Review of Pikayo Restaurant in San Juan

Pikayo stands apart; it's as simple as that. There are many fine restaurants in San Juan, and a few who manage to translate Puerto Rico's down-home flavor into something unique and refined. But then there's Pikayo, and Chef Wilo Benet, who reinterprets home-cooking as an art form. His is a combination of creative whimsy and thoughtful study, of homage and exploration, and the combination of simple flavors in the most artful presentations.

If you want to make Chef Wilo smile, tell him you love corned beef; he will be your friend. But that's a microcosm of who Chef Wilo is, and, in a way, what Pikayo is. Does that mean you should expect a corned beef sandwich on this menu? Hardly.

It's more the idea that you will see what Chef Wilo calls "timeless classics" represented in a new, unexpected and sophisticated light. Chef Wilo is, in his way, a man of simple tastes: he loves the combination of salty and sweet; he enjoys a good tripleta (a sandwich made with beef, chicken and ham); and while he can deliver haute cuisine with the best of them, he's happy keeping things simple, when simple works.

Take the bite-sized sashimi-quality tuna with a chipotle chile sauce, served on squares of pegao. What is pegao, you ask? It's the much-beloved hard caked rice scraped off the bottom of the pot. It's physically impossible to eat just one of them. A favorite on the menu is a Puerto Rican staple done to perfection: a pigeon pea risotto with chicharron, or crispy fried pork skin. But Pikayo (which is a play, of all things, on the New Orleans Time-Picayune, and a tribute to another capital of good eating) can also take you far from its 'Rican roots. A halibut with an asparagus and fennel emulsion is a well-balanced, multi-textured entree that's far from island cooking, and the deboned lamb rack with a curry shitake mushroom stuffing is a unique but highly successful flavor combination.

While I've focused on the menu, the venue deserves mention. Located in the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, it benefits from one of the most beautiful museums in the Caribbean, and Pikayo's funky color palette and comfortably cool environment complements it well. Throw in an enviable wine list and the exuberant personality of Chef Wilo, and you have Pikayo. Quite simply, it stands apart.