After searching across the East Bay for the past year, chef Jacob Croom has finally found a home for his first restaurant in Oakland. The Tartine alum and co-founder of popular Bay Area popup My Friend Fernando, known for seasonal, creative tortas, plans to open Pico, a Mexican bar and restaurant, at 365 19th St. in late winter.
“I want it to be a place where you can have a fun dinner with lots of drinks, or come in later to party and maybe have a bite to eat because you’ve been drinking all night,” he said.
The menu is still taking shape, but many dishes will build on My Friend Fernando hits. Customers often lined up at popups for tortas stuffed with mole-drenched maitake mushrooms or porchetta with pickled mango and herb salad. The pork milanesa torta, which Croom has served since the early days of the popup, will be on the menu at Pico. The sandwich features a huge pork chop breaded with panko and sunflower seeds, fried and dressed with salsa macha…