Palazzio

Palazzio
1026 State Street
Santa Barbara
564-1985
Lunch
11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. daily
Dinner
5:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. Sunday - Thursday
5:30 p.m. - midnight Friday and Saturday



Resting on their Laurels

High Points:
Palazzio has had a long and distinguished career—and a unique, hand-painted ceiling. According to their website, former President Ronald Reagan had their Tiramisu delivered to his Los Angeles Presidential office. By my reckoning, that sums up Palazzio’s heyday. And they did rack up several reader’s choice awards from local media polls throughout the nineties and the wee hours of this century—but haven’t been bestowed any of these honors since 2002, also according to their website.

However, the place is regularly packed and the yeasty, garlic rolls still rise like the tide. They do have a following though—diners who are of the “more is better” persuasion. At their own admission, Palazzio’s portions are large (can you say super duper size me?) and “people don’t leave hungry.” No joke—if the lo-carb revolution is really over, this is the place to celebrate. It simply comes down to quantity versus quality—while some may be into the bounty of salad bowls-sized servings of pasta and self-serve wine, I am not. Attempting moderation, we opted for a half order of Caesar salad ($6.95), followed by the Appetizer Platter ($12.95) and Capellini with Chicken Meatballs ($12.95, half order).

The salad was flat, over-lemony and while it may have raw egg in the dressing as a touch of authenticity, it really needed a dash of anchovy to give it some zing. The lettuce was tough and felt as if it has been mass-produced—there was no delicacy to it. At the restaurant’s urging, diners are invited to order their dishes anyway that they like—so I swapped the Capellini for Fusilli and added broccoli. (The later was left off, but the kitchen was quick to throw some watery green florets on top.) The best, albeit richest, item on the appetizer plate was the bowl of Spinach & Artichoke Dip served with crostini. The plate also included Baked Stuffed Mushroom Caps, which were passable and Insalata Caprese—see below. The pasta was a disappointment—overcooked and the only flavor that I could discern were the red-hot chili flakes. The chicken meatballs were good, but had a lot of filler. My dining companion commented that they seem to cover up the food with a lot of butter and cream—duly noted.

Another day, I dined alone for lunch and had the quarter order of Oven Roasted Rosemary Chicken ($9.25)—I can’t imagine how many chickens go into a full order. It was the best dish that I had a Palazzio—oodles of minced garlic and rosemary were tucked under the chicken skin and it came with some flavorful potatoes, just a little soggy, as well as some steamed veggies. And I did try the Tiramisu—it was enough for two, but more refined then most of the items that they offer.


Low Points:
As I struggled to use my fork to cut through a small, hard Roma tomato, served alongside mozzarella and basil in the Caprese I became annoyed. At the height of summer in Santa Barbara, with a cornucopia of fresh, local, sun-ripened tomatoes available any day of the week, why was I being subjected to a mealy, pale tomato that had probably been hermetically sealed in plastic and shipped from South America six weeks ago? Where is the quality? Lost in the trough-like quantity, no doubt.

**1/2
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