Sunday, October 14, 2007

First Seating At Palomino

While Palomino is great for lunch and happy hour, I recently discovered their First Seating special - a $20 three-course meal from 5-6pm everyday. At a price like that, you can't really go wrong.

So with a few friends and a bottle of V. Sattui Dry Johannisberg Riesling in hand (corkage was $10), I went to see what Palomino had to offer at that hour.

The three-course dinner included:
(1) Caesar salad, field greens, or a cup of soup
(2) Choice of dinner entree
(3) Sorbet or ice cream
(4) Coffee, tea, or soda

We all started with the portabella mushroom soup, which was my favorite dish overall. The soup was very rich, creamy, and just bursting with mushroom flavors.

Portabella Mushroom Soup: Fresh portabella and crimini mushrooms, caramelized onion, cayenne, fresh leeks, sherry cream (normally $7)

I also ordered a dish of tomato bruschetta for the table, since it just looked so good. Very tasty, with fresh tomatoes and lots of olive oil.

Tomato Bruschetta: Roasted garlic, fresh garlic, basil, extra virgin olive oil ($8.50)

I was in a pasta mood, so I ordered the lobster ravioli, which featured large sheets of saffron pasta stuffed with tender lobster, topped with lobster cream sauce and mascarpone cheese. These were probably the largest ravioli I'd ever had!

Lobster Ravioli: Fresh sheets of saffron pasta, lobster, bay scallop and tarragon filling, lobster cream sauce, herb mascarpone (normally $20)

My friends ordered the crab cakes duo and the braised short ribs with ragout, which also tasted pretty good.

Crab Cakes Duo: Watercress with salsa verde and garlic aïoli, orzo mushroom duxelles with artichoke tartar, tomato basil salsa (normally $26 for a trio)

Braised Beef Short Rib with Tomato-Mushroom Ragout and Fettuccine (normally $21)

I ended my meal with a cup of sorbet and some great coffee.

As you can see from the prices I quoted, the entrees alone would've normally cost us over $20 each, so the First Seating price was an excellent deal. It's definitely a good place to go for a nice, unpretentious dinner on a budget.

Palomino
345 Spear Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 512-7400
www.palomino.com

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's quite a deal, especially for something that's offered every day.

No comment on the wine selection. *cough* =P

Unknown said...

Let's go again! Mmmm....creamy portabella mushroom soup. =P This time, I'll ask for coffee myself. Teehee.

Chubbypanda said...

Oooh... Short ribs. My fatal weakness.

Unknown said...

I didn't know about the first seating deal, looks delicious!