Palomino

Belly-warming food in Bay View

Foodie friends have been talking to me about Palomino for years. Some of them nearly had to restrain themselves from yelling as they incredulously exclaimed "You've never been to Palomino???" No folks, I hadn't — until this past weekend, when all that changed. 

Our group started at Burnhearts PBR Fest, which is like Mitten Fest, minus the mittens. It was fun and the craft tents were choice, but then a screaming rock band started wailing themselves hoarse. That's not really my cup of tea. Walking 15 minutes to Palomino turned out to be much more enjoyable, not to mention there was a pot of fried chicken and a plate of cream pie at the end of the rainbow.

It was a nice night, so we snagged a table on the sidewalk patio. Very pleasant, nothing fancy. The interior has more character — casual with fun flair and a red neon sign over the bar that says "Don't stop now." Accurate, because once we started on the fried, buttery, saucy, guilt-be-damned food, we sure didn't stop. 

For table apps (called "to share or not to share" on the menu), we went for a buttermilk biscuit and fried pickles. I'm told the biscuit starter used to be served as three smaller morsels; now you get one big flaky biscuit with a side of homemade jam. The pickles were pretty perfect — fried just enough and served with ranch dipping sauce.

For dinner, I followed my friends Jenny and Ryan's lead. They said to order the Hot Fried Chicken sandwich — a crispy chicken thigh, hot sauce, house pickles, and mayo on a brioche bun. But Ryan insisted I trust him and order the hot sauce on the side. You do this so you can slather more sauce onto the sandwich than they would normally give you, and also so you can dip your fries. "Have I ever steered you wrong?" Ryan asked. I told him no, but also that he hasn't steered me ever really. This hot sauce reco would be the ultimate test.

Well Ryan, you passed! The man is wise: Order the hot sauce on the side. You will want to dip your fries in it and slather it on your sandwich. You will also want to ask for a side of ranch because doing a double-dip in hot sauce and ranch is the stuff of dreams. Sound excessive? Please. If you're eating fried chicken on brioche with all that saucy goodness, you might as well go all-in.

But let's say you're not feeling quite as reckless — what are your options? You can pull a Fritz and order the Pal Salad (spy it in the pic below). It's cabbage slaw, bell peppers, leafy greens, pickles, and carrots topped with a fried chicken thigh, hot sauce, and ranch. All the greasy goodness with a touch less guilt.

Were we full? You bet. But like the neon says: Don't stop now. We didn't. Did you know Palomino is owned by the same folks as Honeypie? Which means... They serve Honeypie pies for dessert. This time we shared bites of chocolate cream pie. I can't think of a better way to end a delicious evening than making room for pie!