As a restaurant ages, it must choose: Stand by its classic recipes or evolve. Founded in 1989, Palomino is aiming higher this month.
Palomino is aiming for rebirth. Seattle will be the proving ground. 425 Magazine crossed the bridge to sample the new menu and determine if readers should do the same.
“We are bringing it into the 21st century,” said Don Adams, chief creative officer & co-founder. “We are putting Palomino where it should be – creative, artisan. … We are challenging ourselves.”
Challenge, indeed: Only six favorite dishes remain on this new menu. Norman Abdallah, the expert and leader from Texas who guided the effort, summed up the new concept in five words: Stylish, Artisan, Unbuttoned,Cocktail, Youthful.
Palomino will follow the “Farm to market to table” trend, which brings fresh, local ingredients center stage. Influences from Italy, Southern France, Portugal and Spain will be prominent, too, as well as bold flavors: “I would rather offend someone with flavor than be bland,” said Abdallah.
Adams, Abdallah and Executive Chef Michael Giampo met with 425 Magazine and other guests to experience the new menu, which is being launched in Seattle first. Once the Seattle menu is declared a “winner,” Chef Giampo will help rebrand other sites. There are nine locations: Bellevue, Seattle, San Francisco, Westwood (Calif.), Minneapolis, Dallas, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
Now, let’s go to the main event – the sample menu. Their specialties would include grilled, sautéed and brick oven-roasted meats, fish and shellfish, as well as light, flavorful pastas, seasonal roasted vegetables, unique salads and Roma-style pizza. The evening began with fresh, flavorful promise: bread from Macrina Bakery served in miniature brown paper bags, appetizer cheese plates and appetizer Charcuterie (meat) plates. The highlighted quality, fresh, local ingredients like Salumi salami and Cypress Grove Chevre fit the formula.
When the thin, long, almost intimidating bruschetta are served in a row of five, there’s momentary concern about how to share them. But the bruschetta prove to be cooked to perfection: firm enough outside to hold with confidence and soft enough inside to cut in half, share and chew with ease, savoring the cheese, herbs and flavors melded inside the bread. Delight!
More bites: The crab slider with bacon and greens is subtle and tasty. Not so the meatball, which is packed with pepper flakes and heat. It’s a conversation starter for sure, and the meatball sparked several questions and comments among the guests. Is it too hot? How? Why? Not enough?
Other ideas are good ones that just need work. The flatbread was undercooked and overtopped. We prefer a flatbread to be crispy, crunchy or at least firm enough to hold up its toppings when you pick it up. This flatbread flopped. The trio pasta sampler — for friends to share or one person to sample different flavors — is a good idea. Regretfully, the pastas were oversauced and, in a couple of instances, hard to tell apart. So maybe it’s a good thing Palomino is stepping back from pasta right now.
As an entrée, the pan-seared scallops are sweet, juicy morsels wrapped in salty prosciutto. The veal cutlet with fried duck egg is surprisingly light and tender. To end on a sweet note, the wait staff brought white paper bags filled with palm-sized, sugar-coated Sicilian doughnuts served with orange honey-ricotta cream dip and blueberry dip. Or, if we wanted to pretend to be virtuous, Apple-Ginger Crumb Cake, made with Washington apples, fresh ginger, Bourbon caramel and Crème Fraiche ice cream. A sweet finish.
Taking a quick peek at the wine and cocktail menus, we see some good possibilities. The restaurant will continue to offer wine flights, including some interesting Old World offerings. There are some interesting Spanish and Italian wines listed. For cocktails, have no fear — the beloved original Palomino Mojitos are still here (cranberry, pomegranate, raspberry, mango, passion fruit, classic). A sampling of other cocktails: Palomino Lemonade (house-made limoncello, Absolut Limon, fresh-squeezed lemonade), orange drop martini (Belvedere orange, house-made mandarina, splash orange juice) and Italian Sidecar 8 (aged Grappa, Tuaca, lemon, orange, Grangala).
THE VERDICT: This is a calculated, corporate decision to move the brand toward fresh, seasonal, lighter food. The greatest successes are seafood or the simple dishes where fresh, quality ingredients shine. Agree or disagree with the results, you have to respect the fact that Palomino is taking a risk and taking the food seriously.
In our opinion, they are moving in the right direction. Also, they've picked the best time to make this kind of change. Summer is on its way, with all its bounty — they have time to create perfection, and they are confident.
“Is this working now? Yes,” Abdallah said. “I will personally guarantee it.”
-Jenny Lynn Zappala |
