Thank you all for your patience. this TR will be completed, but we have soooo many visitors this summer (and two trips in September) that I am finding it mighty hard to squeeze in time type anything coherent here.
We have always enjoyed Palo. It is not as fantastic to us as it seems to be for many of you--but we have enjoyed it none the less. So, we were pretty excited to try a bit of a twist on the usual. DIS friends Kathy and Kelly had set up a dinner for 11 of us DISsers all together
It was an EXCELLENT grouping of persoanlities which all got along really well.
I had wondered where such a large group would be seated. If you have ever been to brunch you migth recall that there is a large, round table in the middle of the set-up (in front of the kitchen). It is the location of the savory type things on the brunch buffet. Well, as it turns out the table is ideal for a group of 11.
We had Marco as a server and he did a very nice job. Because we had such a large group Marco brought out one of every type of pizza (doubles of some of the best ones), salad, app, etc. For entrees everyone ordered a meat dish and Marco brought all the pastas to share.
MINOR note here: I do not eat beef or pork and rarely like seafood (PICKY describes me well)
. I DID feel like I wanted some protien. So, as my "own" entree I asked for Spagetti Capone and asked to have a chicken breast put on it. I knew (from brunch earlier in the week) that they have chicken breats in the kitchen at Palo (a couple of the brunch items had them) and this seemed a very simple request to me (I would make this request without hesitation at any of a number of very casual eateries here at home). Anotehr in our group ordered the same thing. Marco laid it on fairly thick that he really didn't know that such a specail request could be accomidated (why on earth not?
) and made a bit of a fuss when it was brought out that he was "able" to get this very special thing done. This didn't really bother me or upset me at all (after all I DID get my chicken). I mention it here only because to me it is yet anotehr example of how Palo is not the end all be all of food or service. I can't imagine why this was an issue whatsoever. I would have expected such an easy to accomidate request to be "no problem" even at someplace like an Applebees much less
DCL's siganature dining venue. By contrast, two days later in the main dining room Marika was torn about ordering a pastry appetizer. It was described as containing bleu cheese (which she loves
) and spinach (well, she can deal with it in small quantites). She was asking Dave and I if we thougth it would be mostly cheese or mostly spianch. We had no idea, but Dave assured her he would eat it if she didnt like it and it was ordered. When our FABULOUS server, Fernando, brought it to her he explained that he had overheard this conversation and spoken to the chef and they had made Marika her very own spinach free pastry!!!!!!!
This was NOT a simple request and I would have never dreamed of asking for it. And yet it still happened. Now THAT is over the top, amazing service!
Okay, back to the great night at Palo. Marcus brought everyone a chocolate souflee (mmmmmmmm
) and also placed a variety of other sweets on the table for us to all try (as if anything else tastes good compared to that souflee).
Summary: Palo is good for two or even four. But is is far better if you have a large group of wonderful dining companions . The company alone made it the BEST Palo expereince ever, and it is really fun to have enough people dining there to justify getting one of EVERYTHING to try. I look on this evening as one of the best parts of what was truly a trip of a lifetime. Oh, and many thanks to Kelly
for helping organize and Kathy and Ted
for hosting (they even picked up the check which was totally uncalled for and totally the type of kind, generous souls they are).
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