These weren’t simple changes to the tone of the walls, a change of fabric on the chairs or an adjustment to the lighting in the dining room, makeovers that restaurants here do from time to time. The work on Pici, an Italian building installed ten years ago in a property facing Praça Nossa Senhora da Paz and which remained closed for a long time, was carried out internally. In the kitchen, precisely, which has doubled in size and now allows you to produce homemade pasta. Now, the masses in the house belong to the house. Even. Wide, narrow, thin, thick, curly, stuffed or not. And made by chef Ignácio Peixoto, who also takes care of the French neighbor Glória. You are right. Maces and many other things.
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Before the “files” – and the nomenclature is vast – let’s move on to the entries. Even more so, for the carts that now “park” near the table to prepare, in front of us, things like a simple bruschetta: the spicy sourdough toasts are freshly covered with cubes of San Marzano tomatoes taken from a refrigerated bowl, garnished with basil leaves. Stupidity, freshness, ritual? All together. The fact is that it is distracting, it fills the eyes and the toast with butter and covered with a delicate seasoning was excellent (44 R$).
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I love a trolley, a service performed in a salon. And when I saw another one was on the way, I celebrated. It was more complete, with all the setting up of the tuna crudo: the bowl placed on the ice contained pieces of fresh fish. We saw when there were Sicilian shavings, red onion, dried cucumber, onion, olive oil, soy sauce, fleur de sel and pepper. Total silence. Once on the plate, it was crowned with a dollop of stracciatella, the equally fresh buffalo mozzarella cream (R$68). I remember the Giuseppe Grill, where they prepare steak tartare in the dining room, in a cart that practically looks like a Rolls Royce.
The “cacio e pepe” artichoke, breaded with pecorino cream, sprinkled with grana padano and served hot (R$58), warmed up the series and opened up to the general public. We tried three versions of the house (there are six offered): the caprese al pomodoro ravioli, simple and nice, with buffalo mozzarella and podomoro (R$56); the pici, thick Tuscan pasta with a long hollow thread, with smoked sausage and mushrooms (R$68), and the agnollotti stuffed with braised meat served with buttered meat gravy and parmesan fonduta (R$78), the best dish. Pici continues not to charge the wine corkage, investing in the service (and that is more than commendable), in the prices of a more moderate Ipanema (not scary), and has even started producing its pastas and has achieved an excellent recovery of the carts throughout the room. I came back better.
Pici: Four small forks (very good)
Rua Barao da Torre 348, Ipanema (99757-9160). Monday to Thursday, 12 p.m. to midnight. Friday and Saturday, 12 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday, from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
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