It’s been a little long since I’ve written. As many of my b-school readers know, I’m one of the writers of Follies, and that was consuming most of my life for the last five months. There’s other stuff too, but that was the largest time sink.
I figured if I’m getting back into my blog, I might as well try to help out the business owner who is responsible for the weight I’m putting on, so that when he loses my business in the next few months (I’m training for my first ten-mile race), there are other customers to fill the void.
Jack Palumbo recently opened up Palumbo’s Grill on 21st and Chestnut. What appears as a storefront diner actually dishes up fantastic home-cooked food at reasonable prices. I’ve been in there a number of times, so I think it’s best to comment on specific dishes rather than write about the entire experience.
Breakfast:
I’ve only tried the French Toast, but received three thick slabs of cinnamon bread perfectly egg dipped and fried. Frankly, there are many ways to screw up French Toast. They don’t.
Sandwiches:
Sandwiches are all offered “deluxe” with fries, a pickle, and cole slaw. Frankly, the slaw is a little peppery for my taste, and I’m not a fan of dill deli pickles. The fries are pretty standard, and they haven’t ever been undercooked. Sandwiches themselves come stacked high. The chicken salad is quite tasty and light on the mayo, which I like – it’s also enough for two meals. The grilled chicken on a hard roll with mushrooms and cheese was quite filling and a good flavor combination, but I felt that the chicken was a little overcooked and did not enjoy the sprinkling of rosemary.
The selection of sandwiches is rather limited for a diner.
Dinners:
This is where Jack provides value and taste. The first time I ordered dinner, I got the grilled chicken pomodoro (topped with sauce and cheese), served with rigatoni and salad. I got two meals out of it, and probably could have gotten three if I wasn’t too hungry. The chicken was good, but at the end of the day, it’s a chicken cutlet. The sauce had a nice spice to it, and the flavor permeated the rest of the dish. The rigatoni was cooked al dente and quite tasty – not typical for a diner. The bill came to under $11.
I should mention that you get either pasta or choice of two veggies. When I asked Jack what the options were, he had green beans and three types of potato. Hopefully as he’s added business, this has changed.
I’ve also had the Chicken Parm. I’ve never seen a piece of chicken that big in my life. I’m not really sure what breading he uses – it reminds me of a Panko crumb and brought new life to a traditional dish. This came with a side of the rigatoni, as well as a salad and garlic bread. The Caesar Salad served on the side is generous and tasty. Furthermore, the loaf of garlic bread that Jack gave me that night was buttery delicious.
Jack doesn’t have much of a dessert menu, but you won’t have room for it anyway. If you eat in, it’s BYO, but this isn’t exactly a date place. However, a couple of well hidden take out trays, and your guests will never know that Jack cooked dinner for you.
