonight, June 9, with about 20 new items. The aim here? Adding in even more authentic Mexican dishes representing the country’s seven culinary regions.
While you’ll still find longtime Picos favorites on the revamped menu, Richards says his new dishes are all about taking a direction that’s a little more personal to him, including some dishes that have already made appearances as specials or long been family favorites served at his own dinner table, as first reported by the Chronicle.
An entire third of the new menu is now devoted to seafood, with appetizer sections including ceviche, oysters and al ajillo items featuring octopus, shrimp, calamari and caracoles (snails) prepared in a sauce made of olive oil infused with dried chiles and garlic. Don’t miss the ostiones Carlos Slim, a riff on oysters Rockefeller named after a Mexican billionaire, and mejillones a la gallega, sautéed mussels with Spanish chorizo, shallots, white wine and crema, served with bolillo.
A new mole section features camarones en pipian verde (blackened jumbo Gulf shrimp in green pipian, with toasted pepitas) and wild boar or lamb in mole coloradito, among a slew of other options. And new among the chefs’ specialties of the seven regions are chamorro de ternera en salsa de chile de arbol (veal shank osso buco stewed in a roasted tomato and chile de arbol sauce with blackened avocado) and pork shank with purslane in tomatillo sauce.
A brand-new happy hour menu features $7 margaritas, a variety of shots for $5, select beers for $3 and tacos from $6.
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Saturday breakfast starts at 9 a.m.). Sunday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Sunday breakfast starts at 9 a.m. and Sunday brunch goes from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
This article appears in Jun 8-14, 2017.
