Not exactly sure what to call it. The website says La Casa de Pedro but the sign reads Pedro's: Fine Latine Cuisine
Pedro's is a new restaurant that opened up in the old Naked Fish location in Billerica, MA. It features Venezuelan cuisine in a very posh yet down-to-earth setting. As you drive into the parking lot, you are met with a bright neon sign and a pair of fake palm trees. I really want to see what those trees look like covered in snow when the winter comes, as it inevitably will.
The interior of the restaurant is spectacular. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
Going to Pedro's was Carlos' idea. He wanted to take me out as a thank you for all the cooking (and grocery shopping!) I do for the both of us. I thought that was very sweet of him.
From the menu online, the decor and the fact that this was a Venezuelan restaurant and not another Mexican one, I was sure I was going to like it. But I had a very mixed experience. Carlos enjoyed it much more than I did. One of the problems was the waitress focused almost all of her attention on Carlos and I barely existed in her world. Okay, yes he has a penis but I should some service too.
We started the dinner off with an order of Tapas. Calamari de Pedro is fried calamari rings served over some greens with Jalapeno and Poblano sauce. They even topped it off with some Cancha, which is a toasted crunchy corn which is very traditional in Peru. This plate was absolutely delicious. The sauce was perfect and the calamari was perfectly seasoned and breaded. I would have had another plate for dinner if I could.
Carlos always orders Tabasco sauce and lemon wedges with his fried calamari. He asked for some on the side and they brought it to us in a great presentation!
Before we went to the restaurant, I had checked out Pedro's menu online and I saw that there was a salad called "La de Raquel". A salad named after me? I just had to have it. La de Raquel has roasted chicken on a bed of romaine lettuce, tomatoes, avocado and red onions served with a side of cilantro dressing. Sounds good right? It was total and utter crap. I could have made the same thing with a Rotisserie chicken from Market basket and some produce from Wilson Farm. I should have read the description more carefully before I ordered. A few things: I'm not a salad person, I don't like cold Rotisserie chicken and I was really hungry that night considering we had dinner at 9 pm. Everything was against me.
On the other hand, Carlos had the most amazing dish which I kept picking at out of curiosity and hunger. Parrillada CaraqueĊa consists of grilled chicken, beef and chorizo sausage with a sides of tomato and cilantro rice, fried yuca with cilantro dressing and sweet plantains. Oh my goodness. This was heaven on a plate. This is what I should have ordered. If only it had more vegetables and wasn't so laden with salt! Indulgence indeed. The fried yuca? Heavenly. Crispy, delicious and perfect. I wanted a side of that too.
I was still super hungry so we ordered a dessert. Pedro's has a few types of flan including chocolate, coconut and milk and they have rice pudding. I asked the waitress for a recommendation because I had a difficult time deciding and she pointed out that the rice pudding was really good. Sounds good right? It was crap. Cold rice pudding. I'm the daughter of a Dominican woman who always served me rice pudding piping hot. What is this cold business? I don't get it. If you eat cold rice pudding, you are doing yourself a disservice. I almost contemplated asking them to heat it up for me but I didn't.
I think next time I go to Pedro's, and go I will, it will be a different experience. I will know what to expect and what to avoid. If you are in the Billerica area, or want to venture out for some Venezuelan food, check Pedro's out!
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