Mr. Foodie: Utah Restaurant Reviews

“All the news that’s fit to eat”

Pica Rica is neither the name of an 80’s Brazilian dance craze, nor the teen influencer who started the Duct Tape Challenge on the internet. Instead, PR is a new, local, much-awaited, Tex-Mex BBQ restaurant. Located at 25 Main St. SG., PR is open W-Th 11-6, F 11-8, Sat 10-8, Su 10-4 and closed M-Tu. No reservations are taken. Service is Panera Bread style and décor is minimalist.

It seems like billboards have been advertising this place forever and it was supposed to open last summer. They imported some enormous, custom-made smokers from Texas, so perhaps this caused the delay, along with the usual red tape. PR is the brainchild of Michael McHenry, Utah’s 2022 Restauranteur of the year and Jason Neeley, the former manager and partner in the still-fabulous tapas restaurant, Wood-Ash-Rye.

We went to PR for lunch, as it was still during their “soft opening” and they were running out of food by mid-day, regardless of their posted hours. The place was mobbed and we waited in line for an hour. I was really hoping it would be worth the wait…

The menus, up on the wall, were pretty simple. You can order smoked meat by the ½ pound, including brisket, barbacoa (beef cheeks), pulled pork and turkey breast and then, if you wish, add any side dish/s for $5 each. They also have smoked ribs, chicken wings and sausages. In addition, they feature three different tacos, three salads and four combination sandwiches. Everything on the menu is expertly smoked, not too heavy, not too light.

In addition, they have a number of delicious, bbq sauces, including their house original, and another one made with mole! Like almost everything here, theses sauces are home made.

Q: OK, Mr. Foodie, enough with all the details, how was the food?

A: Well, the brisket, which is really their featured item, is just fabulous! They kept passing out burnt ends during our wait in line and they were so good, I thought I might pass out!

Verdict: While all the items were very good, they almost detracted from the star of the show, the 18- hour smoked brisket. My advise: order the ½ pound brisket dinner, along with a side dish and dispense with the other distractions. Note: By the time this review is published, PR will have been open for almost 6 weeks. We visited on only their third day, really an unfair time to review a restaurant. However, the food was already great and should get even get better. Looks like we got some mighty fine bbq in our future. Yahoo!

Agree? Disagree? Found a great new place?

I can be reached at Andymargles@gmail.com.

All suggestions, opinions, and feedback are solely the responsibility of the reviewer and not SunRiver St George Community Association