Arriba, arriba … ándale, ándale!
Picasso’s Mexican Taqueria takes up the Porcupine Ridge Pizzeria Challenge
Residents of, and visitors to, White River in Mpumalanga are all big fans of Picasso’s. Not necessarily the artist or his acclaimed works, although possibly that too, but of Picasso’s Mexican Taqueria, the town’s Mexican inspired eatery that also specialises in pizzas and one of this year’s entrants in the annual Porcupine Ridge Pizzeria Challenge.
Says owner Lyn Davis: “Picasso’s started in 2014. Prior to opening the restaurant, we had spent some time on the Greek island of Naxos and our favourite place to eat there is a fabulous restaurant called Picasso on the Beach which has been going since 1996.”
Stratos Perakis, owner of Picasso on the Beach, takes over: “One hot day in July 2014, our new South African friends John and Lynn celebrated their 50th birthday with a big bunch of compatriots at our restaurant. After lots of margaritas we started talking about opening a Picasso in White River, near to the Kruger National Park and the next thing we know we are cheering our new venture with everyone wearing Picasso T-shirts. By September all was arranged and I went down to organise the kitchen and train the staff and Picasso’s Mexican Taqueria was born.”
Besides serving up some very good authentic Mexican dishes, the White River establishment also makes, what locals say, are “the best pizzas in the country.”
And it is this claim that has spurred the Davis’ to enter this year’s Porcupine Ridge Pizzeria Challenge which aims to find the country’s favourite pizzeria as voted for by the public.
“We are ready to take on the competition’s previous winners and show the bigger cities like Johannesburg and Cape Town that there are equally good, if not better pizzas in smaller places like White River,” laughs Lyn.
Despite the friendly rivalry banter though, Lyn is serious when it comes to making and dishing up great pizzas.
“We installed a new wood burning oven a year ago and we believe that the mix of Mexican and pizzas works well together.
“We have a Mexicano Pizza which has a topping of our special signature chilli con carne, avo and jalapeño chillis, a delicious Spanish tapas pizza with spicy chorizo and red peppers and a Pulled Pork pizza which comes with a freshly made pulled pork and sweet mustard topping.”
The Davis’s have also recently added a range of vegetarian and vegan pizzas which are proving to be very popular, especially the vegan Mexicano which comes with roasted butternut, creamed spinach, caramelised onion and fresh rocket.
“Both our Pollo Picasso and Blue Cheese & Caramelised Onion Pizzas are best sellers. The chicken that tops the Pollo Picasso is cooked in our secret Mexican spice mix, we make our own caramelised onions, and rocket comes from our garden.
“We use only the best ingredients and grow most of our own fresh produce. We are part of ‘buy local,’ supporting local produces wherever possible. We make our own dough and tomato sauce for the bases, and we have two wood fired ovens to ensure our thin-base pizzas are hot, fresh and delicious every time.
In addition to pizzas and Mexican fare (think nachos, tacos, quesadillas, chimichangas, fajitas, enchiladas and burritos), diners can also order salads, burgers, steaks, prawns and much, much more from the extensive menu. The drinks menu includes the usual wine beer and soft drink options as well as a vast range of tequilas and cocktails, including frozen lime margaritas, frozen strawberry or mango daiquiris and the latest addition – a wonderfully moreish chilli lime margarita!
Now in its fourth year, the Porcupine Ridge Pizzeria Challenge has the public voting for their favourite local pizzeria via a dedicated website: https://votepizza.wine/. The restaurant with the most votes will be crowned South Africa’s favourite pizzeria, picking up ultimate bragging rights as well as wine and marketing collateral to the value of R40 000. A new introduction this year, sees additional prizes for all top 10 restaurants, with each one receiving R1,800 in vouchers for their staff plus three cases of wine to award to their top, Porcupine Ridge-selling servers.
Restaurant-goers voting for their favourite venue, can win weekly prizes of a mixed case of Porcupine Ridge wine and EarthFire pizza accessories, with one lucky voter selected Grand Prize Winner at the end of the competition to claim an EarthFire Tabletop Pizza Oven, pizza for a year from their favourite pizzeria (to the value of R2 000) and five cases of Porcupine Ridge for a combined value of R10 000. For more details go to www.votepizza.wine
The competition kicked off on September 1 and closes October 31 with the top 10 announced in mid-November.
Picasso’s Mexican Taqueria is located at Casterbridge Centre, White River, 1240. To book, phone: 013 750 0300 or 082 648 1019 or email: picasso@picassoismexican.co.za
- Website: https://picassoismexican.co.za/
- Instagram: @picasso_mexican_taqueria
- Facebook: @picassoismexican
* Arriba, arriba … ándale, ándale! is Spanish and part of the cheer shouted by the cartoon Mexican mouse Speedy Gonzales and means “up, up … go on, go on!”
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