Jacqueline
Botika is so close to opening we can taste it. We joined a few friends last night for a tasting of drinks, food and desserts that are sure to be favorites at the restaurant to July 5th at the Pearl.
We started out the tasting with the classic ceviche tradicional limenho made with flounder, leche de tirgre pisco, topped with crispy cancha, and served on top of a sweet potato puree. The leche de tigre in this dish made it tangy and light contrasting from the sweet potato puree finish. Our next dish was the beef “tiradito,” a tatiki styled hangar steak, marinated in onions, rocto chile, fresh herbs and edamame. The hangar steak was cooked to perfection and paired perfectly with the spicy sides.
Our next two dishes were my favorite of the night (aside from dessert). The pork jowl steam buns was unlike anything I had tasted before. This heavenly dish was composed of shiitake-hoisin braised pork, basil, mint, and green onion on a light, airy bun. Call me crazy, but I recently became a huge fan of octopus. With that being said, I would have been content just eating the onigiri of pulpo al olivo all night. This seared rice ball, caramelized octopus, botija olive emultion, and sesame caviar was the perfect bite-sized appetizer.
After a few drinks and mingling with our favorite foodies, we left just enough room for sweets. Alyssa and I were opposing on favorites. My pick was the banana-mango egg rolls served over a bed of coconut sticky rice. This dish had just the right amount of sweet, savory and crispy. The Picarones were Alyssa’s pick. These Peruvian style beignets are made with Chancaca, a Peruvian sugar, and topped with powdered sugar and honey.
We are thrilled to see the full concept come to life at the Pearl this summer lead by Chef Geroniomo Lopez. Stop by Botika Monday through Saturday from 5 to 11 PM and stay tuned for extended hours late this summer!
Updated June 30, 2016