Peruvian Paella at Mochica

My Barcelonan friend IM declared there's no such thing as Peruvian paella, and she should know as she's quite the accomplished cook and made probably one of the best versions of this classic Spanish rice and seafood dish I've ever had.

But I figured I'd give Mochica's seafood paella a try, especially as my other dining mate AM assured me the food at this SOMA establishment was super tasty.


Indeed, AM was right. My dish was delicious—chock full of fresh clams, mussels, calamari, shrimp and fish, perfectly cooked to a moist-tender done-ness and well flavored with saffron, paprika, parsley and garlic. IM was also right. This was more like a seafood risotto than a paella—I was missing the crunch from crisped-up rice scraped from the bottom of the skillet.

Nonetheless, I still enjoyed my meal, and the lively company as well.