I have been a fan of Palomino since it opened in Jerusalem almost five years ago, especially their Friday brunch, which I think is one of the best deals around. It includes both an extensive buffet and a dish ordered from the menu for NIS 109 per person.
In fact, I like to think that I may have had a little to do with the brunch menu, as I reviewed it when it first started. (www.jpost.com/food-recipes/article-739786) and told Alon Ravia, one of the four owners who have been friends since childhood, that the only thing missing was something sweet to end the meal. The next time I went, they had small squares of delicious chocolate cake at the end of the buffet. Mission accomplished.
Visiting Palomino is like taking a trip to Italy, as the dishes offer classic Italian fare. They have now launched a new menu of specials called Chef’s Table, which will rotate every two months. The specials are meant for “sharing,” the new trend in Israeli restaurants. My favorite husband and I found all the specials that we tried creative and unique.
We started with a cocktail, which always makes a meal feel special. I had a rum-based “girly” drink, which was delicious and not too sweet. Cliff had a twist on a whisky sour, which was also good (but not as good as mine!).
From the Chef’s Table menu, we started with the crudo of red tuna (NIS 78), which was slices of red tuna in a blood-orange vinaigrette with fleur de sel and a disk of marmalade made from limoncello. It was absolutely delicious, although a relatively small portion.
We moved on to the gnocchi ricotta (NIS 68), also from the specials menu, which was gnocchi made from ricotta cheese instead of potato; it came in a cream of Parmigiana sauce with thyme and chives. I’d never had gnocchi made from ricotta before, and they were light and creamy.
We also tried the tortellini de zucca (NIS 69), which were handmade tortellini filled with pumpkin cream in a salsa sauce, with crumbled amaretto cookies (also made in-house) on top. No need to say anything else! Since the portions are relatively small, we shared a delicious sea bass with gnocchi in a lemon cream sauce from the regular menu (NIS 138) before moving on to dessert.
'Crime against the palate to skip dessert'
Remember, this is a dairy restaurant, so it’s basically a crime against the palate to skip dessert. We tried the only dessert from the specials menu, which was kassis gelato (NIS 41) – blackcurrant ice cream made at the restaurant. Then we couldn’t resist the cannoli, which is worth a special trip to Palomino. Cannoli in Italy is often made with lard, so this is a good opportunity to try this iconic Italian dessert. It consisted of three small tubes of fried pastry dough with a sweet filling made with ricotta. Worth every calorie. We ate it below a neon sign on the wall that reads, “Leave the gun and take the cannoli.”
The specials menu is a great addition to Palomino’s regular menu and well worth a try.
Palomino Italian Lounge
41 King George St.
Jerusalem
Tel: 773-627-511
Hours: Sun. to Thurs., 5 p.m. to midnight. Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Kashrut: Rabbanut
The restaurant validates parking at a nearby parking lot. Reservations are recommended.
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.