The Palomino

I wanted to drop a quick note to give a shout out to The Palomino restaurant in the Crescent Court in Dallas. We always have the best experience there! Last night, after a Mavs game, we decided to go to the late-night happy hour they have every night from 10 pm to Midnight. We were trying to act like we were in our twenties for once instead of old farts...hehe. Anyway, they have a 'drink of the day' that is always yummy and $4.95 all day. Last night it was some sort of apple vanilla concoction with just the right amount of sweet and sour.

Overall the restaurant is amazing...it's got a great lounge-feel in the bar, good lighting, big bar tops, and plenty of seating. During the warmer months they have tons of outside patio seating, great for people watching in one of the snootier shopping venues in Dallas. The restaurant itself is well decorated, the wait staff attentive and the kitchen visible, which adds a little visual interest to the scene.

Their appetizers are always delicious! Last night we decided to go with an old staple, calamari. While it seemed a little more chewy than normal, it was still pretty good! It has a great peppery batter that just hits the spot. I love their mayo sauce that comes with them and J loves their marinara, so it's a perfect fit for us. We never fight over the dipping sauces (ahhhhh how sweet, haha). Funny, reminds me of a How I met your mother episode. Anyway, I digress...all the appetizers are half off from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm and 10 pm to midnight, which puts them all around the 4 to 6 dollar range. The fondue is another one of our favorites along with the gorganzola french fries! The best deal of all, however, is the pizza. Normally priced from 9 to 12 dollars (and worth every penny!), during both happy hours they are only 5 bucks. 5 bucks! 5 bucks for goat cheese, roma tomatoes, proscuitto and basil?! So much better than Subway! The pizzas are big enough to feed 2; in fact I had some again for lunch today. Talk about fitting in a twenty-something budget!

The bartenders are always great there, and I'm sad I didn't get the name of ours last night. He was a hoot and incredibly good-natured with us. One note, if you park downstairs in the parking garage, don't forget to get your ticket validated!

If you are looking for a great centrally located bar, with above the bar "bar food", this is your place. The crowds are usually trendy and well dressed and the "bar food" classifies as a gourmet meal for most of us! Drinks are great deal during happy hour, and the $5 pizzas cannot be beat! Come one come all, there's plenty of room and reason to go to The Palomino.

We've been to the Palomino for my birthday, New Year's Eve and other random events and they have always been right on the money. Make reservations for big occasions, but for happy hour, the Palomino is still a slightly-hidden gem, so just show up!

We rate The Palomino a 4.5 out of 5 for food and a 5 out of 5 for twenty somethings.

Highlights:
- The three course meal for 20 bucks on nights there are Mavs or Stars games (they also have a complimentary shuttle over to the AAC for diners)
- Great Martinis and creative mojitos
- Tasty Ravioli
- Amazing Calamari and Gorganzola French Fries
- Great thin-crust pizzas for $5!
www.palomino.com