I finally had a chance to visit the Oxbow Public Market in Napa. I’ve heard it was similar to the Ferry Building in SF so I decided to see what it was all about. Of course I had to scope out the sweet spots first. While the Ferry Building has Miette Cakes, Oxbow has Kara’s Cupcakes, both equally good bakeries. The organic ice cream from Three Twins caught my eye but it was lunch time so I saved the creatively-named Land of Milk & Honey as my after-meal palette cleanser. First up…Venezuelan food from Pica Pica Maize Kitchen.
The trio of sweet plantains were tender on the inside and perfectly crunchy on the outside. They were topped with queso, pork, avocado and sour cream.
The Yuca fries were amazing. They’re sweet like sweet potato fries but even more satisfying because yuca is denser and thicker. I also love the texture of them when they’re fried. I thought there was a coating of something to give it that great crunch but I asked the chefs at their Williams-Sonoma demo and they said there is nothing. The yuca are simply boiled, sliced and fried. Mmm.
For my main, I had a sandwich. You get to pick from three different maize breads. I picked Cachapas, a sweet yellow corn pancake. For the filling I got Pabellon, a combination of black beans, shredded skirt steak, sweet plantains and queso fresco. The sweetness from the bread complimented well with the savory filling.
I really liked the build-your-own concept at Pica but the sides are what really stood out for me. I’d get the plantains and experiment with different toppings and have a side of the Yuca fries.
Pica Pica Maize Kitchen
Oxbow Public Market
610 First Street, #5
Napa, CA 94559
